CRH announce 2010 results

Rising energy costs and weak demand in the US reflected in reduction in full-year profits

CRH plc, the Dublin-based international building materials group, have announced a 27% fall in pre-tax profit for the year ended 31 December 2010, due largely to the impact of rising energy costs and weak demand in the US.

Pre-tax profit for 2010 ended up at €534 million, down from €732 million in 2009, while sales declined 1% to €17,173 million and EBITDA was down 10% to €1,615 million.

Total acquisition spend during the year was €567 million.

Commenting on the results, CRH chief executive Myles Lee said: ‘Overall demand across the Group appears to have stabilized in the past three months and, assuming no major market dislocations, we believe that it is reasonable to look forward to like-for-like revenue growth for 2011 as a whole.

‘The level of price progress achieved in 2011 will be key to revenue growth and to the recovery of higher input costs. Acquisitions completed over the last eight months are expected to add to the Group’s performance in 2011 and with a strong balance sheet we have the capacity, where we see value, to capitalize on a growing pipeline of opportunities.

‘With significant adjustments to our cost and operational base over the past three difficult years, we look to a year of progress in 2011 and to stronger upward momentum thereafter.’