CRH shares jump as group eyes 14% surge in annual profit to €4.6bn

Shares in building materials giant CRH jumped on the back of a 14% surge in earnings this year.

CRH chief executive Albert Manifold said the building materials group continues to perform well and is on track for record growth this year.

Shares in building materials giant CRH jumped on the back of it saying it expects earnings for this year to surge by around 14% to more than $5.25bn (€4.6bn).

The Dublin-headquartered concrete and cement producer said sales for the first nine months of this year amounted to $22.8bn; 11% up on a year-on-year basis. 

Group earnings for the same period rose by 15%, year-on-year, to $3.9bn. 

For the whole of 2020, CRH generated earnings of $4.6bn and annual revenues of $27.6bn.

In the nine months to the end of September, CRH saw a 3% rise in sales in its Americas division and a 13% improvement in its European business. 

Record performance

It said that, based on current positive trading conditions in its key markets, it expects to deliver a record performance this year. CRH also said it expects to see a strong performance in 2022, albeit against an inflationary input cost backdrop.

“CRH continues to perform well, with good underlying demand and pricing progress across our key markets,” group chief executive Albert Manifold said.

CRH’s share price jumped by as much as 4% on the back of its latest trading update.

US stimulus

Back in August, on the back of a strong set of first-half financial results, CRH said it expects to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of President Biden’s $1.2tn spending splurge on roads and infrastructure improvements in the US.

In its latest update, the group said it is “encouraged” by the passing of the infrastructure package by the US Congress, which CRH said “significantly increases the commitment to future infrastructure investment in the US”.

CRH is the single largest building materials business in North America.

“We believe that this positive demand backdrop, together with the strength and resilience of our business model, leaves us well-positioned to deliver further growth and value creation for all of our stakeholders. 

In the year to date, CRH has raised $400m from asset sales, including the divestment of its operations in Brazil.

Conversely, CRH has spent around $1.4bn on 17 acquisitions so far this year, although some of that spend refers to deferred payment relating to prior year acquisitions.