Saint-Gobain confirms its outlook for 2025, despite declining sales in the third quarter

The group reported revenue of €11,42 billion in the third quarter, a slight decrease "given the depreciation of most currencies against the euro," particularly "in the Americas region." In "local currencies," business grew by 1,3%, driven primarily by strong performance in Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

Referring to a "still mixed macroeconomic environment", the group intends to demonstrate "its very good operational performance" at the end of the year.

He anticipates, "barring a major slowdown in global growth linked to geopolitical disruptions", a gradual recovery in Europe, continued strong activity in Latin America and hopes for a "moderate erosion of the new construction market in North America in a context of still high interest rates".

As for Asia-Pacific, growth there is "mainly driven by India, Southeast Asia and the integration of CSR in Australia", acquired in the group's largest transaction since 2005.

The integration "is going well, both in terms of operational performance and development of complete solutions", although the construction market is still "sluggish", the company says, while mentioning "leading indicators" that are improving.

Saint-Gobain, a historic monument of French industry founded in 1665 (as the Royal Ice Company), has undergone a complete transformation since 2019, with a comprehensive regionalization policy. It operates a total of some 900 factories worldwide.

In the first half of the year, it posted a net profit of €1,63 billion, compared to €1,66 billion in 2024, mainly due to higher taxes than the previous year. It achieved a record operating margin of 11,8% for the first half of the year.

"Our decentralized operating model by country, without direct exposure to customs barriers, is the key to the group's strength in the face of external shocks," CEO Benoit Bazin said in a statement at the time.