Heidelberg Materials said it has made a solid start to the 2024 financial year, despite a revenue decrease of 8% to €4,488 million after a strong prior-year quarter.
Poor weather conditions in key regions and a reduced number of working days in the first quarter of 2024 contributed to declining sales volumes. These were partially offset by positive price momentum in individual core markets.
”Despite declining revenues compared to a strong prior-year quarter, we have further increased our profitability. This was in particular due to the very good start to the year in North America and strict cost management,” said Dr Dominik von Achten, chairman of the managing board of Heidelberg Materials. “The good start allows us to look forward confidently to the rest of the year. Against this backdrop, we confirm the outlook for the full year 2024.
“Our ambitious decarbonisation roadmap continues to gain momentum,” he said. “With our two new product brands, evoBuild and evoZero, we are taking innovative paths. In the first quarter, we were able to secure substantial funding for our worldwide largest CCUS project in the United States. The many initiatives in all regions are clear evidence of the synergies we leverage in our globally positioned company. I would like to thank the Heidelberg Materials team that is driving these pioneering projects forward with great passion.”
Positive price momentum, particularly in North America, partially compensated for the pressure on volumes in the first quarter. Revenue fell by 8% to €4,488 million (previous year: 4,896) compared with the strong prior-year quarter. The result from current operations before depreciation and amortisation (RCOBD) decreased by €14 million or 2.6% to €542 million (previous year: 557). The result from current operations (RCO) decreased by €27 million or 10% to €232 million (previous year: 258). Thanks to strict cost management and lower energy prices, the RCOBD margin increased to 12.1% (previous year: 11.4).
The substantial decline in cement volumes following weak construction demand in Europe due to the current economic environment as well as a stronger alignment of the company’s cement portfolio towards low-carbon products, leading to the production of cement with reduced clinker content, results in adjustments to several plants.
Clinker production at its Hanover cement plant will cease in the second half of 2024, while a restructuring in France results in the closure of its sites in Beffes (Département Cher) and Villiers-au-Bouin (Département Indre-et-Loire) as of October 2025. The setup and cost structures of the European plants are continuously reviewed regarding their future viability.
With the recently announced acquisition of the ACE Group, the largest supplier of pulverised fly ash in the growth market of Malaysia, Heidelberg Materials continues its growth path. The acquisition meets the increasing demand for fly ash to reduce the CO₂ intensity of cement and is thus making an important contribution towards achieving net zero emissions in Southeast Asia. The transaction shows how profitable growth and sustainability can be ideally combined.