By Joshua Kirby
Building-materials supplier Saint-Gobain said it is raising prices as costs rise and volumes slide, with demand in North America hit by a harsh winter that led contractors to put off new construction work.
The French group said it announced price increases as early as last month to some customers amid a renewed spike in inflation, especially in energy and raw materials. That should allow a "slightly positive" price-cost spread for the year, Saint-Gobain said in a release Thursday.
For the year's first quarter, sales were down 2.3% on year at 11.1 billion euros ($13 billion), including an 11% drop in North America. New construction remained weak there after a cold and stormy winter forced a slow start to the year, Saint-Gobain said. European sales were also hit by poor weather, the company said.
Still, the company said planned price increases should help it to keep its profit margin above 15% for the year as a whole. The company last year booked an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization margin of 15.5%, stable from a year earlier.
Conditions in North America and Europe should meanwhile improve over the second half of the year, Saint-Gobain said.
Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-23-26 1246ET
