A view of the new carbon capture plant at Heidelberg Materials in Brevik, Norway, June 18, 2025. REUTERS
FRANKFURT, Feb 25 (Reuters) – Heidelberg Materials, the world’s second-largest cement maker, expects its core construction markets, including Europe and North America, to stabilise further in 2026, it said on Wednesday, expecting operating profit to rise by up to 10.3%.
The company expects a result from current operations (RCO) of 3.4 billion euros to 3.75 billion euros ($4.0 billion – $4.4 billion) this year, compared with 3.4 billion in 2025.
Analysts in a poll provided by the company expect RCO of 3.7 billion euros.
“We are optimistic about the current 2026 financial year. Even though the construction sector remains volatile in some regions, we expect our core markets to continue to stabilise,” CEO Dominik von Achten said.
Von Achten had told Reuters last month that he expected a slightly better market for building materials this year, with growth driven mainly by increased infrastructure and defence spending.
The company said its return on invested capital (ROIC) rose to 10.4% in 2025, up from 9.9% in the prior year, and was also expected to be above 10% in the current year.
Reporting by Christoph Steitz, Editing by Linda Pasquini
