Heidelberg Materials: Cost Savings Beat Target as Peru Deal Offsets French Plant Closure
Published on 09/20/2026 at 13:20 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Heidelberg Materials is pressing ahead with a two-track overhaul of its business, pairing painful capacity cuts in Europe with selective expansion abroad. The building materials group confirmed on Wednesday that it will shut its cement plant in Ranville, France, a move that affects 87 employees and forms part of a broader restructuring of its European production network as management responds to lacklustre construction demand.
The closure sits alongside a string of portfolio moves that have reshaped the company's footprint. On 8 September, Heidelberg Materials agreed to acquire a 70% majority stake in Peruvian cement maker Cementos Inka, a deal valued at six times the company's expected 2026 operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation. The transaction requires no regulatory approval and is expected to close in October 2026. The South American purchase is designed to avoid heavy fixed-cost structures and should contribute to profitability from its first full year, joining a series of strategic steps that include the acquisition of BURNCO in Canada, a stake in Texas-based AmeriTex and an increase in the Akçansa holding to 79.44%. On the other side of the ledger, the group sold Kazakhstan's Bukhtarma Cement Company.
Modernisation and carbon capture advance in parallel
While trimming capacity in regions weighed down by weak demand, Heidelberg Materials is upgrading its core plants. At its French site in Airvault, a new kiln line with annual capacity of 1.25 million tonnes has entered operation, cutting the local production footprint's CO? emissions by roughly 30%. Construction has also begun at Padeswood on a carbon capture facility. Sustainable products accounted for 38% of revenue in the first half of the year.
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Guidance trimmed as savings programme outpaces its target
The company's "Transformation Accelerator" initiative has already delivered savings of EUR 440 million, and management now says the original cost-reduction goal for the end of 2026 will be exceeded. For the full year 2026, the board is targeting an operating result of up to EUR 3.65 billion, after the upper end of the range was modestly lowered on 30 July to between EUR 3.40 billion and EUR 3.65 billion, from a previous EUR 3.40 billion to EUR 3.75 billion. In the second quarter of 2026, the group posted revenue of EUR 6.044 billion and an RCO of EUR 1.09 billion. Management is counting on these efficiency measures to underpin profitability even if volume growth remains subdued in individual markets.
Analysts stay cautious as the share price languishes
Sentiment on the stock has been muted. According to media reports, Wolf Report rated the shares "Hold" on 13 September with a price target of EUR 135, warning that consensus expectations look too optimistic and putting normalised earnings per share closer to EUR 12.50. Zacks Research had already lifted its rating from "Strong Sell" to "Hold" on 2 September. The analysts' reticence mirrors uncertainty over the global construction cycle: infrastructure projects are supporting the sector, but higher financing costs and weaker new-build activity are weighing on demand in many regions. On Friday, the stock closed at EUR 144.15 after touching a new 52-week low of EUR 143.60 during the session, leaving the DAX-listed shares down 36% since the start of the year.
Investors will get more clarity on the group's progress in the coming weeks. Heidelberg Materials presents at the Schutzgemeinschaft der Kapitalanleger investor forum on 28 September 2026, with detailed third-quarter figures due on 4 November 2026 as part of its trading update.
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