Serbia's Cement Makers Post Lower Profits, Holcim Leads

All three cement producers operating in Serbia, Moravacem from Popovac, Titan Cementara Kosjeric and Holcim Srbija, closed 2025 with lower net profit than a year earlier, even though each of them added workers and raised average pay. The figures come from the first review of the cement industry’s annual accounts for last year, published on August 29 by Biznis.rs and citing the credit rating agency CompanyWall. It is the first look at these three companies’ financial performance that we are publishing.

The drop in profit has a similar cause at all three firms: revenue either slipped slightly or held flat compared with 2024, while labor costs climbed on the back of larger headcounts and higher wages. Moravacem and Titan belong to the Greek group Titan Cement Group, while Holcim Srbija is part of the Swiss Holcim Group, so the profitability decline at all three mirrors trends across the European cement market, which, according to the European Cement Association’s 2025 report, is only now stabilizing after a multi-year slump, amid rising imports and pressure on energy prices.

Moravacem: revenue down 10%, profit down 7%

The Popovac plant recorded the steepest revenue drop of the three companies. Total revenue came to 13.6 billion dinars (about 116 million euros), 10% less than in 2024. Net profit fell by roughly 7%, to 3.7 billion dinars (about 31.5 million euros). The company managed to cushion part of the loss by cutting expenses, even as accounts receivable from sales grew 13%. According to CompanyWall, Moravacem currently employs 292 workers.

Titan Kosjeric: costs outpace revenue

Titan Cementara Kosjeric posted total revenue of 8.961 billion dinars (about 76.4 million euros) in 2025, down from 9.372 billion dinars (about 79.9 million euros) a year earlier. Biznis.rs calculates that gap as a 5% decline, while the same annual account figures on CompanyWall put the drop at around 4.4%.

Net profit fell from 2.974 billion to 2.490 billion dinars (about 21.2 million euros), a drop of almost half a billion dinars, or 16%. Operating profit, measured as EBITDA, stood at about 3.2 billion dinars (about 27.3 million euros), per CompanyWall. Headcount grew from 188 to 200, and the average gross salary rose from 332,039.45 to 351,503.75 dinars (about 3,000 euros a month). Accounts receivable from sales jumped 80%, to around 250 million dinars (about 2.1 million euros).

The company holds a credit rating of AA+, with CompanyWall assessing it as having “an excellent ability to meet financial obligations and very low credit risk.” Its owner is the Dutch company Titan Cement Netherlands B.V., part of the Greek Titan Cement Group.

The Kosjeric plant has spent almost 15 years trying to secure a permit to use alternative fuels, one that Holcim and Moravacem obtained long ago and that gives them lower costs and a smaller carbon footprint. Slow-moving and obstructive regulatory and local authorities have kept the permit out of reach, and for now the Kosjeric plant’s general director, Miroslav Gligorijevic, is counting on strong regional demand:

Thanks to the intense construction cycle in the country and the region, and cement consumption that is currently at its peak, the Kosjeric plant is for now managing to keep pace with its two larger competitors.

If the construction cycle slows, the missing permit could push up the Kosjeric plant’s production costs relative to its rivals even further.

Holcim: steady revenue, a 110 million euro investment

The largest of the three cement makers was the only one to hold revenue at its 2024 level. Its net profit fell just 1%, to 5.4 billion dinars (about 46 million euros), even as accounts receivable from sales rose 31%. The company employs 277 people, whose average salary is 456,178 dinars (about 3,890 euros a month), roughly 30% higher than at the other two cement makers.

During 2025, Holcim formally completed its rebrand from Lafarge and launched a 110 million euro investment cycle in a green cement plant near Obrenovac. Despite having fewer employees than Moravacem, Holcim posted a higher net profit, which currently makes it the most efficient of the three cement producers operating in Serbia.

Comparing all three companies points to a broader pattern: rising wages and growing receivables from customers are eating into margins even at firms whose revenue is flat or slightly down, while Europe’s cement market, according to the European producers’ association report, remains under pressure from imports and high energy prices. The next signal will come with first-half 2026 results, which will show whether Holcim’s investment push keeps weighing on its margin, while the Kosjeric plant continues its wait for the permit that would level its costs with its competitors.