Further strong progress in results
- Solid organic growth in all Business Sectors and regions (up 4.7%); acceleration in H2
(up 6.0%) and in Q4 (up 6.5%) - Positive trends in sales prices, up 2.0%; acceleration in H2 (up 2.3%) and in Q4 (up 2.7%)
- Further rise in operating income, up 9.6% like-for-like, and in operating margin, up to 7.4% from 7.2%
- Further strong increase in recurring net income1, up 16.7%
- Free cash flow2 up 7.6% to €1,353 million
- Ahead of our strategic objectives, with €641 million in acquisitions and €290 million in cost savings
- Net debt at €5.95 billion (versus €5.64 billion at end-2016); buyback of 8.3 million shares during the year
- 2017 dividend up at €1.30 per share, to be paid wholly in cash
Pierre-André de Chalendar, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Saint-Gobain, commented:
“Saint-Gobain’s robust growth and the acceleration in our performance over the course of the year illustrates the effectiveness of our strategy. All Business Sectors and regions contributed to this good set of results, especially France which confirmed its recovery. In line with our focus on pricing in an environment where inflation is increasing once again, sales prices rose significantly, particularly in the second half of the year. Cost savings, another priority for the Group, exceeded objectives at €290 million. The Group pursued its profitable growth strategy by stepping up both its financial investments, with 28 small and mid-sized acquisitions in the year, and its capital expenditure, with a focus on emerging countries, Industry 4.0, and digitalization, particularly in Building Distribution.
In 2018, we expect the economic climate to remain supportive. We will continue to implement our strategic objectives and are targeting a further like-for-like increase in operating income.”
- Recurring net income: net attributable income excluding capital gains and losses on disposals, asset write-downs and material non-recurring provisions.
- Cash flow from operations excluding the tax impact of capital gains and losses on disposals, asset write-downs and material non-recurring provisions, less capital expenditure.
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