Building materials giant CRH plc has reported a 12% annual increase in group sales to $31bn, with net profit advancing from $1.1bn to $2.6bn.
Though the company is Ireland’s largest multinational, it reports its financial performance in US dollars.
A final dividend of 98c per share has been announced, bringing the total dividend for the year to 121c, up 5%. Based on the EPS for 2021, the dividend cover is x2.7 times.
Largely due to the conflict in Ukraine, the CRH share price has been marked down from €48 at the start of 2022 to the €40 level.
Through 2021, CRH spent $0.9bn on share buybacks, with another $0.3bn tranche of the ongoing share buyback programme to be completed by the end of March.
In Association with
The group’s earnings per share for 2021 was 326c, up from 142c.
Chief executive Albert Manifold said the 2021 performance reflected the benefits of CRH’s integrated, customer-focused business strategy.
“Despite an inflationary input cost environment, we expanded our margins and delivered good growth in profits, returns and cash generation. This further underpins our strong and flexible balance sheet, providing us with significant opportunities for future growth and value creation,” he added.
“While the demand backdrop remains favourable across our markets, there are a number of challenges and uncertainties which we must continue to manage carefully as we look to deliver further value for our shareholders in the year ahead.”
In a 2021 results statement, the company said its Americas Materials division benefits from continuing favourable economic conditions and strong market positions.
“Federal funding for infrastructure is underpinned by the passing of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package by the US Congress, while the residential market is expected to continue to grow driven by robust demand.
“The backdrop in Europe is expected to be positive with continued growth in our key markets. Although cost inflation headwinds are anticipated to continue in the near-term, we expect to deliver further progress in 2022.”
Net cash inflow from operating activities was $4.2bn, up $200m on 2020. Investing outlays amounted to $2.5bn, while outlays on financing activities, including dividend payments and share buybacks, amounted to $3.3bn. Year-end balance sheet cash was $5.8bn, down from $7.7bn.
Total liabilities reduced from $24.6bn to $23.8bn at the end of December 2021. Period-end net worth was $20.9bn, including $9.8bn intangibles.
