The stock market plunge after the quarterly results did not go unnoticed within the Caltagirone group. Thus, while the market punished Cementir with a drop of over 9%, an immediate signal of support came from the family holding. The mover was Chupas 2007, the financial holding led by Francesco Caltagirone Jr (pictured on the right), chairman and CEO of Cementir, who purchased 50,000 shares of the group for approximately 719 thousand euros. This operation emerged from an internal dealing and occurred precisely on the day of the stock’s collapse, following the market’s harsh reaction to the first quarter results.
RESULTS SLOWDOWN FOR CEMENTIR: MARGINS AND PROFITS PLUNGE
Last Friday Cementir, a company headquartered in the Netherlands but listed on the Milan Stock Exchange and part of the Caltagirone group, closed with a decline between 9.3% and 9.4%, ranking among the worst performers of the Milan session (although today it is recovering, up +1.89%). The company, present in 18 countries, is one of the main international operators in white cement and building materials. The trigger for the sell-off in the last weekly session were the first quarter 2026 figures, which show a sharp operational slowdown and a strong drop in profitability.
In the first three months of 2026 Cementir recorded revenues of 345.9 million euros, down 6% compared to 368.1 million in the same period last year. Net of hyperinflation effects and some accounting items related to Turkey, revenues stand at 344.1 million, with a decline of 7.1%.
The contraction in profitability is much more marked. The gross operating margin fell to 38.8 million euros compared to 66.4 million in the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of 41.6%. On a non-GAAP basis, EBITDA stood at 41.4 million, down 40.6%.
The pre-tax result also shows a sharp slowdown: 7.4 million versus 30.3 million a year ago, a collapse of 75.7%. Even on adjusted data, the pre-tax result falls to 14.8 million, with a decrease of 62.7%.
THE WEIGHT OF WINTER AND TURKEY’S SLOWDOWN
Cementir attributes the slowdown mainly to weather conditions and maintenance interventions. “The first quarter of 2026 was affected by the harshest winter in the last 20 years in Europe and Turkey and a different scheduling of maintenance, which significantly impacted volumes and profitability,” explained Francesco Caltagirone Jr.
The particularly adverse weather conditions mainly affected the Nordic & Baltic regions and Turkey, areas that alone accounted for about 25 million of the EBITDA reduction. In Turkey, moreover, the group also has to deal with the progressive exhaustion of the boost from post-earthquake reconstruction, while in the Nordic countries and Belgium the postponement of some infrastructure projects and the slowdown in demand also weighed.
The volumes sold of cement and clinker decreased by 3.3%, standing at about 2.2 million tons. The drop in concrete was even more severe, down 23.7% to about 0.8 million cubic meters.
The exchange rate effect also weighed on results: the depreciation of the Turkish lira and the dollar against the euro had a negative impact on revenues of over 21 million euros.
GUIDANCE REMAINS CONFIRMED
Despite the weak quarter, Cementir confirmed its targets for the full year. “In March there was a recovery in volumes in some regions. In a complex and uncertain macroeconomic and geopolitical context and awaiting greater visibility for the coming months, we believe we can confirm the guidance for the year,” explained Caltagirone Jr.
For 2026, therefore, the group continues to forecast consolidated revenues of about 1.7 billion euros and a gross operating margin between 400 and 420 million.
NET CASH RISES ABOVE 300 MILLION
While the market focused mainly on the decline in profitability, the results also show a strengthening of the group’s financial position.
As of March 31, 2026, Cementir’s net cash amounted to 303.7 million euros, up 160.5 million compared to 143.2 million recorded a year earlier.
During the quarter, the group also made investments of about 53.1 million euros, compared to 31.6 million in the same period of 2025.
THE NEXT MOVES BETWEEN DECARBONIZATION AND ACCSION
Among the main strategic fronts remains sustainability and emission reduction. Cementir has prepared an investment plan of 77 million euros for the 2026-2028 period dedicated to green projects and production decarbonization.
One of the main projects is Accsion, developed by the Danish subsidiary Aalborg Portland and focused on CO2 capture, transport, and storage. In the days following the quarter’s close, the Danish Energy Agency notified the company of the positive outcome of the public subsidy award process for the initiative.
The final contract signing is expected during the second quarter of 2026.
