Summary
CRH plc's 2018 annual report highlights a year of significant progress and strong financial performance, characterized by record profit delivery and strategic portfolio management. The company successfully completed major acquisitions, including Ash Grove Cement Company for approximately €2.9 billion, and divested non-core assets, such as its Americas Distribution business for €2.4 billion. This active portfolio management contributed to an increase in EBITDA to €3.4 billion and a profit after tax of €2.5 billion. CRH also returned €789 million to shareholders through its buyback program and proposed a 6% increase in its final dividend. The company's strategy remains focused on value creation through continuous business improvement, operational excellence, and disciplined capital allocation. CRH announced a new multi-year business improvement initiative aimed at increasing EBITDA margin by 300 basis points by 2021 and simplified its organizational structure into three divisions: Europe Materials, Americas Materials, and Building Products. These strategic moves position CRH for continued growth and value creation, underpinned by favorable market conditions in the Americas and positive momentum in Europe.
Key Highlights
- 1Record EBITDA of €3.4 billion, a 7% increase from the prior year.
- 2Profit after tax increased by 31% to €2.5 billion, boosted by the profit on disposal of the Americas Distribution business.
- 3Completed significant acquisition of Ash Grove Cement Company for c. €2.9 billion, strengthening market position in North America.
- 4Divested Americas Distribution business for c. €2.4 billion, optimizing the portfolio.
- 5Returned €789 million to shareholders through share repurchases as part of a €1 billion buyback program.
- 6Proposed a 6% increase in the full-year dividend to 72.0c per share.
- 7Initiated a multi-year business improvement initiative targeting a 300bps EBITDA margin improvement by 2021 and simplified the group structure into three divisions.