Investor Relations FAQ

Heidelberg Materials is one of the world's largest manufacturers of building materials, with more than 150 years of history. Our core products are cement and aggregates; downstream activities include ready-mixed concrete, asphalt, and related building products. We operate in around 50 countries with approximately 49,000 employees across nearly 2,350 producing locations globally.

Heidelberg Materials AG (ticker: HEI) is listed in Germany and included in major indices, including the DAX, the S&P Global 1200 Construction Materials Index and the STOXX Europe 600 Construction & Materials Index. Our stock is also included in FTSE4Good Europe and DAX 50 ESG. Since the end of 2024, our share has been included in the Dow Jones Best-in-Class Europe Index (DJBIC). In the US, Heidelberg Materials shares are traded under a sponsored Over-the-Counter (OTC) Level I American Depositary Receipts (ADR) programme under the ticker symbol HDLMY.

The rebranding to Heidelberg Materials began in 2022. At the Annual General Meeting in 2023, HeidelbergCement AG was legally renamed Heidelberg Materials AG.

The new brand identity reflects our strategic transformation towards greater sustainability and digital innovation, as well as a more diversified product portfolio that extends beyond traditional cement.

We are a global heavy building materials company with a balanced geographical footprint spanning Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, and Africa-Mediterranean-Western Asia. This geographic setup, combined with our data-driven business model and industry-leading decarbonisation agenda, supports our position among global peers.

Our investment case rests on five elements. Details and the underlying figures are set out in the Capital Markets Day 2025 materials and the Annual and Sustainability Report 2025.

• Geographical balance: We operate in around 50 countries across Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific and Africa-Mediterranean-Western Asia, giving us exposure to infrastructure, residential, energy-transition and industrial construction demand across several business cycles.
• A focused portfolio: Active portfolio management concentrates capital in leading local market positions in our core products.
• Decarbonisation with a commercial proof point: Brevik in Norway is the world's first industrial-scale CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) installation at a cement plant, and evoZero® near-zero cement produced there is commercially available to customers. 
• Self-help driving efficiency gains: The Transformation Accelerator Initiative (TAI) targets more than €500 million in incremental savings by the end of 2026. 
• Returns alongside growth: Our 2030 financial targets are RCO growth of +7–10% per year and ROIC of around 12%. Our capital allocation framework that focusses on shareholder returns, including a progressive dividend policy and share buybacks.
   

Yes. Heidelberg Materials issues annual guidance on financial and sustainability metrics and updates its guidance when material changes arise during the year. Financial guidance covers RCO (Result from current operations), ROIC (Return on Invested Capital), CapEx Net and Leverage ratio. Leverage ratio is defined as Net Debt divided by Result from current operations before depreciation and amortisation (RCOBD). The primary sustainability metric covered by guidance is specific net Scope 1 CO₂ emissions per tonne of cementitious material (Scope 1). Guidance and revisions are published through press releases, quarterly statements and ad hoc notifications, in line with regulatory requirements.

At Capital Markets Day in May 2025, the company announced medium term targets for 2030. Financial targets for 2030 (average per year where stated) include RCO growth of +7–10%, ROIC of around 12%, cash conversion of about 50%, CapEx Net of approximately €1.3 billion per year and leverage of around 1.5x. Regional targets (base year 2024) include a +250 bps improvement in the RCOBD margin and a +100 bps contribution to Group ROIC in Europe, and RCO growth of +8–10% per year in North America.

Sustainability targets for 2030 include reducing specific net Scope 1 CO₂ emissions to below 400 kg per tonne of cementitious material and generating more than 50% of revenue from sustainable products. Additional targets include an alternative fuel rate of more than 50% and clinker ratio of 64%. These KPIs are reported semi annually. The long term goal is to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest. Further details on our sustainability commitments can be found in our Annual and Sustainability Report 2025 under the General disclosures section.
 

Our capital allocation follows a clear financial framework anchored by a permanent investment-grade credit rating and a target leverage ratio of around 1.5x. Within this framework, capital is deployed in the following order of priority: 

1. disciplined organic investment and value-accretive M&A in our core heavy building materials business, assessed primarily based on repayment period, ROIC, earnings impact and CO₂ impact; 
2. a progressive dividend policy; and 
3. share buybacks as a complementary return tool.

Live and historical share price data are available through our Share price center. The share price is quoted in EUR and reflects trading on Xetra (Frankfurt Stock Exchange).

Heidelberg Materials pursues a progressive dividend policy and has a long track record of dividend payments. The dividend proposal for a completed financial year is submitted by the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board and a resolution is made at the Annual General Meeting. It is subsequently paid to shareholders entitled to receive a dividend. Information on dividend history and the latest proposals is published on the Dividend page.

Yes. Share buyback programmes are part of our capital allocation strategy and complement our progressive dividend policy. Details of active and completed programmes – including an overview of shares acquired and timelines – are published on the Share buyback page and through regulatory announcements.

Our shareholder structure is disclosed on the Shareholder structure page. Heidelberg Materials has a broadly diversified institutional investor base alongside a significant strategic anchor shareholder. Voting rights notifications above relevant thresholds are published in accordance with the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG).

Yes. Heidelberg Materials has a sponsored OTC Level I ADR programme for US-based investors who prefer to hold and trade shares in US dollars. Details are available in the Share and ADRs section.

Around two-thirds of our Scope 1 emissions stem from the calcination of limestone into clinker (process emissions), and about one-third comes from the thermal fuel used to fire the kilns. Scope 2 covers purchased electricity, while Scope 3 covers purchased materials, transport and other value-chain emissions. In 2025, our specific net Scope 1 emissions were 512 kg CO₂ per tonne of cementitious material (–3% year on year) at a clinker ratio of approximately 68%. Full Scope 1, 2 and 3 disclosures are included in the Sustainability report chapter of the Annual and Sustainability Report 2025 (below). Updated CO₂ KPIs are also published semi-annually in our Half-year analyst presentation and the Half-year financial report (see Reports and presentations).

Our main decarbonisation levers to reach net zero by 2050 include: 

1. clinker-level measures – plant efficiency and alternative fuels, incuding biomass (15–25% potential contribution to net zero emissions); 
2. cement-level measures – clinker substitution with slag, fly ash, pozzolans, limestone, calcined clays and recycled hardened cement paste (25–40% potential contribution);
3. breakthrough technologies – CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage) to capture unavoidable process emissions (35–60% potential contribution). 

Remaining emissions are neutralised through biogenic fuels with CCS and natural recarbonation. Our 2030 and 2050 CO₂ targets are SBTi-validated and aligned with the 1.5°C pathway of the Paris Agreement.
 

evoBuild® and evoZero® are Heidelberg Materials' branded product families for the decarbonisation of cement, concrete and aggregates. Under the evoBuild® brand, Heidelberg Materials markets products that are low-carbon (cement and concrete with at least 30% lower CO₂ emissions than standard products), circular (aggregates and concrete), or both. evoZero® is our premium near-zero/carbon-captured cement, produced for the first time at our Brevik plant in Norway.

Around 40% of our worldwide clinker production is subject to financial carbon pricing systems, such as emissions trading systems. Under the EU ETS we receive part of our allowances free of charge based on product-specific benchmarks. Benchmarks have been tightened in each subsequent phase, most recently for the 2026–2030 period.

CBAM is a CO₂ -related import regulation being phased in in the European Union alongside the phase-out of free EU ETS allowances for covered sectors. Its aim is to create a level playing field between EU producers and importers. Under the current framework, this transition runs from 2026 to 2034. 

From 2026, importers have been required to purchase CBAM certificates corresponding to the embedded CO₂ emissions in imported cement and clinker. The European Commission published a proposal in July 2026 to extend the CBAM-related phase-out of free EU ETS allowances to 2038. The proposal has not yet been adopted and remains subject to review and negotiation by the European Council and the European Parliament.
 

Yes – Heidelberg Materials currently holds sufficient emission allowances across the Group for the current year. However, in individual countries there are already shortages of emission rights, which are covered by intra-Group trading.

Yes. A shadow price is used to evaluate capital expenditure decisions, based on an assumption of around €100 per tonne by 2030. However, it does not affect the income statement.

There are emissions trading schemes in the UK, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, a carbon tax in British Columbia. Indonesia plans to introduce a system in 2027.

The Brevik CCS facility in Norway is the world's first industrial-scale Carbon Capture and Storage plant at a cement facility. The facility is now operational and captures CO₂ from cement production for permanent geological storage. It is a flagship project in Heidelberg Materials' decarbonisation strategy and provides a proof-of-concept for the wider industry.

Our CCUS projects are financed through a combination of our own investment and public funding at national, international and EU level. In 2025, we received government grants of €74 million, primarliy related to the CCS project in Brevik, Norway. In September 2025, we concluded a funding agreement with the UK government for the carbon capture facility at Padeswood. In November 2025, the EU Innovation Fund selected four further projects to prepare funding agreements.

CCUS creates value in two ways. First, capturing and storing CO₂ removes the need to purchase emission allowances for the captured emissions; this benefit grows as we capture more CO₂ and as allowance prices rise. Second, near-zero carbon products can achieve higher sales prices, which may provide a competitive advantage in the medium term.

ESG ratings, index memberships, and key sustainability data are published on the Sustainability section of our website. Further details are provided in the Factsheet ESG, finance and remuneration 2025 and in the Annual and Sustainability Report 2025:

Yes. Our sustainability reporting references established frameworks including the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards IFRS S1 and S2, and applicable EU reporting requirements (CSRD/ESRS). Details are provided in the Annual and Sustainability Report 2025 and in the Factsheet ESG, finance and remuneration 2025.

The AGM is usually held once a year, typically in May. The exact date, time, and meeting details are published on the Financial calendar page well in advance. All shareholders are formally notified by invitation in accordance with the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG) and can register to participate through their depository banks.

The invitation, agenda, supporting reports, and all legally required disclosures are available on the Annual General Meeting page under Investor Relations > Calendar and publications. These documents, among others, include the Annual and Sustainability Report, Annual financial statements, Remuneration report and the Profile of skills of the Supervisory Board. The invitation is also published in the German Federal Gazette (Bundesanzeiger).

You may authorise any person of your choosing, or one of the company-designated proxies, to exercise your voting rights. A proxy authorisation form is included with the AGM invitation and is also available for download in the Annual General Meeting section of the Investor Relations website. Company-designated proxies must receive your binding voting instructions before the AGM and exercise voting rights only in accordance with your instructions.

The AGM agenda typically includes: approval of the annual financial statements; a resolution on the appropriation of the balance sheet profit (dividend); discharge of the Managing Board and Supervisory Board; appointment of the auditor; elections of Supervisory Board members whose terms are expiring; and, where applicable, capital measures or authorisation to repurchase shares.

Yes. ADR holders may exercise voting rights through their depositary bank. We recommend contacting your depositary or broker well in advance of the AGM for instructions on how to provide voting directions. Relevant deadlines will be communicated through the standard ADR depositary notification process.

An archive of past AGMs including voting results, speeches, and published documents is available in the Annual General Meeting section of the Investor Relations website.