Shares in French company Saint-Gobain soared more than 6% on Friday after the company reported first-quarter results, followed by a sequential increase in trading volume.
The company, which designs, manufactures and sells materials and services for the construction and industrial markets, reported sales of 11.4 billion euros, with a negative currency impact of 0.5%.
Underlying sales decreased by 5.8%, affected by a decline in new construction in Europe. However, they were supported by growth in the Americas and Asia Pacific markets.
Meanwhile, group prices fell by 1.1%, but the price-to-cost spread remained positive due to well-managed pricing and lower costs of certain raw materials and energy.
Volumes in the first quarter decreased by 4.7%, with a negative working day effect of 1.5% at group level. This represents a comparable business day improvement compared to Q4 2023 results (down 4.5%).
Looking ahead, the company said markets remain challenging both geopolitically and macroeconomically, and “we expect some markets to remain challenging” this year.
However, the company remains confident and expects to achieve double-digit operating margins for the fourth consecutive year.
In response to the report, Jefferies analysts said sales were in line with expectations at 11.356 billion euros, although like-for-like sales were slightly lower. However, the company said that while there was no change to its outlook, “the tone of the call was reassuring on both volumes and margins.”
“The market will probably focus on management.” [management’s] “We believe the market is over the worst,” Jefferies said, maintaining its “buy” rating on the stock.
remove ads
.
