Growth trajectory continues as company reports ‘another very good performance’ in 2024
HEIDELBERG Materials say they can look back on a very good 2024 financial year, with group revenue amounting to €21.2 billion, reaching the previous year’s level despite declining volumes.
The result from current operations (RCO) climbed by 6% to a new record high of €3.2 billion, thanks to strict cost management, and as in the previous year, the return on invested capital (ROIC) amounted to around 10%. With a good cash flow of €2.2 billion, the leverage ratio remained on last year’s level and reached 1.2x.
The specific net CO2 emissions were reduced by a further 1.3% to 527kg/tonne of cementitious material compared with the previous year, while the share of sustainable revenue in the cement business line continued to increase to 43.3% (2023: 39.5%).
‘We have persistently continued our growth trajectory and can look back on another very good performance in the previous year,’ said Dr Dominik von Achten, chairman of the managing board of Heidelberg Materials.
‘We have further expanded our presence in the core market of North America and several other important growth markets. Thanks to our broad geographic footprint as well as our focus on cost and price management, we managed to more than compensate for declining demand in certain regions.’
Heidelberg Materials say they are optimistic about the current year, with demand in the construction sector expected to stabilize at a low level, and cost developments on the energy and raw materials markets expected to remain volatile. As a result, they say the focus will continue to be on price adjustments and strict cost management.
For the 2025 financial year, the company anticipates RCO to be between €3.25 billion and €3.55 billion, whilst ROIC is expected to remain at around 10%.
‘When looking at the current year, we maintain an optimistic outlook,’ continued Dr von Achten. ‘Even though the construction sector remains volatile in some regions, our core markets continue to stabilize. Therefore, we expect that earnings will once again grow in 2025.’
