CRH profit rises on US strong US construction demand
By Sean Farrell
Date: Friday 28 Feb 2020
(Sharecast News) - CRH reported a 21% rise in annual profit as the building materials supplier benefited from strong infrastructure and commercial construction in the US and solid trading in Europe.
Pretax profit for the year to the end of December rose to €2.1bn (£1.8bn) from €1.7bn a year earlier as revenue increased to €25.1bn from €23.2bn.
Operating profit at the Americas materials division rose 26% to €1.3bn as a slow start to the year caused by wet weather gave way to higher volumes and prices in the second half. The Europe materials business posted a 14% increase in operating profit to €555m as strong trading in eastern Europe, France and Ireland offset difficult conditions in the UK.
Albert Manifold, CRH's chief executive, said: "CRH delivered good profit growth in 2019 supported by positive momentum in our heritage businesses and strong contributions from recent acquisitions. With a continuing focus on margin expansion, cash generation and enhanced returns for shareholders, we believe that 2020 will be a year of further progress for the group."
The FTSE 100 company announced a final dividend of 63 cents a share, taking the annual payout to 83 cents - up from 72 cents in 2018.
The company's shares fell 3.2% to £26.12 at 08:10 GMT.
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