CRH reported a 21% increase in annual profit after benefiting from strong infrastructure and commercial construction in the US and solid trading in Europe.
The heavyweight Irish building materials supplier's pretax profit for the year to the end of December rose to €2.1bn from €1.7bn a year earlier as revenue increased to €25.1bn from €23.2bn.
Operating profit at the Americas materials division rose 26% to €1.3bn as a slow start to the year caused by wet weather gave way to higher volumes and prices in the second half. The group's Europe materials business achieved a 14% increase in operating profit to €555m as strong trading in eastern Europe, France and Ireland offset difficult conditions in the UK.
Albert Manifold, CRH's chief executive, 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."
This article first appeared on our sister title Aggregates Business.
