Geberit stable in the crisis

Sales in the fourth quarter of 2009 amounted to CHF 501.2 million, corresponding to a slight growth of 1.3% in Swiss francs and 3.0% in local currencies. This comes on the back of declines of a currency-adjusted 8.3% in the first, 10.5% in the second and 7.9% in the third quarter. The accumulated drop in sales continued to slow down accordingly. For 2009 as a whole, sales declined by 11.2% to CHF 2,181.2 million, currency-adjusted only 6.5% mainly as a result of the weak Euro.

Most regions/markets seeing declining sales1) In all regions and markets, the accumulated sales discrepancies for 2009 improved in comparison with the nine-month figures. In Europe, sales dropped over the prior year still by 6.0%. The only major market with a positive accumulated sales performance was France with a plus of 2.2%; Germany managed to maintain previous year levels. Slight declines were seen in Benelux (-2.7%), Switzerland (-3.7%) and Austria (-5.0%). Double-digit drops were recorded for the core market Italy (-14.2%), the UK/Ireland (-11.8%), the Nordic countries (-13.6%), Central/Eastern Europe (-18.5%) and the Iberian Peninsula (-25.7%). Conditions remained difficult in the regions of the Middle East/Africa (-13.8%) and America (-15.1%). However, the Far East/Pacific region grew again after the third quarter and improved significantly to -4.7%. 1) all figures accumulated and in local currencies

Positive operating margins

The Management anticipates an operating margin (EBITDA) for the overall year of 2009 significantly above the prior-year level. The net result is influenced by a low financial result and special tax effects. This results in disproportionately weaker profits per share compared to operating results. The financial statements and complete annual report for 2009 will be released at the analyst and media conference in Zurich on March 11, 2010.

Takeover of the Indian sales partner Effective January 1, 2010, Geberit has taken over the prior Indian sales partner based in Bangalore with additional sales branches in Mumbai and Delhi. The company was established in 2005 and currently has 45 employees. All major cities in India are serviced directly, the remainder through a network of more than 100 partners. Over the past years, the company now taken over has successfully built up the Indian market for concealed cisterns and established Geberit as the market leader in this sector. More than 70 five-star hotels are fitted with Geberit cisterns. Current sales volume is in the single-digit million range.

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