Another Year of Growth For CRH
Supported by positive demand in the Americas and in key regions in Europe along with contributions from acquisitions and favourable currency factors, CRH plc, the global building materials group, has reported another year of growth with sales of €28.3 billion for 2019, 6% ahead of 2018 and 3% up on a like-for-like basis.
EBITDA rose by 25% to €4.2 billion and the EBITDA margin increased to 14.8% – up from 12.5% in 2018 – benefiting from solid underlying growth, continued focus on operational and commercial performance and margin-enhancing acquisition. On a like-for-like basis, EBITDA for the rroup was 7% ahead of 2018.
Albert Manifold, Chief Executive of CRH.
Divestments and asset disposals from continuing operations during the year generated a loss on disposals of €1 million, compared to a loss of €27 million in 2018, primarily comprised of a profit on the divestment of the European Shutters & Awnings business offset by a loss on divestment of the group’s share of the Indian cement joint venture, My Home Industries Limited (MHIL), which was completed on 31 December 2019.
The profit on the divestment of the Europe Distribution business amounted to €224 million and is included in profit after tax from discontinued operations. CRH plc reported a profit before tax from continuing operations of €2.1 billion in 2019, up from €1.7 billion in 2018.
Albert Manifold, Chief Executive of CRH plc, 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.”
CRH plc generated €3.5 billion in cash during 2019, with €1.4 billion returned to shareholders.
As a founding member of Global Cement & Concrete Association, CRH plc is setting a new carbon emissions reduction roadmap, targeting 520kg of net CO2 per tonne of cementitious product by 2030 -the most demanding targets in the industry – representing a 33% reduction compared with 1990 levels. In addition, the group has an ambition to achieve carbon neutrality along the cement and concrete value chain by 2050.
