CRH’s acquisition and investment spend for 2013 could eclipse last year’s total of €600m; with nearly €500m worth of deals already agreed and more investments likely in the coming months.

CRH has become the market leading cement producer in the Ukraine, after agreeing the purchase of Mykolaiv Cement for €96m.

CRH paid chief executive Myles Lee just under €2.54m last year, nearly 6% less than in the previous year.

CRH’s spending activity in 2013 is likely to broadly mirror the last two years; each of which saw the group shell out about €600m on acquisitions and investments.

Building materials giant CRH has reported better- than-expected earnings for 2012, and has said that improving performance at its American operations can outweigh pressures being felt in Europe and drive further growth this year.

Construction materials company CRH has said a strong performance in its American operations boosted its full-year results for 2012, and offset weakening confidence in Europe.

CRH is building for the future after splashing out €630m on nearly 20 acquisition and investment moves during the last year.

Brokers have described fresh rumours of CRH attracting takeover interest from global peers as being “highly speculative” and “unlikely”.

CRH’s spending levels are believed to have passed the €400m mark for the year to date following an estimated €35m bolt-on purchase of a heating product wholesale company in Belgium.

CRH has said it has several investment and acquisition deals in the pipeline, but has declined to say if its overall spend for 2012 will eclipse last year’s €600m outlay.

An improved performance from its Americas division and a stronger US dollar boosted pre-tax profits by 23% at Irish building materials giant CRH in the first half of the year.

CRH is understood to have held exploratory talks with one of India’s largest cement producers over the possible acquisition of four cement plants.

The building materials group CRH yesterday announced it spent €250m on 18 acquisitions and investment initiatives over the first half of the year, although there was a marked slowdown in activity over May and June.

Group sales at building materials giant CRH are up 4% in the year to date on a like-for-like basis, but the group’s earnings have been dragged back by under-performance in its European operations.

Performance-related bonus payments drove executive director remuneration up at CRH last year, despite a drop in combined salaries.

CRH is to continue spending on acquisitions this year on the back of continued financial growth in 2011, which included a 33% rise in pre-tax profits.

Builder CRH has today announced a 25% increase in operating profit in 2011 to €871m.

TEN days before Christmas, Goodbody Stockbrokers blew a raspberry in the direction of that long-term pillar of the Irish stock exchange, CRH, when it issued an unwelcome sell recommendation on the stock.

BUILDING materials giant CRH spent 600 million on acquisitions and investments in 2011, the bulk of which were made in the second half of the year.

THEY may not admit it, but right now, financial managers in many firms are hedging their bets, and are busy trying to construct scenarios to assess just how the world might look in the event of a break up of the euro zone.

IRELAND’S biggest company — CRH Plc — is making contingency plans for a possible break-up of the euro as the debt crisis crimps sales growth in the region.

CRH is to switch its primary share listing from Dublin to London in order to more accurately reflect its investor base.

BUILDING materials giant CRH said yesterday that it could very comfortably spend €1.5 billion to €2bn on acquisitions over the next year without stretching its balance sheet or putting pressure on its credit rating.

Building materials group CRH today posted profits before tax of €95m for the six months to end June, a 280% rise on the €25m pre-tax profits posted for H1 2010.

CRH has said that it will continue to pursue acquisitions, having already spent €200 million on bolt-on buys and investments during the first half of the year, and agreeing another deal worth nearly €100m.

FOR the second year running CRH chief executive Myles Lee had almost €1 million added to his pension pot in 2010 — almost matching his basic pay of €1.15m.

BUILDING materials group CRH which is ranked number two in the world among its peers, saw its pre-tax profits dive by 27% to €534 million in 2010.

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.

CRH spent €536 million on acquisitions and developmental initiatives last year — which, while down on the multi-billion euro levels seen in previous years — was comfortably ahead of 2009’s €450m outlay.

ALMOST €1.6 billion was wiped off the value of shares in building materials giant CRH yesterday, following the publication of a set of first-half results which included a 77% fall in pre-tax profits.

BUILDING materials group CRH has said that it will likely spend around €300 million on acquisitions this year, in total.

CRH continues to actively seek further acquisitions, after shelling out €133 million on 13 bolt-on buys over the course of the first half of this year.

AS one of those who protested outside Cement Roadstone Holdings (CRH) annual general meeting in Dun Laoghaire, I wish to comment on Brian O’Mahony’s report (May 6).

BUILDING materials group CRH had a 23.5% drop in turnover in the first two months of this year, it said in a trading update yesterday.

Construction materials group CRH has posted a €732m pre-tax profit for 2009, down 55% on its 2008 profit of €1.628bn.

ANTI-POVERTY campaigner Bob Geldof has warned that the Government is not spending enough on developing new technologies.

BUILDING materials giant CRH will continue to look for value-added bolt-on acquisitions in its emerging market operations and plans to maintain paying a dividend to shareholders, despite a tough first half which saw profits fall more than 80%.

The ISEQ's biggest company CRH has announced an 82% slump in before-tax profits to €108m (compared to €606m last year) for the first six months of the year.

THE global downturn has forced CRH, the world’s second largest builder materials group, to issue a profit warning for the first half of the year.

CRH has reported a 14% decline in pre-tax profits to €1.6 billion.

CRH, which has spent well over €1 billion a year in acquisitions over several years, reported a sharp reduction in takeovers in the second half of 2008.

Grand prix winners at Ireland’s premier annual investor relations event are Anglo Irish Bank, CRH, CPL Resources, DCC and Newcourt Group.

FIVE executive directors of the building materials giant CRH shared nearly €6.5 million in salaries and bonuses last year.

CRH finance director Myles Lee has cashed in part of his stake in the building materials giant.