Heidelbergcement reported a good set of preliminary results, with EBITDA up 6% lfl, accompanied by a 12% increase in the EBIT. Net income at €1,759m came as a positive surprise to us (vs €1,382m estimated), the difference arising mainly from the additional ordinary result amounting to €481m. The company has guided for a strong increase in lfl sales with slight increase in operating EBITDA, capex of less than €1.2bn, ROIC of about 9% and leverage between 1.5x and 2x.
