Dublin-headquartered builders merchanting and DIY goods provider Grafton Group has continued its international expansion drive with its fifth acquisition in the last 12 months.

CRH’s €6.5bn acquisition of certain assets offloaded by European cement giant LafargeHolcim – which completed, slightly ahead of schedule, this week – could enhance its earnings by more than 30% over the next year, it has been claimed.

CRH is being linked with a second potential Asian deal in as many weeks, this one with a price tag of around $1bn (€890m).

CRH’s investment spend for this year looks set to inch past the €7bn mark, with the company heavily linked with an €800m move for the number two player in South Korea’s cement market.

First-half earnings at CRH are expected to be up by around 10%, year-on-year, on a constant currency basis, with management expecting progress to continue for the remainder of the year.

CRH is expected to promote from within when deciding upon a new finance director later this year.

Dublin-based builders’ merchants group Grafton has broadened its presence in the UK via the purchase of niche company TG Lynes for an undisclosed sum.

Co Cavan-based building materials group Kingspan is in advanced talks over a takeover deal in Belgium which would see the company significantly expand its insulated panels business in mainland Europe.

A successful takeover of assets being offloaded to facilitate the planned mega-merger between Swiss and French cement giants Holcim and Lafarge could prove to be a “game-changing” deal for Irish group CRH, analysts believe.

Dublin-based builders merchants group Grafton has expanded its presence in the south of England, via an acquisition likely to add nearly 1% to its UK revenues next year.

Analysts have expressed doubt over valuations being put on CRH’s UK-based brick business Ibstock.

CRH has been linked to a joint bid for the assets due to be sold in order to pass the planned mega-merger of French and Swiss cement giants, Lafarge and Holcim.

Grafton Group has extended its presence in the UK through the acquisition of a three-branch builders merchanting business in the south-east of England.

Shares in Kingspan jumped more than 3% yesterday on the back of the Cavan-based building materials group spending over €60m on a strategic acquisition in the US.

Grafton Group has agreed a £460m (€565m) five-year credit facility with its main lenders, which is expected to see it benefit from around £3m in annualised savings.

Building merchants’ group Grafton believes recovery in the construction sector will be led by small contractors who are seeing a pick up in business.

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.

French building materials group Saint Gobain is tipped to boost its Irish presence through a takeover of Tubs and Tiles owner, BHT Group.

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.

CAVAN-headquartered building materials group, Kingspan is considering sizing up a €300 million-plus acquisition in Germany, in a bid to expand in the country which accounts for nearly 10% of its annual revenues.

CRH has reportedly expanded its North American operations by acquiring a private roofing specialist based in Minnesota.

CRH has reached agreement to sell its Premier Periclase subsidiary to Austrian company RHI for €21 million.

VENEZUELAN President Hugo Chavez ordered the removal of Irish cardboard maker Smurfit Kappa Group Plc from all its farm land in an agricultural state as he deepens a push to seize large land holdings from private owners.

BUILDING material group Readymix said trading conditions have deteriorated further this year.

BUILDERS’ merchants group Grafton is being linked with more acquisition movement as consolidation in the international merchanting sector heats up.

BRITISH building materials group SIG has reported an 8% year-on-year increase in group sales for the first four months of the year.

CRH, the country’s biggest quoted company, said its US subsidiary has raised $750 million (€575m) in medium- and long-term financing.

KINGSPAN has seen its share recommendation upped from ‘add’ to ‘buy’ by Goodbody Stockbrokers, on the back of the Cavan-based building materials firm issuing a better than expected trading update for the past four months.

THE Venezuelan government has seized a €500,000 1,500-hectare (3,707 acres) plot of land owned by Smurfit Kappa Group.

KINGSPAN, the leading player in wooden constructions in Europe, is expected to report its first fall in earnings since the first half of 2002.

KINGSPAN, the largest timber-frame building manufacturer in Ireland and Britain, had its earnings forecast for the next two years cut sharply by 22% and 28%.

PROFITS at mixed concrete maker Readymix fell by almost 50% as intense competition in the company’s core sector intensified in 2004, despite the ongoing building boom.

SHARES in concrete maker Readymix plummeted by more than 15% yesterday before staging a recovery to end 5% down on the day.

KINGSPAN’S share price surged ahead by almost 6% yesterday after the company disclosed first half pre-tax profits increased by 32.5% to €37.5 million, well ahead of expectations.

BUILDING materials' giant CRH's first half pre-tax profits will be ahead €100 million, according to Goodbody Stockbrokers which has upped its target price on the company's shares.

LIKE-for-like sales at IWP tumbled 12% to €170 million last year as weaker sterling and the closure of a loss-making subsidiary hurt the household products group.

KINGSPAN shares rose 3% yesterday after the Cavan-based building materials group issued an upbeat trading statement for the first half of the year.

SHARES in builders providers Grafton Group Plc rose by more than 5% yesterday after the company said profits for the first six months of the year would be “materially ahead of market expectations”.

IWP is now focussed almost totally on the personal health care sector following the sale of Skiffy for €28 million in cash which will push company debts down to €70 million.

CONSTRUCTION industry supply giant CRH's share price target has been raised by Goodbody Stockbrokers, who see a potential upside of almost 21% over the next 12 months.

BAD weather and currency factors had a negative impact on the results of Ireland’s top construction group in the first half with profits falling 18% in that period.

CONSTRUCTION and building materials provider Grafton Group’s shares raced ahead yesterday after the company said it expected profits to exceed stockbroker forecasts.