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• Net Sales Growth: 5% increase to CHF878 million.

• EBITDA: Increased by 1% to CHF277 million; margin at 31.5%.

• EBIT Margin: 27.1%, decreased by 150 basis points due to plant closure costs.

• Net Income Margin: Would have been 22.7% excluding onetime closure costs.

• Earnings Per Share (EPS): CHF5.69; CHF6.05 excluding closure-related charges.

• Share Buyback: 71,000 shares repurchased for CHF37 million.

• Regional Sales Performance: Europe +5%, Middle East & Africa +15%, America +4%, Far East Pacific -1%.

• Product Area Sales Growth: Installation & Flushing Systems +6%, Piping Systems +5%, Bathroom Systems +5%.

• Onetime Costs: CHF14 million for Wesel plant closure.

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 8 Warning Sign with GBERF.

Release Date: May 06, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

• Geberit AG (GBERF) achieved a mid-single-digit net sales growth of 5% in both Swiss franc and local currencies, reaching CHF878 million.

• The company maintained stable operating margins on all levels of the P&L, excluding one-time costs related to the closure of the Wesel ceramics plant.

• Strong volume growth was driven by new product developments and prebuying by wholesalers in anticipation of an April sales price increase.

• Geberit AG (GBERF) continued its share buyback program, purchasing 71,000 shares for CHF37 million in the first quarter.

• The company is investing in IT and digitalization, including AI initiatives and digital marketing, with an increase in operational expenditures by CHF20 million for these initiatives.

Negative Points

• The closure of the Wesel ceramics plant resulted in CHF14 million in one-time costs, impacting the EBITDA and EBIT margins.

• Energy prices increased by 36%, and wage inflation was at 3%, which offset the positive effects from operating leverage.

• Net sales in the Far East Pacific declined by 1%, driven by declines in China, despite strong growth in India.

• The company faced a slight negative price effect on net sales due to timing differences in customer bonuses and selective price adjustments in Switzerland.

• Geberit AG (GBERF) expects further charges related to the Wesel plant closure in 2025 and 2026, impacting future operating expenses.

Q & A Highlights

Q: Can you provide insights on how much Geberit is outperforming the market, particularly due to new products, and if the current trend is sustainable for the full year? A: Christian Buhl, CEO, stated that it's too early to quantify market outperformance for Q1, but last year Geberit grew by 2.5% while the market declined. New products were a key factor in this outperformance. CFO Tobias Knechtle added that they are not providing full-year margin expectations at this time.