CRH’s firm foundations go beyond where it lists
02/03/2023 14:27
(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions
expressed are her own.)
By Aimee Donnellan
LONDON, March 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The $38 bln
cement maker’s stock rose amid plans to move its primary listing
to the U.S. The shift may indeed prompt a re-rating of CRH
shares. But the main driver of the latter will be its even
greater focus on an infrastructure subsidy-rich market, and on
higher-margin work.
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CONTEXT NEWS
Shares in CRH jumped 10% on March 2 after the building
materials giant announced plans to buy back shares worth $3
billion.
It also reported a 12% increase in its 2022 sales, which
reached $32.7 billion, and a 13% jump in its EBITDA, which was
$5.6 billion.
Meanwhile, Dublin-based CRH recommended moving its primary
listing to the United States, where it is the largest building
materials supplier, and which contributed about 75% of its
EBITDA for 2022.
CRH said it expected resilient demand and increased pricing
in 2023.
The leap in share buybacks from the $1.2 billion worth of
stock it purchased in 2022 reflected the fact that its balance
sheet has never been stronger, with net debt at 0.9 times core
earnings, Chief Financial Officer Jim Mintern said.
CRH also increased its dividend by 5% to $1.27 a share.
(Editing by George Hay and Oliver Taslic)
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