Heidelberg Materials reported third-quarter revenue of 6.41 billion euros, up 10.4% year on year, and an operating result of 1.28 billion euros, an increase of approximately 8.7%. The company released the results on 4 November and identified Europe as a particularly strong contributor to the improvement, alongside growth in North America, price management and cost savings.
The company said its transformation programme would target an additional 300 million euros in savings by the end of 2028. Its European portfolio adjustment is focused partly on sites facing weaker market conditions and on products containing less clinker.
European cement producers face substantial investment requirements to decarbonise while competing with imported clinker and cement in markets covered by the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Lower clinker content can reduce production-related emissions, but the outcome depends on each cement product’s composition and the energy and process emissions associated with its manufacture.
Heidelberg Materials is also advancing the Padeswood carbon-capture project in Wales. Construction of the main foundation has begun, with the initial large plant components expected to arrive from April 2027. The project is designed to capture approximately 800,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually, equivalent to around 95% of the existing cement plant’s emissions. This is planned capacity and does not mean emissions are already being captured at full operation.
Padeswood illustrates the investment required for European cement producers to cut emissions beyond conventional energy-efficiency improvements. For cement importers and exporters in the Western Balkans, changes in European production technology could influence future comparisons of embedded emissions, delivered prices and customer demand.
The results do not demonstrate that CBAM caused Heidelberg Materials’ earnings growth or establish a specific change in import market shares. Cost restructuring, lower-clinker products and carbon-capture investment are progressing in the same industrial market in which CBAM is intended to reduce carbon leakage.