Geberit forecasts more than 12% growth in 2021

The Swiss sanitaryware giant’s revenue rose to CHF 2.69 billion in the first nine months of 2021, up 18.8% on the same period last year and 16.8% on 2019.

Despite slower growth in the third quarter than in the first half of the year, the Switzerland-based Geberit Group posted sales of CHF 2.69 billion in the first nine months of 2021, an increase of 18.8% compared to the same period in 2020 and 16.8% on 2019. Margins saw even bigger growth, with EBITDA up 23.1% to CHF 894 million (+23.1%) and net income up 29.6% to CHF 653 million, corresponding to a return on net sales of 24.3%. Sales growth was driven by the ongoing home improvement trend in Europe and an inventory build-up in the construction industry in the first half of the year, while the sharp rise in raw materials prices and energy and freight costs were partially offset by selling price increases.

The group posted a strong performance in European markets in the first nine months of the year, with overall growth in net sales of 16.4%. This included above-average growth in Italy (+31.6%), United Kingdom/Ireland (+27.6%), the Iberian Peninsula (+25.4%) and France (+19.1%), all of which were areas that had been particularly badly hit by the pandemic in the first half of 2020. However, it also posted double-digit growth in Austria (+26.7%), Eastern Europe (+26.6%), the Benelux Countries (+17.6%) and Germany (+11.3%), as well as a 9.2% increase in Switzerland and an 8.8% upturn in the Nordic Countries. The Far East/Pacific (+36.1%), Middle East/Africa (+32.1%) regions and America (+7.5%) also saw very strong growth.

All three product areas developed very positively in the first nine months of the year. Net sales in local currencies increased by 19.8% in Installation and Flushing Systems, 13.4% in Bathroom Systems and 17.2% in Piping Systems.

Despite the continued uncertainties surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic impact and the potential for further increases in energy and freight costs, the management of the Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland-based group expects growth in net sales in local currencies of between 12% and 14% and an EBITDA margin of 30-31% in 2021. The group posted consolidated revenue of CHF 2,986 million in 2020, including CHF 967 million in the bathroom division, a segment in which Geberit is the world’s third-largest ceramic sanitaryware producer with a capacity of around 14.5 million pieces per year.