(BFM Stock Exchange) – The building material specialist has delivered a turnover online with expectations in the first quarter. But the volumes, very monitored by the market, were higher than anticipated, and stable over a year outside calendar effects. The group confirmed its margin objective.

Doyenne of CAC 40 societies, with origins that date back to the 17th century, Saint-Gobain has the (good) habit of almost always deliver to the market for better than expected publications.

This has allowed its action to take more than 70% over three years, despite a difficulty building sector in many areas and regions.

The group was able to count on the renovation market, its price to fix prices, and its recent reorientation to promising trades, such as construction chemistry, to generate solid profitability. Last year the operating room reached a record of 11.4%.

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A confirmed margin target

The beginning of 2025 is engaging. In the first quarter, Saint-Gobain generated income of 11.7 billion euros, up 3.2% in published data.

This amount is online with expectations, housed at 11.58 billion euros, according to a consensus cited by ODDO BHF. In comparable data, Saint-Gobain’s revenues fell 0.3%.

But the good surprise, notes the broker, comes mainly from the detail of the construction of this turnover. Prices, as often, have supported the trend, progressing by 0.8%, the company evoking “a great rigor of execution in an environment of highly inflationary costs, and with added value that our complete, durable and innovative solutions bring to our customers”.

Especially the volumes were better than expected. Net in order to decrease for several quarters, they fell by only 1.1% in the first quarter and were even stable by excluding calendar impacts, that is to say the number of comparable days.

On the Paris Stock Exchange, the Saint-Gobain action increased again, leaping by 4.6% around 4 p.m., the second highest increase in CAC 40.

At the end of this publication, the group confirmed its operating margin target for 2025, namely a rate of more than 11%. According to Oddo BHF, management has also confirmed to anticipate a return of volumes in positive territory to the second half.