An extremely difficult year is behind the Geberit Group. Volumes were significantly
lower due to the declining building construction industry in Europe and the high
volume level in the prior year. Furthermore, the sanitary industry in some countries
was negatively impacted by the shift in demand from sanitary to heating solutions.
However, the global and regional supply chains eased somewhat in the reporting year.
There was good availability of raw materials and components, and the delivery times
were much shorter than in the previous year. Despite the very difficult market
environment, operating margins were significantly higher compared to the previous
year. This was primarily due to the high level of operational flexibility, especially in the
plants and logistics, the significant fall in energy prices, and consistent price
management. As a result, it was also possible to absorb most of the impacts of the
Swiss franc, which was significantly stronger compared to most currencies. All in all,
this is reference to the structural and financial strength as well as the resilience of the
business model. This enabled the company to further consolidate its position as
leading supplier of sanitary products and gain market shares. In 2023, net sales
decreased by 9.1% to CHF 3,084 million. In local currencies, this resulted in a decline
of 4.8%. Operating cashflow (EBITDA) increased by 1.4% to CHF 921 million,
corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 29.9%. Net income decreased by 12.6% to CHF
617 million. This corresponds to a return on net sales of 20.0%. The decline was
mainly due to a positive one-off tax effect in the previous year. Earnings per share fell
by 10.2% to CHF 18.39.
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Currency-adjusted sales growth
As already announced on 17 January 2024, currency-adjusted net sales in 2023 fell by 4.8%. Net sales in Swiss francs decreased by 9.1% to CHF 3,084 million. In 2023, the European markets suffered the most from the extraordinarily difficult underlying conditions for the building construction industry. Currency-adjusted net sales in Europe decreased by 6.0% overall. Also in decline was the Far East/Pacific region (-3.8%). In contrast, growth was achieved in the regions Middle East/Africa (+17.1%) and America (+1.5%). In the product areas, currency-adjusted net sales decreased by 2.2% in Piping Systems, by 5.7% in Bathroom Systems and by 6.2% in Installation and Flushing Systems.