“The review of our portfolio announced in November 2013 aims to re-set the group for growth. While this has resulted in significant non-cash impairment charges, we believe that dynamic allocation and reallocation of resources to optimise the portfolio, together with our traditional tight cost control and capital discipline and our relentless focus on returns, will be key to driving growth and to rebuilding returns and margins over the coming years,” says Albert Manifold, chief executive.
“We believe that 2013 represents the trough in our profits, and that 2014 will be a year of profit growth. We are encouraged by second- half activity levels in 2013 and by the fact that, while it is still early in the season, trading so far in 2014 has been ahead of last year.”
The group’s financial highlights reveal that sales of €18 billion were in line with 2012 with like-for-like sales down 2% (6% decline in first half, followed by a 2% increase in the second half) while EBITDA of €1,475 million was ahead of the November 2013 guidance.
In the Americas like-for-like sales were up 2% following improving economic and construction trends (like-for-like sales down 1% in the weather-impacted first half, up 5% in the second half) and the US Dollar EBITDA was up 10% while in Europe like-for-like sales down were down 5% with signs of stabilisation as the year progressed.
The year-end net debt of €2.97 billion was better than the November guidance, and the group says that continued focus on cost management meant cost savings of €195 million delivered in 2013 with the initial phase of CRH’s ongoing portfolio review now complete. Acquisitions and investments of €720 million were recorded in 2013.
