CRH has raised its full-year earnings guidance slightly and launched another phase of its share buyback programme.
The Dublin-based, but New York-listed building materials giant has nudged the midpoint of its full-year adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) guidance up $50 million to $7.65 billion (€6.65 billion), it said in a statement late on Wednesday.
The group also committed to repurchasing a further $300 million of its own stock, which will bring total repurchases since it started the programme in 2018 to $9.7 billion.
Adjusted Ebitda for the third quarter rose 10 per cent to $2.7 billion as a result of continued pricing momentum, good contributions from acquisitions and further operational efficiencies, CRH said.
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During the quarter, CRH completed nine acquisitions for a total consideration of $2.5 billion. It has carried out 27 deals so far this year, led by the $2.1 billion purchase of a US provider of sustainable cement alternatives to the construction market, Eco Material Technologies.
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“CRH delivered a strong third quarter performance driven by favourable underlying demand, positive pricing momentum and further contributions from acquisitions,” chief executive Jim Mintern said. “Looking ahead to 2026, we expect favourable market dynamics and the continued execution of our strategy to underpin another year of growth and shareholder value creation.”
Mr Mintern, who took over as chief executive in January, unveiled a medium-term strategy in late September, which includes plans to spend $40 billion on investment and cash returns to shareholders over the next five years as it continues to grow revenues and earnings apace.
The CEO is also targeting annual revenue growth of 7-9 per cent out to 2030 and aiming for the group to post adjusted Ebitda margins of 22-24 per cent over the period.
The margin goal would mark a step up from the rate of 19.5 per cent posted last year. The company’s margins have doubled over the 11-year period in which CRH was led by Albert Manifold, driven as the group moved from largely being a seller of cement and other base materials into full-scale construction services, with higher pricing power.
