Significant profit growth for CRH in 2016

Company reports 69 per cent rise in pre-tax profit as sales revenues increase by 15 per cent

CRH plc, the Dublin-based international building materials group, have reported continued profit growth with margins and returns ahead in all divisions, for the full year ended 31 December 2016.

Pre-tax profit in 2016 was up 69% to €1.74 billion (2015: €1.03 billion) after sales revenues rose 15% to €27.1 billion (2015: €23.6 billion).

EBITDA was up 41% to €3.1 billion for the full year (2015: €2.2 billion), while EBITDA margin reached 11.5%, up from 9.4% in 2015, and operating profit (EBIT) jumped 59% to €2.0 billion (2015: 1.2 billion).

Year-end net debt reduced by €1.3 billion to €5.3 billion.

Chief executive Albert Manifold (pictured) described 2016 as ‘a year of significant profit growth’ for CRH, with margins and returns ahead of last year in every division.

‘We benefited from positive momentum in the Americas, and also in Europe, particularly in the northern and eastern regions where we operate,’ he said.

‘With our balanced portfolio of businesses, CRH are well positioned to capitalize on the ongoing economic recovery and we see continued growth for the Group in 2017.’

Meanwhile, CRH have announced 2017 year-to-date acquisition and investment spend of approximately €500 million, reflecting eight transactions.

In addition, the Group has reached agreement to divest six businesses, which will result in total proceeds of approximately €400 million.

Commenting on these developments, Mr Manifold said: ‘CRH’s development activity in the first two months of 2017 demonstrates both our strong pipeline and our commitment to value-accretive portfolio management.

‘With the disposal transactions announced today, proceeds from divestments since 2014 will have reached €2 billion, and we continue to reinvest these proceeds to strengthen our core existing businesses and expand our operations.’