CRH posts successful results debut on the FTSE 100 with profits ahead

Ireland based building materials group CRH said full-year profit came in ahead of forecasts for its maiden results as a FTSE 100 index constituent, thanks to good weather giving a fillip to construction activity at the end of the year.
By The Newsroom
Published 29th Feb 2012, 06:00 BST

A major operator in the US market, where it is the leading producer of asphalt for highway construction, CRH said the outlook for 2012 is positive despite rising energy costs and a weaker economic picture in Europe.

“Our general sense would be assuming no major dislocations in any of the markets or in energy prices, it will be a year of progress for CRH,” chief financial officer Maeve Carton said.

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CRH, which moved its primary listing to London from Dublin at the end of last year to broaden its investor base, posted a 33 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to 711 million euros ($952m) in 2011.

Market expectations has been for a pre-tax profit of between 588.1 million euros and 733 million euros with the average forecast at 653.5 million.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at 1.65 billion euros, ahead of its forecast in November of approximately 1.6 billion. This was largely due to better weather at the end of 2011, said CRH.

“The final weeks of the year can be swing weeks ... if the weather is very good we get to continue to work right up until Christmas which happened in 2011,” said Carton. “That gave us a good strong finish to the year and allowed us to be a little bit ahead of the guidance.”

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