Heidelberg Materials celebrates "very good result" for third quarter

(AWP Alliance News) - Heidelberg Materials AG on Wednesday reported 10% revenue growth for the third quarter and stood by its "positive outlook" for the year.

In response, shares in Heidelberg Materials jumped 8.6% to trade at EUR170.05 each late on Wednesday morning in Frankfurt.

The Heidelberg, Germany-based building materials group's result from current operations [RCO], or operating earnings before interest and tax, was EUR1.28 billion for the three months ended September 30, up 8.7% from EUR1.18 billion the previous year, and beating the company-compiled consensus of a rise to EUR1.24 billion.

Revenue increased 10% to EUR6.41 billion from EUR5.81 billion, beating consensus of a rise to EUR6.19 billion. Operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 8.2% to EUR1.62 billion from EUR1.50 billion.

For the first nine months of 2026, revenue increased 4.9% year-on-year to EUR16.99 billion. RCO rose 2.8% to EUR2.53 billion, and operating Ebitda rose 2.7% to EUR3.53 billion.

"The growth momentum that began to take shape in the second quarter further accelerated in the third quarter," commented Chair Dominik von Achten. "The strong business development in Europe and sustained growth in North America particularly stood out.

"The very good result was also driven by our uncompromising focus on active cost and price management, continuous improvements in productivity, and an ongoing recovery in demand."

Looking ahead, he added: "We will exceed the targeted cost savings of EUR500 million from our Transformation Accelerator Initiative by the end of the year...By the end of 2028, we want to achieve additional savings of EUR300 million. In addition to operational excellence, the focus is primarily on structural changes, especially in Europe.

"In view of the positive development over the past two quarters, we confirm our positive outlook for the full year 2026."

This outlook includes a result from current operations of between EUR3.40 billion and EUR3.65 billion, and Heidelberg's return on invested capital staying "slightly above" 10%.

Current company-compiled consensus for 2026 has RCO increasing to EUR3.49 billion from EUR3.38 billion in 2025, as well as revenue growing to EUR22.44 billion from EUR21.46 billion, and net income from continuing operations rising to EUR2.38 billion from EUR2.17 billion.

By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter

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