HeidelbergCement has posted a seven per cent YoY increase in revenue to EUR13.996bn (US$16.17bn) for the first nine months of the year, against EUR13.14bn in the year-ago period. The result from current operations before depreciation and amortisation (RCOBD) grew by six per cent to EUR2.896bn from EUR2.731bn.

“HeidelbergCement has achieved a good result in the first nine months of 2021. The general conditions in the third quarter were very challenging due to the exceptionally high year-on-year basis in the previous year and the significant increases in energy costs in recent months. We remain optimistic for the final quarter and confirm our growth forecast for the full year 2021,” said Dr Dominik von Achten, chairman of the Managing Board.

Group-wide cement and clinker sales volumes advanced by 6.2 per cent to 95.7Mt from 90.1Mt in the January-September period of last year. All group areas contributed to the growth in sales volumes, with Western and Southern Europe and Asia-Pacific seeing a particularly significant increase in volumes, according to the group.

“We are making good progress in the implementation of our “Beyond 2020” strategy. HeidelbergCement's capital efficiency and leverage ratio have continued to improve significantly. The disposal of assets in Spain and the acquisition of Tanga Cement in Tanzania contribute to the optimisation of our portfolio. Regarding the transformation topics of sustainability and digitalisation, we underline our leading role in our industry sector. The projects for carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCU/S) are off to a great start. Only with our CCU/S projects already underway, we aim to save up to 10Mt of CO2 by 2030. The digitalisation of our customer interfaces is gaining momentum. We are well on track to achieve our medium and long-term targets earlier than expected,” continued Dr Von Achten.

Outlook
After the first nine months of 2021, the company confirms its expectation of a strong increase in the result from current operations before depreciation and amortisation and the result from current operations, in each case before exchange rate and consolidation effects, for the FY21.