Compagnie de Saint Gobain SA

XMUN:GOB

Growth: Saint-Gobain said first-half organic sales growth was 0.7%, but Q2 accelerated to 3.5% with growth in all regions, led by Asia Pacific, Europe and a return to growth in the Americas.

Margins: EBITDA margin held at 15.4% in H1, and management said the full-year margin should stay above 15%, with North America margins expected to be roughly in line with last year, if anything slightly below.

Pricing: The company moved pricing from flat in Q1 to 1.6% in Q2, and reiterated it expects a slight positive price/cost spread for the full year despite inflation and volatile transport and energy costs.

Strategy: Lead & Grow remained focused on cross-selling, specification, high-growth end markets, and portfolio rotation, with around EUR 3 billion of sales rotated year-to-date through 23 acquisitions and divestments.

Cash: Free cash flow was EUR 2.1 billion in H1, with 65% conversion on EBITDA and 125% conversion on recurring net income, while net debt remained disciplined at 1.6x.

Outlook: Management said July momentum continued from Q2 and expects like-for-like growth in H2, while acknowledging ongoing uncertainty in North America and the Middle East.

AI and data centers: Saint-Gobain positioned AI as a growth and productivity tool rather than just a cost-cutting lever, and said data centers are already a few hundred million euros of revenue with a pipeline of around 1,000 projects.

M&A: The company said it has a rich acquisition pipeline, remains disciplined on divestments, and sees further expansion in North America, Asia and emerging markets as central to its capital allocation plan.