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CRH boasts record cash profits

The group plans to buy back €350m more in shares before the year-end
August 22, 2019

CRH (CRH) revealed record cash profits of €1.54bn for the half-year to June 2019 – up by 36 per cent, or by nearly a fifth excluding new accounting rules pertaining to leases. The building materials group attributed this growth in part to margin-enhancing acquisitions – signalling good progress on its portfolio management strategy. It spent around €320m on acquisitions and investment transactions over the six months, and a further €150m post-period-end. The bottom line benefited from £171m in proceeds from disposals.

IC TIP: Buy at 2,667p

A robust economic environment across the pond was tempered by poor weather in some regions, knocking activity levels. For the Americas materials division, like-for-like sales rose by 2 per cent. By comparison, European materials benefitted from more typical climatic conditions, after weather challenges during last year’s first half. Like-for-like sales here climbed by 6 per cent, with cash profits up 2 per cent – helped by price improvements, but hindered by dwindling construction activity in the UK due to Brexit uncertainty. Building products was the star performer by earnings – with like-for-like cash profits up 8 per cent, on sales growth of 3 per cent – thanks to better volumes and prices.

Broker Goodbody expects adjusted EPS of 218¢ for 2019, up from 185¢ in 2018.

CRH (CRH)    
ORD PRICE:2,667pMARKET VALUE:£21.3bn
TOUCH:2,666-2,668p12-MONTH HIGH:2,768pLOW: 1,961p
DIVIDEND YIELD:2.5%PE RATIO:15
NET ASSET VALUE:2,030¢*NET DEBT:63%
Half-year to 30 JunTurnover (€bn)Pre-tax profit (€m)Earnings per share (¢)Dividend per share (¢)
201811.949745.019.6
201913.270767.820.0
% change+11+42+51+2
Ex-div:05 Sep   
Payment:25 Sep   

*Includes intangible assets of €8.5bn, or 1,070¢ a share

£1=€1.1