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Investing.com -- Geberit (SIX:GEBN) warned on Thursday that geopolitical and economic risks have increased this year, as the plumbing materials supplier reported annual operating profit largely in line with expectations. However, the company expects a stabilization of underlying markets over the course of 2025.
The Swiss company’s shares were up 1.3% in European trading as of 09:03 GMT.
Geberit, whose financial results provide insight into the broader construction sector, noted that Europe continues to face weak economic growth prospects, while U.S. tariffs could have repercussions on both the American and global economies.
It also pointed to inflation concerns, which could prompt central banks to delay interest rate cuts, further weighing on demand.
Management believes inflationary economic policies could impact global rate declines, potentially influencing volume recovery in key markets. The firm expects demand to stabilize throughout 2025.
The company will host an earnings call at 10 am CET.
"Overall, the global economy will face considerable uncertainties in 2025," Geberit said. "These geopolitical and macroeconomic risks are leading to corresponding uncertainties in the building construction industry."
Barclays (LON:BARC) analysts expect investor attention “to be on outlook comments," which had a "downbeat tone.”
“We view the story as highly dependent on the volume outlook - 1) update on Germany and potential measures helping Geberit’s markets, 2) update on key growth initiatives in terms of revenue growth contributions, 3) update on pricing strategy mainly,” they noted.
Reflecting on 2024, Geberit described it as an "extremely challenging year" as it released its results.
The company reported EBITDA of 913 million Swiss francs ($1.03 billion), coming in just below the 914 million francs forecast in a Visible Alpha analyst survey.
Operating profit declined 0.9% to 762 million francs, slightly missing expectations of 764 million francs.
Geberit had already disclosed in January that full-year sales remained largely unchanged from 2023, standing at 3.09 billion francs.