Heidelberg Materials beats Q1 expectations on strong Africa business

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Heidelberg Materials, the world's second-biggest cement maker, on Thursday reported forecast-beating first-quarter sales and profits and confirmed its outlook, citing strong growth in Africa.

The company's first-quarter result from current operations (RCO) rose by 1.3% to 235 million euros ($266 million), beating the 207 million average forecast in a poll provided by the group.

"Despite the political and economic uncertainties as well as difficult weather conditions in some regions, we got off to a very good start to the 2025 financial year," CEO Dominik von Achten said.

Larger peer Holcim late last month also cited strong business in North Africa as one of the drivers behind better-than-expected first-quarter profits.

Heidelberg Materials said it still expects RCO in 2025 of 3.25 billion to 3.55 billion euros, compared with a 3.44 billion consensus estimate.

The company's RCO in North America, a region that accounted for more than a fifth of the group's first-quarter sales, was down by nearly two thirds, it said.

($1 = 0.8830 euros)

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz, editing by Thomas Seythal)