Benoit Bazin, Chief Executive Officer of Saint-Gobain, commented, “In an unsettled geopolitical, energy and macroeconomic environment in 2022, the Group once again delivered record results. Over the last four years of its transformation, Saint-Gobain has outperformed, achieving a two-fold increase in its earnings per share, a structural improvement of 240 basis points in its operating margin, and a three-fold increase in its cash flow generation.
“The Group’s profile has been profoundly optimized: one-third of the Group’s scope has changed in the past four years and over 60 percent of our earnings now come from North America and emerging countries. As the worldwide leader in light and sustainable construction, the Group draws on its innovation capabilities and expertise to provide solutions to the considerable challenges posed by the climate and energy crises, which are structural growth drivers for Saint-Gobain for the coming decades.
“I am confident that 2023 will be a good year for Saint-Gobain. Our roadmap is clear: disciplined execution of the ‘Grow & Impact’ strategic priorities, leveraging the strength of our operating model against the backdrop of a slowdown in new construction but good resilience in renovation. I know I can rely on the dedication and talent of our teams, who do everything possible to best serve their customers and who monitor their performance in real time within our organization by country. In this context, in 2023 we are targeting an operating margin of between 9 percent and 11 percent, in line with the objectives set out in our ‘Grow & Impact’ plan for 2021-2025.”
- All financial performance indicators at a record high in 2022 (growth, operating income, margin, recurring net income, free cash flow, ROCE)
- Profound transformation of the Group’s profile towards fast-growing markets: one-third of sales rotated in the past four years, increasing its exposure to North America and emerging countries and taking construction chemicals sales to EUR 5.3 billion
- 27 percent reduction in CO2 emissions versus 2017 (scopes 1 and 2), -5 percent in 2022 versus 2021
- Shareholder return: EUR 1.35 billion in 2022 (share buybacks and 2021 dividend). Dividend of EUR 2.00 (+23 percent) recommended for 2022
The full report can be downloaded here.