Pamesa grows revenue, but CO2 wipes out €13M of profit
Tile Wars · markets · · Tile Wars
Spain's largest tile maker posted record sales in 2025, but emission costs doubled — and the real blow is still ahead: a 34% cut in free CO2 allowances starting in 2026.
"The problem is not what we pay today. It's what we'll pay three years from now." The number that best sums up Pamesa's 2025 is not the record turnover —€1.147 billion, according to figures released by the company and reported by Expansión — but a far more uncomfortable one: €25.2 million paid in CO2 emission rights . Double the previous year. That jump explains how Spain's largest tile maker can grow revenue by 1% and, at the same time, see profit fall from €114M to €101M. And why Fernando Roig keeps insisting that the real movie hasn't even started yet. What the numbers say Sales: €1.147bn (+1%) Profit: €101M (–11%) CO2 cost: from €12M to €25.2M in one year Output: 90 million m² Exports: 67% to 162 countries Workforce: 3,469 people (+12%, 97% permanent) The real hit lands in 2026 Brussels has just confirmed that for the 2026-2028 period free emission allowances will be cut by an additional 34%. Industry association Ascer estimates the aggregate impact for the Spanish ceramic sector at around €100 million . For a gas-intensive industry, with historically tight margins, competing against Asian production that doesn't carry that regulatory burden, the math is simple: electrify, pass the cost to prices, or lose profitability. Pamesa has chosen the first path — and gone big. €117M invested in 2025. €120M planned for 2026. The headline bets: Umbrella Global Energy (industrial Net Zero): €74M for a hybrid platform with 80 MW of generation and 366 MW of battery storage. This goes well beyond rooftop solar — it redesigns the group's entire energy model. Pilot electric kiln built by Kerajet for second firing. Ready in 2-3 months at Ecocerámico. A real-world viability test for an industry built on natural gas. Hydrogen : the project is still alive five years on, though Roig admits the actual bottleneck — it's not producing H2, it's reaching the calorific power needed to match natural gas. Acquisition of Natucer mid-year, set to contribute to 2026 results. Two new production lines at Almazora and a third kiln at Ascale. Pamesa is a snapshot of an entire industry: European ceramics no longer competes only on design, format or logistics. It competes against its own energy bill and against Brussels' regulatory calendar. Whoever invests early in electrification, storage and self-consumption will enter the 2027-2030 cycle with margin to spare. Whoever doesn't will depend on the price of gas, the price of CO2, and luck. None of the three is controllable. Pamesa knows this. The real question is how many Spanish tile makers can actually afford €120M a year in CapEx to do the same. Financial data: Pamesa briefing reported by Julia Brines in Expansión (May 12, 2026). Photo: Fernando Roig / EXPANSIÓN. Analysis: Tile Wars.