CRH completes phase 1 of share buyback programme

723 CRH, the Irish global building materials group, has completed the first phase of its share buyback programme, returning €350 million of cash to shareholders.

Between 2 May and 31 July 2018, 11.4 million ordinary shares were repurchased on the London Stock Exchange at an average discount of 0.5% to the volume weighted average price over the period.

Details relating to subsequent phases of CRH’s share buyback programme will be announced in due course.

The completion of the first phase of its share buyback programme marks is the latest news in a busy couple of months for the sector giant. Last month CRH completed the sale of Benelux, its DIY business, and related Dutch and Belgian assets for a combined €510 million. Benelux was sold to Intergamma, the Netherlands-based organisation which has been running it as a franchise. Property assets related to the DIY business were sold to US real estate investor WP Carey.

The Benelux sale followed CRH’s completion in June of its acquisition of 7989 Ash Grove Cement Company, a leading U.S. cement manufacturer headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, for US$3.5bn. On 15 June 2018, the U.S Federal Trade Commission issued its consent order for the deal – which had been first announced on 21 September 2017.