(Reuters) – Saint-Gobain announced on Thursday that it was targeting a double-digit operating margin in 2024, although the difficult context in certain markets weighed on its annual turnover, down 6.4% for the year. financial year 2023.
“In Western Europe, renovation will continue to resist, while new construction will remain difficult but will gradually reach, country by country, a low point in a market that remains structurally healthy given construction needs,” Benoit said Bazin, general director of the group, in a press release.
He added in a conference call with reporters that there is an “unmet structural need for housing” in Western Europe, North America and Asia, which could reverse the construction trend. new, currently decreasing.
Benoit Bazin also indicated that he expects the renovation activity to be the engine of long-term growth. The French construction materials group recorded a turnover of 47.94 billion euros in 2023, compared to 51.2 billion euros in 2022, a negative currency effect of 2.3% and low volumes having posed on the results.
Analysts on average expected a drop in sales of 6.1%, to 48.08 billion euros, according to a consensus compiled by the company.
Saint-Gobain also announced it was proposing a dividend of 2.10 euros for the 2023 financial year.
(Written by Augustin Turpin with Gaëlle Sheehan, edited by Sophie Louet)
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