Heidelberg Materials’ Third-Quarter Revenue Rises 10% to €6.413 Billion
Key Facts
Heidelberg Materials reported on November 4 that third-quarter revenue rose 10% year on year to €6.413 billion, while current operating income increased 9% to €1.281 billion. The company said revenue in the same period last year was €5.807 billion and current operating income was €1.179 billion. Both figures topped analyst estimates of €6.19 billion for revenue and €1.24 billion for current operating income. Chief Executive Dominik von Achten said, "The growth momentum that began to take shape in the second quarter accelerated further in the third quarter." Alongside the results, the company reaffirmed its outlook for fiscal 2026, signaling that it remains on the path set after revising its forecast in July.
The company attributed its performance to strong activity in Europe and continued growth in North America, saying the two regions stood out in business performance during the quarter. It said pricing and cost management, productivity improvements and a recovery in demand supported results. In an October 23 interview with Reuters, von Achten described the period from July to September as showing initial signs of a recovery in the construction sector. He said some projects ready for implementation were expected to get underway, while investment in energy infrastructure and data centers needed for artificial intelligence technologies had begun to gain gradual momentum. He also said investment tied to Germany’s €500 billion infrastructure package had begun to gain momentum, according to the same interview.
Heidelberg Materials maintained its forecast for 2026 current operating income in a range of €3.40 billion to €3.65 billion, and expects return on invested capital to remain slightly above 10%. In July, the company lowered the upper end of its forecast from €3.75 billion to €3.65 billion, while keeping the lower end at €3.40 billion. In its results announcement, the company reaffirmed the revised full-year range after reporting third-quarter current operating income of €1.281 billion. In July, it said its Transformation Accelerator initiative had delivered cumulative savings of €440 million up to that point. It then expected to exceed its €500 million target by the end of 2026, which it said in its November announcement it now expects to achieve.
The company plans to deliver an additional €300 million in savings by the end of 2028, in roughly equal amounts during 2027 and 2028. Von Achten said the company would exceed the Transformation Accelerator initiative’s €500 million savings target by year-end. The expanded initiative focuses on operational excellence and structural changes, particularly in Europe. The company said improving technical efficiency is intended to mitigate cost inflation and improve margins. The new savings target thus extends over two years beyond the previous target set for the end of 2026, with a stated focus on operational, structural and efficiency changes.
On expansion, Heidelberg Materials completed its acquisition of Australian group Maas’s building materials division on October 1. The deal includes 43 quarries with reserves exceeding 350 million tonnes, as well as 22 ready-mixed concrete plants. In Northern Europe, the company signed an agreement on October 7 to acquire NCC Industry’s aggregates and asphalt operations in Sweden and Norway. NCC’s operations there comprise 106 aggregate sites and 44 hot-mix asphalt plants, but the announcement described an acquisition agreement and not a completed deal. The final tranche of the share buyback program, worth about €448 million, was also completed on October 1, concluding a total €1.2 billion program announced in February 2024.
HDLMY shares closed at $34.92 on November 3, the latest listed daily close before the company published its results. The company’s investor calendar set February 25, 2027, as the date for publication of fiscal 2026 results. The calendar also listed a first-quarter 2027 trading update and analyst call on May 4. The February date follows the company’s reaffirmation of its current operating income forecast range for the current fiscal year. The May update will be the next date listed on the calendar for a trading update after the first quarter ends.