‘Balance sheet is the strongest in business’

THE outlook for CRH contains a lot of uncertainty. With operations in 35 countries and something like 3,700 locations uncertainty has to be factored into any assessment.

For the past three years the CRH shed nearly 20% of its workforce from 93,500 to close to 76,000.

The group expects cumulative annualised savings over the five years 2007 to 2011 to be €2 billion, from the cost cutting programme, of which €0.5bn was realised in 2010. The total cost of the plan is estimated at €403m, of which €367m has been spent to date.