HEIDELBERG

By Susanna Twidale

LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Europe's benchmark carbon prices fell sharply this week to their lowest level since August 2025, sending shares in some power firms and EU industrials down with them.

Here's what you need to know about the European Union's Emissions Trading System (ETS) and what happened.

WHAT IS AN EMISSIONS TRADING SYSTEM?

An ETS sets a cap on the amount of CO2 emissions that a sector, or group of sectors, can produce. The cap decreases each year, to ensure emissions fall over time. The system creates CO2 permits, called EU Allowances (EUAs) for those emissions, which companies must buy for each metric ton of CO2 they emit.

WHO IS COVERED?

The EU's ETS, launched in 2005, covers about 40% of all EU emissions, forcing manufacturers, power plants and airlines flying within Europe to submit EU carbon permits each year for their emissions.

WHY DID THE PRICE FALL

Prices fell around 7% on Thursday after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said late on Wednesday that Europe’s carbon market should be revised or even postponed at a gathering with industry executives.

Other EU leaders backed the idea on Thursday as they met in Belgium for a summit on European competitiveness, some of whom demanded the EU intervene in the carbon market to lower prices.

At around 71 euros/metric ton on Friday, the benchmark EU carbon contract CFI2Zc1 has fallen almost 20% since the beginning of the year.

Some EU lawmakers said the EU should slow the pace at which sectoral emissions caps are reduced. The European Commission also said it is looking to overhaul the support it gives to heavily emitting industries to prevent them moving to areas with lower pollution standards.

Some industries, such as steel and aluminium plants, are already given a free allocation of carbon permits, set using industry benchmarks and decreasing over time.

WHY DID THE CARBON FALL IMPACT COMPANY SHARES?

Carbon costs are embedded into European power prices with gas- and coal-fired power generators paying for each ton of carbon they emit and the cost being added to electricity prices. That means low carbon prices benefit polluters and have an adverse impact on firms with low-emission power generation such as renewable and nuclear power generators.

Shares in offshore wind giant Orsted ORSTED.CO fell almost 4% and Finland’s nuclear power producer Fortum FORTUM.HE fell 6.5% on Thursday.

In addition, shares in cement makers, Heidelberg Materials HEIG.DE and Holcim HOLN.S fell.

Analysts at Berenberg said that carbon regulation has been a positive for the cement sector, leading to efficiencies and higher prices for cement so manufacturers can recover carbon costs.

Firms that need to buy carbon credits often hedge their demand years in advance. Analysts have typically predicted prices would keep rising as the emissions cap is cut. Companies with large hedges of carbon permits could find they have paid more than they needed to for future cover if changes to the system meant prices continued to fall.

WHAT DO BUSINESSES SAY?

Many industry leaders have been vocal about the need to reform carbon pricing to help restore Europe’s competitiveness.

Jim Ratcliffe, founder of European chemicals giant Ineos, said this week the bloc's chemicals industry will not survive without lower power and carbon costs and called on the EU to suspend carbon levies for five years.

Other firms, such as utilities, argue that changing regulations could undermine investment in clean power technology. Emissions trading industry group IETA said long-term investment decisions depend on a credible and resilient regulatory framework and warned against increased political intervention in the market.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The EU is already planning to review the ETS, with a proposal due in Q3. That review was planned to redesign the system to comply with the bloc's 2040 climate target rather than making short-term interventions to limit prices, but fierce lobbying on all sides is expected in the run-up to the discussions.

(Reporting By Susanna Twidale;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

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Feb 6 (Reuters) - Heidelbergcement India Ltd HEID.NS:

• HEIDELBERGCEMENT INDIA DEC-QUARTER NET PROFIT 156 MILLION RUPEES

• HEIDELBERGCEMENT INDIA DEC-QUARTER REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 5.74 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nNSE67Wnnh

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Dec 29 (Reuters) - Heidelbergcement India Ltd HEID.NS:

• RECEIVES TAX DEMAND, PENALTY ORDERS FOR 520.7 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE8WqD9z

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July 29 (Reuters) - Heidelbergcement India Ltd HEID.NS:

• HEIDELBERGCEMENT INDIA LTD JUNE-QUARTER NET PROFIT 482.3 MILLION RUPEES

• HEIDELBERGCEMENT INDIA LTD JUNE-QUARTER REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 5.98 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: [ID:]

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Jan 30 (Reuters) - Heidelbergcement India Ltd HEID.NS:

• HEIDELBERGCEMENT INDIA DEC-QUARTER NET PROFIT 51.9 MILLION RUPEES

• HEIDELBERGCEMENT INDIA DEC-QUARTER REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 5.43 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nnAPN2LP205

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Updates with Heidelberg's response in paragraph 7, share move in paragraph 12

Jan 27 (Reuters) - UltraTech Cement ULTC.NS, India's top cement producer by capacity, is in advanced talks with German firm Heidelberg HEIG.DE to acquire its Indian unit, Moneycontrol reported on Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Executives from the Aditya Birla Group, UltraTech's parent, met Heidelberg management to discuss the acquisition of HeidelbergCement India HEID.NS, the report said, without specifying the value of the deal.

The German parent's 69% stake in its local arm was valued at around 33.8 billion rupees ($391.08 million) as of Friday's close.

The talks come months after newspaper Economic Times reported that UltraTech's rival Adani Group was in talks to buy the German parent's stake.

It was not immediately clear if the talks with Adani fell through. Moneycontrol's report did not specify the status of Adani Group's talks.

Besides the two majors, Heidelberg had also drawn interest from IPO-bound JSW Cement, multiple media outlets reported last year.

Heidelberg said in an emailed response that it does not comment on market rumours.

UltraTech, HeidelbergCement India and the Adani Group did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

UltraTech and the Adani Group - which entered the sector in 2022 by buying the cement assets of Swiss firm Holcim HOLN.S - are engaged in a turf war to expand capacities and shore up market share, with cement demand expected to remain healthy, according to analysts.

In July, Heidelberg CEO Dominik von Achten said the group's market position in India was "not perfect yet" and it was looking at all options.

The company, which entered India in 2006 with a series of domestic acquisitions, now has four plants with an annual capacity of 12.6 million tonnes, according to its website.

HeidelbergCement India's shares traded 6% higher following the report. It is due to report quarterly results later this week.

UltraTech reported an upbeat third-quarter results last week.

($1 = 86.4275 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Chris Thomas and Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

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Oct 28 (Reuters) - Heidelbergcement India Ltd HEID.NS:

• HEIDELBERGCEMENT INDIA SEPT-QUARTER NET PROFIT 112.1 MILLION RUPEES

• HEIDELBERGCEMENT INDIA SEPT-QUARTER REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 4.61 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nNSE6w0NVp

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Updates with response from HeidelbergCement India, closing share levels in paragraph 4

BENGALURU, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The Adani Group is in talks to buy the Indian cement operations of Germany's Heidelberg Materials HEIG.DE in a deal that could be worth about $1.2 billion, the Economic Times newspaper said on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Led by billionaire Gautam Adani, the group entered India's cement industry in 2022 by buying Holcim's HOLN.S local units and has made a string of acquisitions since, as it jostles for market share with top producer UltraTech Cement ULTC.NS.

The Adani Group did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

HeidelbergCement India HEID.NS said in an exchange filing that "the company is unaware about any such development". Its shares closed 4% higher after jumping as much as 18% earlier in the day.

Heidelberg Materials declined to comment. Its shares were also set to open 1.2% higher in pre-market trade in Frankfurt.

In July, Chief Executive Dominik von Achten said the group's market position in India was "not perfect yet" and it was looking at all options, adding that the market faced a trend of consolidation.

Dealmaking has intensified in India's cement industry since Adani's foray, as government spending has boosted demand from housing and infrastructure.

The Adani Group would drop out of the race if it drew in other contenders, the Economic Times cited one of its sources as saying.

Last year, the Hindu BusinessLine reported that UltraTech and IPO-bound JSW Cement were also in the race for HeidelbergCement India.

Heidelberg Materials, which entered India in 2006 with a series of domestic acquisitions, now has four plants with an annual capacity of 12.6 million tonnes, it says on its website.

Increased competition over the last few quarters has cut into market share in its mainstay central India market.

HeidelbergCement India posted its first profit drop in five quarters in the three months to June as sales volume declined and a price cut weighed.

($1=83.9580 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Chris Thomas, Nandan Mandayam and Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Clarence Fernandez)

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Jan 31 (Reuters) - Heidelbergcement India Ltd HEID.NS:

• HEIDELBERGCEMENT INDIA LTD DEC-QUARTER NET PROFIT 314.7 MILLION RUPEES VERSUS 55.8 MILLION RUPEES

• HEIDELBERGCEMENT INDIA LTD DEC-QUARTER REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 6.07 BILLION RUPEES VERSUS 5.40 BILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE52NlJq

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** Shares of HeidelbergCement India HEID.NS up as much as 2.58% at 192.7 rupees

** The building materials co said its net profit for the Sept qtr rose more than five-folds to 358 million rupees ($4.30 million)

** Rev from ops rose nearly 12% to 5.66 billion rupees

** Analysts' average rating is equivalent of "buy", their median PT is 178.5 rupees - LSEG data

** About 1.4 mln shares change hands as of 1:14 p.m. IST, 2.9 times the 30-day average

** Shares last up 1.8%, they gained 4% in Sept qtr

($1 = 83.2025 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru)

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Oct 3 (Reuters) - Heidelbergcement India Ltd HEID.NS:

• UNAWARE ABOUT DEVELOPMENT ON REPORT 'JSW IN INITIAL TALKS TO CEMENT DEAL WITH HEIDELBERG MATERIALS FOR ITS INDIA BUSINESS'

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE523n9n

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July 18 (Reuters) - Heidelbergcement India Ltd HEID.NS:

• HEIDELBERGCEMENT INDIA JUNE-QUARTER NET PROFIT 523.2 MILLION RUPEES VERSUS 516.1 MILLION RUPEES

• HEIDELBERGCEMENT INDIA JUNE-QTR REV FROM OPS 5.96 BLN RUPEES VS 5.9 BLN RUPEES

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May 29 (Reuters) - Heidelbergcement India Ltd HEID.NS:

• DIVIDEND OF 5 RUPEES PER SHARE

• MARCH-QUARTER NET PROFIT 349.7 MILLION RUPEES VERSUS 963.1 MILLION RUPEES

• MARCH-QUARTER REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 6.02 BILLION RUPEES VERSUS 6.20 BILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE3v6pts

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