Holcim Ltd

Holcim reported H1 organic net sales growth of 5.2% and H1 organic recurring EBIT growth of 11.5%; Q2 organic net sales growth was 6.4% and Q2 organic recurring EBIT growth was 13.1%. EPS was up 7.4% in Swiss francs year over year. Management said the group margin for Q2 was flat versus a year ago, mainly due to divestments, while the full-year target is further margin expansion. Free cash flow is guided to around CHF 2 billion for 2026, and leverage is expected to be around 1.6x by year-end. Full-year guidance was upgraded to the high end of the company’s 2030 targets: 5% organic net sales growth and 10% organic recurring EBIT growth.

Miljan Gutovic struck an upbeat tone, repeatedly calling the first half strong and saying momentum accelerated in Q2. He framed the quarter as proof that Holcim’s model is resilient, driven by sustainable products, decarbonization, circular construction, and value-accretive M&A. He also emphasized that Europe, LatAm, and AMEA are all performing well in different ways, and he said the company is comfortable upgrading guidance because July trends are good and H2 should remain strong.

Steffen Kindler focused on the quality of growth, pointing to positive price over cost in all regions for the 17th straight quarter and saying Q2 price over cost was around EUR 90 million. He noted foreign exchange headwinds softened in Q2, with the translation effect on sales easing to 1.5% from 5.5% in Q1, and said the full-year free cash flow target of around CHF 2 billion remains on track despite CapEx phasing and seasonal working-capital usage. He also said leverage should be back to around 1.6x by year-end, even after acquisitions and the usual bolt-on run rate of around CHF 0.5 billion, and reiterated the corporate cost trajectory from a bit more than 3% of sales toward 2% by end-2026 / into 2027.

Analysts pressed on European pricing, ETS changes, regional volume trends, margin sustainability, and balance-sheet capacity for more deals. Management said the EU ETS reforms look positive for Holcim, potentially opening opportunities in decarbonization banking, carbon markets, and carbon capture utilization, and said current pricing is roughly mid-single digits with pockets of further upside but nothing major. On Europe, they said infrastructure backlog is healthy, the U.K. was the soft spot in H1, and they expect better momentum later in Q3; on LatAm, the softer Q2 was attributed to country mix, especially weaker Argentina and election-related impacts in Colombia. They also said the balance sheet leaves room for additional value-accretive M&A, while Xella and Pacasmayo are expected to contribute despite some near-term integration drag.