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Earnings Call: Q3 2024

Nov 7, 2024

Marcel Cobuz
CEO, Titan Cement

Cost performance, which Michael will go more into details. These results are very well in line with our Strategy 2026 targets. If you remember, we remain committed first to strengthen our positions in the US and Europe, where we have a very healthy exposure to all construction segments, including infrastructure in the US, data centers, as well as residential in some of the European markets, where we have completed to date other four bolt-ons for this year, including aggregate expansion projects. A second pillar, a second commitment as part of the Strategy 2026, is to keep developing our capabilities into supplementary cementitious materials and get a faster time to market of new products as we are building our capabilities of market-facing organization. Here, happy to report that we are making progress in securing, trading, and using additional supplementary cementitious material in all our product portfolio.

The third one, to accelerate the implementation of low-carbon fuels technologies, embrace new carbon capture and storage technologies. I'm very happy to report here that we are making progress on the project, the IFESTOS project near Athens, as we have recently signed the engineering agreement with Polysius. We are building, again, capabilities of more than 20 people working on this project, as well as digital technologies. Today, we will not make a specific zoom, but know that we are progressing very fast with more than 200 people, operational experts in digital rollouts, be it for manufacturing or logistics. As of today, we have 50 dedicated digital and data analysts working in Titan. We are on track with our project of listing US and preparing the IPO of US business.

Michael will go into more details, and we are at your disposal to answer questions, although we are going through a highly regulated phase as of now. Looking at the results after the end of the quarter, we see a strong backlog in key markets. We see positive dynamics on demand and pricing, which makes us confident for a positive outlook to the year. I will finish by saying that the Titan team is mobilized for another excellent year. The level of engagement of our teams everywhere we operate has been recently measured by our internal engagement survey, and it has record high engagement and enablement. It's also thanks to our refreshed values and purpose, which are cascaded down throughout the organization, but also the new families of brands which we have recently launched, Titan Edge and Titan Premier, which act as a catalyst for our transformation.

With this, I pass the floor to you, Michael, for more details on the financial performance, and then we will open up for Q&A.

Michael Colakides
CFO, Titan Cement

Thank you, Marcel. Good morning and good afternoon to everybody from me as well. Following on from what has been covered by Marcel, I'm very happy to walk you through the financial results for the first nine months, which present another robust performance achieved by the group. Year to date, group sales increased 4.9%, reaching just under EUR 2 billion, recording growth across all the regions we operate. This top-line growth was achieved thanks to higher volumes in all the main products and to an overall improved pricing environment. EBITDA grew to EUR 455 million, up 14.6% year-on-year on a like-for-like basis, with margins strengthening thanks to improved operating efficiencies, improved energy mix, and softer energy fuel costs.

At this point, and as you can see in the footnote of the first slide, let me clarify that the commentary on EBITDA and not profit is on a like-for-like adjusted basis, which is after year-to-date adjustments of EUR 18 million for non-recurring one-off costs related to the preparation of the US IPO and early retirement program in Greece. I will be referring to the adjustment figures in my commentary as they depict better the evolution of the core business and comparing apples to apples compared to last year. Of course, for your convenience, both adjusted and reported figures can be found on our slides.

In Q3, group EBITDA grew by 5% on a like-for-like basis, closing at EUR 164 million, supported by the strong contribution of Titan America, which in Q3 managed to increase both in sales and EBITDA by 2% and 10% respectively, like-for-like, despite the adverse weather conditions in the US eastern coast. Net profit after tax for the group grew by 20% to EUR 238 million, while earnings per share for the nine months reached EUR 3.19. Group leverage ratio at the end of September closed at 1.1 x EBITDA. And in August, S&P revised Titan's credit rating to BB plus, same level as Fitch, while in September, Titan Group launched a sustainability-linked financing framework. CapEx continues at high levels at EUR 181 million, which have been deployed this year, targeting improvements in the energy mix performance, in the expansion of quarry reserves, in logistic capabilities, and increased storage capacity.

The execution of the Titan Green Growth Strategy 2026 is well on track, as Marcel commented before. Committed to the strategy, the IFESTOS project engineering study has been commissioned. Moreover, since the beginning of the year, the group has agreed to terms on bolt-on acquisitions for three aggregate quarries, one clay quarry, and one ready-mix unit in the US and in Europe. Now, as far as the process towards the listing of our US operations on a New York Stock Exchange, as we have explained, we are bound by the regulatory framework on what we can publicly disclose. At this point, what we can confirm is that we are progressing according to plan, as announced back in May, and that significant steps have been completed so far. We therefore stick to our initial plan and aim to go to the market in Q1 of 2025.

Now, turning to the next slide, on top, you can see the graph of the nine- month results, which I just commented on. You can see that EBITDA and net profit after tax is growing. Group profitability margin expanded to 22.9% year-to-date, thanks to the tangible operating efficiencies and against inflation that is still affecting increased logistics, labor, and raw material costs. During Q3, looking at the charts at the bottom of the slide, the group continued on its robust trajectory, with sales reaching EUR 662 million at the same levels as those of last year. This performance came as a result of sustained volumes and disciplined pricing, with the US and Greece increasing sales for another quarter, despite the serious disruptions caused by the bad weather in the US EBITDA for the quarter closed at EUR 163.7 million, or 5.3% up on a like-for-like basis.

Now, looking at the next slide, we highlight the 12-month rolling performance on sales, EBITDA, and net profit after tax, again on a like-for-like basis, and also capturing the continuous growth performance trend for over two years. The last 12-month sales sum up to EUR 2.640 million, a growth rate of 5%, while EBITDA growth is 21% up, close to just under EUR 600 million. Net profit after tax is even higher, a growth of 40%, crossing the EUR 300 million threshold. At the bottom of the table, we show the quarterly evolution of the 12-month rolling adjusted EBITDA, which has been on a continuously upward trend for 10 quarters since the Q2 of 2022. Now, in the coming slide, there is a more detailed view of the P&L, which indicates the year-to-date sales growth has outpaced cost of goods sold, and our EBITDA growth was 15%.

Lower fuel costs contributed to this improvement, benefiting from lower energy consumption, higher use of alternative fuels, and lower fuel nominal costs. The increase in SG&A includes the EUR 18 million of one-offs, of which EUR 8 million were expensed during Q3, as I mentioned before. Finance costs declined, and despite higher taxes due to higher sales, net profit after tax increased by 20%, resulting in the EUR 3.20 earnings per share. A comment on the next slide on the evolution of critical cost factors. You can see here that so far this year, and after some sharp increases in the volatile period since 2022, we are now witnessing relative stability at levels close to those of 2021. The outlook for critical cost factors for the remainder of the year appears to be stable.

Turning to our sales volumes, the positive dynamics of demand in our markets have been mirrored across all product lines, recording volume growth across all main products. Domestic cement volume grew by 3% year-to-date, year-on-year, while higher cement and clinker exports were also achieved. Higher growth trends were recorded in our downstream products, with ready-mix volumes increasing by 7% and those of aggregates by 8%. Similar pattern was experienced during the nine-month period, as well as in Q3. Now, moving to our cash flow, as you can see from the arrow at the center of the slide, the robust year-to-date EBITDA performance of EUR 437 million resulted in a strong operating free cash flow of EUR 186 million, despite increased capital expenditure investments.

Year-to-date, we have also invested in bolt-on acquisitions, have paid more in taxes, and have distributed more in an increased dividend payout and buybacks of own shares, again more than last year. Regarding debt, the debt has increased by EUR 10 million since December, but stands at EUR 93 million lower than September of 2023. Taking a look at our capital expenditure projects and the spending year-to-date, group CapEx hiked at EUR 181 million, fueled by investments optimizing the group cement plant's capacity and productivity across the US and Europe, the expansion of alternative fuels usage in all operations, which in Q3 exceeded the 22.4% mark.

Further progress was also made with the finalization of some key strategic investments, including, among others, the value-accretive acquisitions of quarries in the US and Greece for the extension of aggregate reserves, including supplementary cementitious materials, as well as the installation of new ready-mix units in Greece and in the US, offering a foothold in more locations. And a couple of words on our debt picture. Group net debt at the end of Q3 closed at EUR 670 million, down by EUR 95 million compared to September 2023. The continuous improvement in group net debt levels, coupled with the achieved profitability, is reflected in the group's steady deleveraging, closing Q3 with a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 1.12 x. Now, as you can see in the graph on the right-hand side, the group's next bond maturity is approaching.

The EUR 350 million bond will be repaid on November 18th, using the group's own liquidity reserves and bank lines. In August, S&P ratings upgraded Titan's long-term issuer credit rating by one notch to BB plus, reflecting the solid operating performance of the group. And this puts us on par with a credit rating of BB plus, which we received from Fitch many months ago. Now, some words on the regional performance in the various geographies. Now, moving to the review, starting with the biggest market, the US, where Titan America has delivered another strong performance year-to-date. Sales grew by 4.5%, stretching to $1.25 billion. For another quarter, Titan America achieved a solid quarter performance thanks to the effectiveness of our vertically integrated business model, providing strategic flexibility and omnichannel access to end users, and against adverse weather conditions, including hurricanes Debby and Helene.

Cement prices remained stable, and prices for other product lines have increased. Nine-month EBITDA grew by 20%, reaching $283 million on a like-for-like basis, adjusted for $14 million of one-off costs related to the US IPO preparation. Profitability margins strengthened, assisted by efficiency gains, supply chain and logistics improvements, as well as thanks to the lower cost of imported cement and softer energy costs. Sales of Titan America in Q3 recorded year-on-year growth of 3% to EUR 414 million, and profitability marked a new rise, EBITDA growing by 10% on a like-for-like basis to $100 million, even though operations were significantly affected by hurricanes and bad weather that persisted throughout most of Q3. Demand was driven by public infrastructure and industrial investments related to reshoring activities.

During the quarter, the group finalized the acquisition of a sand and clay reserve quarry, providing valuable input to be utilized in the first-of-its-kind calcined clay production line being developed at the Virginia plant, with the support of a $62 million grant from the US Department of Energy. Moving now to Greece, total sales in the first nine months grew by 8.4%, reaching EUR 324 million. Domestic volume sales grew by double digits in cement, ready-mix, and aggregates. Cement pricing remained firm, with price increases realized in the downstream segments of ready-mix aggregates and mortars. Nine-month EBITDA reached EUR 49.7 million on a like-for-like basis, adjusted for non-recurring costs, compared to EUR 52 million last year, as the regional profitability was impacted by the lower intragroup export prices, which had to be adjusted, reflecting international market prices.

In Greece, demand has been driven by the residential segment, as well as the infrastructure, which also picked up speed amid the seasonal slowdown of tourist-related investments. Large public and private projects advanced across the Greek mainland. To meet the increased demand, the group established two more ready-mix concrete units during the quarter, one to support the project pipeline in the Peloponnese, and another exclusively for the Ellinikon project in Athens, Europe's largest urban development project. Also, on the production side, thermal substitution rates in the Kamari plant in Athens continue to increase, aiming to reach the target levels of 70% by early next year. Turning now to Southeast Europe, nine-month sales increased by 3.9% year-on-year, reaching EUR 327 million, backed by strong regional market demand and overall price stability. EBITDA reached EUR 128 million, growing by 19%, with strengthened margins assisted by lower energy costs and improved operating efficiencies.

The region experienced a slight slowdown in Q3, following a very strong performance in the first half of 2024 and against a record high Q3 in 2023. This slowdown varied across different markets and can be attributed to some reduced flow of remittances into the region, highlighting the closer interdependence of these economies with larger Western European economies, as well as being affected by higher interest rates and delays in some infrastructure projects. Our recent investments in the renewable energy sources and alternative fuels continue to improve the group's cost structure. Indicatively, in Bulgaria, thermal substitution levels have reached levels of approximately 50%. Now, turning to the Eastern Mediterranean, a region that continues to be penalized by challenging macroeconomic conditions.

Sales year-to-date in the region reached EUR 182 million, up by 4.8% year-on-year in euro terms, which would have been 50% if measured in local currencies, supported by growth in domestic cement volumes and by increased cement exports from Egypt. EBITDA reached EUR 14.3 million, down by 21%, having been impacted by the devaluations of both local currencies. In Egypt, while cement consumption remained stable, prices in local currency have recorded increases, indicating a shift towards a more rational approach to safeguarding the sector's financial health after the recent shocks from high inflation and currency devaluation. The group continues to increase the use of alternative fuels and also to maximize its cement export capabilities. In Turkey, demand is driven by earthquake reconstruction efforts, which continue to draw a significant portion of domestic cement production. The remaining consumption is directed towards rehabilitating existing building stock against future disasters.

The plant sales were softer compared to Q3 of 2023 due to decreased exports this year. Prices continue to follow inflation, while our new biomass unit allows us to keep alternative fuel utilization rates above 30%, and a couple of words on Brazil, as I remember, as a reminder, we consolidated figures on an equity basis. Domestic cement consumption in the country increased by 4% year-on-year, supported by government housing and infrastructure projects, while in the Northeast, where our joint venture, Apodi, operates, demand increased by 6.4% versus last year. Apodi managed to increase its sales volume since the beginning of the year. However, due to competitive pressures, selling prices declined. Apodi posted sales of EUR 86.4 million compared to EUR 96.9 million last year. Nevertheless, thanks to the lower energy costs, EBITDA increased by 18% to EUR 18.1 million compared to EUR 15.4 million last year.

This completes my presentation of the quarterly performance, and I will turn it over to Marcel for a commentary on our outlook.

Marcel Cobuz
CEO, Titan Cement

Thank you, Michael. You can expect from us that we will continue delivering good performance. We maintain a positive outlook for the rest of the year, given the solid pricing levels of our products and healthy volumes. Early indications for 2025 suggest an increased level of group sales with higher growth levels, particularly in the second half of the year. In the US, the economy should remain resilient. With the anticipated drop in interest rates, mortgage rates should equally suffer, releasing pent-up demand for housing in 2025, following an already tight supply. Public infrastructure. That's not news for anyone. Industrial construction should drive the largest share of demand as a continuous flow of federal funds is being directed to infrastructure spending and reshoring investments.

We are well positioned with leading fully integrated platforms in those fast-growing regions. Greece is proven to be resilient, and economic growth is expected to once again come above the Eurozone average. The main levers to support the economy remain significant, with EU funding allocated to the country by the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which is channeled mainly to public, but also some private construction projects we are seeing everywhere. Southeast Europe, as Michael explained, very good demand drivers should continue to grow. You will see for us a continued effort on operational excellence, which has so far borne fruit, as illustrated by the consecutive quarters of our robust group performance. You should expect from us that we continue at a faster pace, the implementation of our Growth Strategy 2026, driving long-term value creation with meaningful decarbonization initiatives everywhere.

With these comments on the outlook, I think we can open up for Q&A. Spiros and operator, please.

Operator

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, we'll begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star followed by one on their telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, then you may press star and two. Please use your handset when asking your question for better quality. Anyone who has a question may press star and one at this time. One moment for the first question, please. The first question is from the line of Nikos Athanasoulias with Eurobank Equities. Please go ahead.

Nikos Athanasoulias
Equity Research Analyst, Eurobank Equities

Hello. Thank you very much for the presentation. I have two questions on my side. The first one relates to the US operations. Given the weather-affected quarter that you had, and I think the previous one was also affected by weather, is this the basis on which you expect revenue and volume growth in 2025? Does this increase your prospects as projects get delayed and there will be potentially a bottleneck in next years? And the second one relates to an announcement that one of your European peers, Heidelberg, made just today that it's launching a program focusing on efficiency in the clinker network in Europe. Is there any similar potential to pursue similar actions for you? Does this relate to the CapEx that you made for your calciner in Kamari, Greece? Thank you very much.

Michael Colakides
CFO, Titan Cement

Let me take the question about the US To start with, there was no impact of weather in Q2. Q3 was the quarter that was seriously affected. The impact in Q2 was very minimal.

Wet weather and hurricanes in Florida are not unusual. This year, the impact was the events were particularly harsh and extreme, and the impact was much more severe than other years. So it should not be construed as a regular event that we will have so significant impact. The outlook for 2025, of course, in every year, we do expect some slowdown because of the weather. It's part of our planning, but not as much as this year. The outlook for 2025 for the US, especially for the second half, is quite optimistic. The election results, I think, will support that development. Whether we are happy or not with that outcome is another question. But the impact on the annual performance of Titan America, we expect a new record performance in sales as well as in profitability, very much in line with what we had originally budgeted for the year.

Let's go back to the question on operational efficiencies. And I think we are running a very tight ship at Titan, leading on multiple fronts on cost leadership and operational efficiencies, improving reliability of our assets everywhere where we operate in Europe. And more specifically, we are focusing on fuel cost and power cost. And here we have different drivers. I think the use of alternative fuels, these are low-carbon fuels replacing fossil fuels with a price per gigajoule, which is almost divided by half. We have achieved record level in the month of September, close to 25%. And just as comparable two years ago, we were at 15% to 17%. So that will be a continued driver for us, not only doing the right investments like the one which was mentioned in Kamari, but also developing waste streams, prioritizing biomass, usually and adapting our assets.

On the power cost, not only our investments in our own captive solar panels, but also the various agreements we have to reduce the power cost, reduce the power consumption are again a second driver, and the third one is the digital. I think in the previous quarter, Michael walked us through the various digital initiatives like the real-time optimizers, machine learning, and artificial intelligence enabled to manage maintenance costs, to manage the power consumption and thermal consumption. Overall, we expect results to improve. Again, just to take an example, our performance in alternative fuels usage, the 24% which I mentioned, has reduced the specific fuel cost by close to 17% this year. I think that's an important anchor to keep in mind, showing our commitment to improving operational excellence.

Nikos Athanasoulias
Equity Research Analyst, Eurobank Equities

That's clear. Thank you very much.

Michael Colakides
CFO, Titan Cement

Thank you.

Operator

The next question is from the line of Andreas Mavridis with Alpha Finance. Please go ahead.

Andreas Mavridis
Equity Analyst, Alpha Finance

Hello from my end. Congratulations on another strong quarter. I just have a few questions from my end. The first question is regarding CapEx. We see that CapEx for the nine-month period is at EUR 181 million. Should we expect around maybe EUR 60 million to EUR 70 million in Q4, bringing full-year numbers to around EUR 240 million-EUR 250 million? And then maybe a little bit if there's any color for 2025, are we expecting similar levels? Second question is regarding considering the potential policy shifts that may follow from the US election results this week, especially regarding infrastructure spending, environmental regulations, and maybe the construction incentives in the US How is the company anticipating these changes, and how will they impact demand, maybe the cost or the regulatory requirements for the company in the coming years?

And then a final question on my end is regarding a press announcement yesterday regarding the acquisition in Stuarts Draft, Virginia, of D.M. Conner Sand & Gravel. Is there anything else that you could tell us a little bit more about the effect it's going to have in the Mid-Atlantic presence, and how is it going to strengthen the aggregates and minerals portfolio? Thank you.

Marcel Cobuz
CEO, Titan Cement

Maybe I'll start with the last questions. We are very happy with this completed acquisition in Virginia of an aggregates and clay quarry, and very happy also to be the beneficiary of a DOE subsidy for clay calcination technology. This shows the maturity of a market which is embracing new cementitious materials, particularly in infrastructure projects.

So if I have to put things in perspective, we are working today on, and we were the first one to introduce the Type IL Portland cement in the US with lower carbon footprint and higher profitability. We are working on a number of technologies to improve the downstream performance of our products, particularly in ready mix, as well as in blocks. And Horizon Three is for us to work on this new generation of materials like calcined clay. So all this is good news, and having this acquisition will accelerate. And it shows also the type of capabilities we have in Titan America to bring fast to the market these new products. You want to take the other question?

Michael Colakides
CFO, Titan Cement

Yeah, some comment on the environment, and if you wish, again, on the elections in the US A reminder that the infrastructure bills that were passed by the previous Congress, they were bipartisan supported. Both parties had supported those bills. The need for spending on US infrastructure is universally accepted and supported in the US So we see even more spending perhaps being allocated in that field. On the environmental front, it's unlikely that we will see anything more restrictive, if you wish, or more costly coming from a Republican rather than a Democratic president, especially from the current one. So that doesn't mean that we will stop our own initiatives. We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint. Marcel mentioned about the new products that we are aiming for. It will not distract us from our own path and our own goals.

The outlook for Titan America's operation is that we will continue to invest both on the production side as well as on logistics and storage, which are very important since we have a significant volume coming through our import terminals. I would like to comment that our performance in Q3, despite the weather conditions, which if you compare us to what our peers have reported so far, Titan America had an excellent performance in Q3. We had positive evolution of sales as well as profitability, so we'll remain very, very optimistic about Titan America. Regarding CapEx, is there any comment? CapEx in line with what you referred to, EUR 240 million looks like a realistic target for the year. Similar for 2025.

We are going through some intensive CapEx, which the bulk of it is oriented towards growth, expansions of capacity, efficiencies, alternative fuel investments, and so on. So it's not maintenance spending. The bulk of it is to reduce costs and to expand capacity and revenue.

Andreas Mavridis
Equity Analyst, Alpha Finance

Okay, great. I appreciate the answers. Thank you.

Operator

As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press star and one on your telephone. I can take that. We have no further audio questions at this time. We'll now proceed with the webcast questions. The first question from our webcast participant, Auguste Darlix from Kepler Cheuvreux, and I quote, "Hi, with the IPO of the US activities, you will raise around EUR 500 million. Your net debt/EBITDA will thus be close to zero at the end of Q1 2025.

I understand you intend to invest to strengthen your current activities, but with this level of leverage, you will have enough to do more. What is your priority? M&A, dividend, share buyback, or something else? Thanks, Auguste.

Marcel Cobuz
CEO, Titan Cement

Well, thank you for the question. And no, I would like us to go back to the priorities of capital allocation as we explained them at the time of the Strategy 2026. With or without IPO, they will not change. We will continue allocating capital for organic growth, capacity expansion in some key markets to enhance our market-leading positions, robust pipeline of investment in technology. As for the M&A, you see that we are also performing, completing bolt-ons, particularly as we double down on aggregates and cementitious, supplementary cementitious development, but also possibly value chain adjacencies. And finally, we gave some guidance on the dividend payout.

So that will continue as highlighted last year. As more will unfold with the listing and IPO, we will give you more details in Q1 next year.

Operator

Thank you. We have another question from one of our audio participants, Tobias Woerner with Stifel. Please go ahead.

Tobias Woerner
Managing Director, Stifel

Yes, good afternoon, gentlemen. Thank you for taking my questions. A couple from me. When we look at the EU Next Generation Recovery Plan and the impact on Greece, can you just sort of give us a sense where you feel you are in terms of the spend now and what the time horizon is, i.e., as a total of the spend coming your way in Greece? Secondly, also, I'm not sure whether that was discussed already. When I look at sort of indices available across Europe and specifically for Greece, it seems that pricing is a little bit more challenging in August and September. Is that fair? Thank you.

Marcel Cobuz
CEO, Titan Cement

So thank you, Tobias, for your question. Look, Greece is growing very nicely on the domestic market and meeting our customers. We see a very strong backlog for the next three to five years, at least EUR five billion in backlog across projects in infrastructure, highways, airports, but also projects like the largest urban regeneration project, Ellinikon here, which is 5x the size of Monaco. And it will consume 2.2 million cubic meters of concrete over the next couple of years. That's a project over 15 years timeline. And we have just decided to have our second line, second ready-mix line with assets dedicated to this project.

So we see the backlog, we see the pace, and we are allocating capital to keep the pace. On the pricing, we are happy with the pricing dynamics of the market. And as we deploy in the market new products, particularly low carbon products, part of our branding family, Titan Edge, we have just launched a new product of cement, pozzolanic, using natural pozzolana for ready mix applications, structural applications called Velter, which is very well received by the market and with a nice price positioning. And we are seeing also good pricing dynamics in aggregates and other materials.

Tobias Woerner
Managing Director, Stifel

Thank you very much. If I may follow, just in a similar vein, one of your peers today talked about the IIJA and how much they think is still available. I mean, you don't play across the whole of the US You play in three markets. Maybe could you give us a sense of what the run rate of that spend is at this point in time in your markets? Thank you.

Marcel Cobuz
CEO, Titan Cement

We are very happy with, again, the exposure we have in our markets, both in infrastructure exposure, but also in housing. I think for a total housing deficit across the US of 3.4 million homes, 800,000 are in our mega regions. Similarly, we see Virginia as the state of data centers, massively investing in data centers. We are very well positioned with dedicated products to this. And again, being vertically integrated like we are with a strong ready mix, including portable ready mix operations, that allows us to satisfy very demanding projects, including highway bridges. And again, in our market, that's the equivalent of 52 million short tons over the next five years between roads, resiliency, water infrastructure, airports, ports, and waterways. So yes, there is a ramp-up, which we expect to accelerate in 2025 and onwards.

Tobias Woerner
Managing Director, Stifel

Great. Thank you very much.

Marcel Cobuz
CEO, Titan Cement

Thank you.

Operator

The next question is from one of our webcast participants, Mr. Theodoros Varelas with Pantelakis Securities. What was the EBITDA impact from Hurricane Milton during Q3 2024? And what does it mean for cement demand longer term? Thank you.

Michael Colakides
CFO, Titan Cement

Milton, as I commented before, was excessively damaging for the business in the sense we didn't lose any money or had no damages to our fixed assets, but it did result in lost sales. Many of our clients were either flooded or left without power for several days. So sales have been lost in October, which I mean, I can't give you a very specific number, but it will be over $10 million EBITDA impact for the quarter.

Still, that doesn't change our outlook for the year. And I mean, it's not lost projects. It's just projects which move later into time. A project that was supposed to end in January will now end in February and so on. The impact on our operations has been fairly insignificant compared to some of other players in the market. What I would say is that we have been trained to face hurricanes. Our fixed asset, when we every year were asked whether there are any damages to the plants, to the import terminals, were very well prepared to face these storms when they can.

Operator

Thank you. As a final reminder for our audio participants to register for a question, please press star and one on your telephone. Ladies and gentlemen, there are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the conference over to Mr. Cobuz for any closing comments. Thank you.

Marcel Cobuz
CEO, Titan Cement

Thank you. Thank you for joining us today. Again, very happy to share with you another EBITDA growing quarter, margin expansion, which marks this very robust nine-month performance. Well on track with our strategy, highly motivated teams, and positive outlook. Thank you again, and see you at the next quarterly call.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, the conference is now concluded, and you may disconnect.

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