LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - SigmaRoc said in an update on Monday that it expects to report full-year 2024 earnings and earnings per share modestly ahead of market consensus, driven by its expansion into the European lime and minerals market.
The AIM-traded firm said revenue for the year was projected to rise 72% year-on-year to about £998m, reflecting contributions from acquisitions, while underlying EBITDA was expected to exceed £222m, up 90% from 2023.

Underlying EBITDA margins improved to 22.3%, and underlying earnings per share were anticipated to be around 8.3p, 10% ahead of market expectations.

The group noted the completed acquisition of lime and limestone assets from CRH during the year, doubling its size.

Integration was largely complete, with restructuring and cost-saving measures in Germany, the Nordics and Belgium contributing to a synergy programme expected to deliver at least €35m in savings, with a target of €60m by 2027.

In line with its portfolio rationalisation strategy, SigmaRoc also disposed of non-core Belgian and French ready-mix concrete plants for up to €49.5m, achieving a disposal multiple above seven times EBITDA.

Trading in the second half of 2024 remained resilient despite challenging market conditions, supported by the group's diversified business model.

While infrastructure and industrial mineral markets performed well, residential construction remained soft, and steel markets were impacted by economic headwinds.

SigmaRoc said it was maintaining its outlook for 2025, with expectations of continued leverage reduction and a focus on cost discipline and synergy realisation.

The company said it remained confident in its ability to strengthen its position as a leading European lime and minerals group.

"2024 was a transformational year for SigmaRoc - we completed the acquisition of CRH's lime assets, securing our position as one of Europe's leading lime and limestone businesses," said chief executive officer Max Vermorken.

"We have delivered good results despite the challenging backdrop, and we are well positioned for 2025.

"We have made the first steps on our divestment programme of non-core assets with the disposal of the Belgian ready-mix plants, with completion of the smaller French plants and earnout to follow."

Vermorken said that during the year, the company welcomed a new chief financial officer in, Jan van Beek, and also appointed two experienced independent non-executive directors to the board - Francesca Medda and Peter Johnson.

"Our business has been refocused on lime and limestone, and I am confident we are well positioned for future growth.

"Lime is an essential product for life that plays a critical role in several trends that impact our society, from decarbonisation to sustainable construction, to environmental protection and the electrification of the economy.

"Overall, we expect to report 2024 results modestly ahead of expectations and, despite the challenging backdrop, are well positioned to continue our growth in 2025 as a larger and more focused group."

At 1121 GMT, shares in SigmaRoc were down 0.82% at 72.4p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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