Half Year 2026 Compagnie de Saint Gobain SA Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Strong Q2 2026 organic growth of 3.5%, with all regions returning to growth, led by Asia Pacific (up 7%) and Europe (up 4.1%).
- EBITDA margin remained robust at 15.4%, supported by strong pricing power and disciplined cost management despite inflationary pressures.
- Construction Chemicals solutions strongly outperformed with 8.5% organic sales growth in Q2, driven by iconic brands like Chryso, GCP, and FOSROC.
- Active portfolio management with ~EUR3 billion in sales rotated year-to-date, including accretive acquisitions like Xypex and AGC waterproofing, enhancing the group's growth profile.
- Strong free cash flow generation of EUR2.1 billion in H1, with a 65% cash conversion ratio on EBITDA and a stable balance sheet (net debt ratio at 1.6x).
- H1 2026 organic sales growth was modest at 0.7%, reflecting a slow start to the year due to unfavorable weather conditions and weak new construction markets.
- Price/cost spread was slightly negative in H1, with management expecting only a slight positive spread for the full year amid mid-single-digit inflation on raw materials, energy, and transportation.
- North American margins are expected to be slightly below last year in H2, with new construction remaining weak and uncertainty around weather-related demand.
- EPS decreased 2.6% in local currencies, impacted by negative foreign exchange effects, particularly from the depreciation of the US dollar and Asian currencies against the euro.
- The Middle East conflict and volatile geopolitical situation create uncertainty, with potential for further inflationary pressures and supply chain disruptions.
Good morning. It is my pleasure today to present our first-half 2026 results together with Maud Thuaudet, our Group CFO. Once again, we delivered a very strong performance in the first half.
To show our Lead & Grow plan in action, as always, I start with a few examples of Saint-Gobain solutions being used around the world in iconic residential or non-residential buildings such as this Brazilian medical center, also this airport in Singapore, where we leveraged our waterproofing solutions to enter early in the specification stage in the project and subsequently specified 12 other Saint-Gobain solutions, both in the building and on the runways. So Lead & Grow in action very actively across the board.
Now moving to our financials. We have delivered strong operational execution in H1 2026. Organic sales growth up 0.7%, strong EBITDA margin at 15.4%, robust EUR1.7 billion recurring net income and also strong free cash flow with a 65% conversion ratio on EBITDA.
In the first half of
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