Titan Cement International says it saw a "solid" performance in the first half of the year, with the US and Europe driving growth in sales and earnings.
The cement manufacturer says that 2023 sales reached €1,229m in H1, up 18.7% YoY (year-on-year) as a result of solid levels of domestic demand across its main markets and products, along with firm pricing dynamics.
EBITDA increased to €241.2m (+77% YoY) thanks to sales growth and cost performance improvements. Net profit more than doubled to €110.9m following the EBITDA rise.
Sales in Q2 2023 were €641m, up by 10.3% compared to Q2 2022 while EBITDA also grew to €134.0m (+49.2%) vs Q2 2022. Strong domestic demand primarily in the US and Greece, with South Eastern Europe also up, translated to higher sales volumes and supported the price increases realized in 2022/early 2023.
Growth investments completed in Greece and US and large-scale carbon capture project at Titan’s Kamari plant near Athens selected by the EU Innovation Fund for grant agreement. Upon completion mid-term it will produce 3m tons/year of zero carbon cement.
Titan reduced specific CO2 emissions by around 3% in H1 this year compared to H2 2022 while a €26m alternative fuels investment was successfully completed.
Real-Time Optimisers (RTOs) are operational in 20 of the group’s assets and machine-learning-based failure prediction systems were rolled out in three additional plants with improvements in productivity and reliability.
Titan says there is a positive outlook for the rest of the year, with solid orderbooks, resilient pricing offsetting cost increases and additional performance improvement expected, as more investments come on stream.
With two very strong quarters in 2023, the group says its consolidated sales for H1 2023 surpassed the €1.2bn level, reaching €1,229m, increased by 18.7% versus the first half of 2022. This strong top-line performance was achieved thanks to increased domestic demand levels across our products in our main markets.
Price increases implemented in 2022 across regions, coupled with price increases in selective markets at the beginning of 2023 – targeted to mitigate the continuously high inflation level and restore margins- supported the positive revenue trajectory.
Marcel Cobuz, chairman of of Titan Group’s executive committee, commented: “An excellent first half of the year with strong pricing over costs and increased percentage of low carbon sales reaching 25% in infrastructure and building projects across the group. We are well on track for a record year of growth and an accelerated roadmap of decarbonisation and digitalisation.”
