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LONDON - European lime and minerals group SigmaRoc PLC (AIM:SRC) reported a 21.2% increase in underlying EBITDA to £117.8 million for the first half of 2025, despite challenging market conditions in the construction and steel sectors.
The company posted a 13.4% rise in revenue to £510.3 million compared to the same period last year, while underlying EBITDA margins improved by 150 basis points to 23.1%, according to its interim results statement released Monday.
Underlying earnings per share reached 4.66p, up 51.8% from 3.07p in the first half of 2024, marking a record for the group. Free cash flow conversion improved to 52.5%, up 640 basis points year-on-year.
On a proforma basis, which includes all continuing operations for both periods, revenue decreased by 1.1% due to volume reductions, while underlying EBITDA increased by 1.6%.
The company reported that core volumes were approximately 3% lower due to softness in construction and steel markets, along with temporary external factors such as customer maintenance shutdowns. Planned synergy initiatives further reduced volumes by about 6%.
SigmaRoc delivered £13 million in synergies during the period through commercial and operational initiatives, including a 6% headcount reduction in its Central region.
The company’s net debt decreased by 6.4% to £498.4 million, with covenant leverage at 2.04x, down from 2.57x a year earlier.
CEO Max Vermorken stated that the group expects the second half of 2025 to have similar underlying market conditions as the first half, with no improvement anticipated before year-end. However, he noted that synergies for 2025 are expected to exceed previous guidance, with at least £21 million projected for the full year.
The company maintained its full-year guidance in line with analyst consensus expectations of £1,072 million in revenue and £251 million in underlying EBITDA.
SigmaRoc also highlighted potential future catalysts, including the confirmed German infrastructure stimulus expected to impact German infrastructure spending by approximately 20%. Germany represents around 25% of the company’s revenue.
Based on a press release statement, the company has 2.7 billion tonnes of high-quality resources essential to Europe’s construction, industrial and environmental markets.
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