8-K

CRH PUBLIC LTD CO 8-K Report (Jun 19, 2008)

Filed June 19, 2008For Securities:CRH

Summary

CRH Public Limited Company (CRH) filed a Form 6-K on June 19, 2008, to report on significant share transactions that occurred on June 18, 2008. The company repurchased 60,000 of its own ordinary shares through its agent, Davy, at prices ranging from €18.15 to €19.18 per share. These repurchased shares will be held as treasury shares, which can be used for various corporate purposes, including employee share schemes or future acquisitions. In addition to the share repurchase, CRH also transferred 199,254 ordinary shares to participants in its employee share schemes. These transfers were executed at varying prices in both Euros and Pounds Sterling. These transactions impact the company's outstanding share count and treasury stock balance, which are important metrics for investors to monitor for capital allocation and shareholder value initiatives.

Key Highlights

  • 1CRH repurchased 60,000 ordinary shares on June 18, 2008, through its agent Davy.
  • 2The repurchase price per share ranged between €18.15 and €19.18.
  • 3Repurchased shares will be held as treasury shares.
  • 4CRH transferred 199,254 ordinary shares to employees under its share schemes.
  • 5Share transfers to employees occurred at prices between €10.63 - €17.99 and £7.18 - £12.38.
  • 6Following these transactions, CRH holds 11,929,119 ordinary shares in treasury.
  • 7The number of outstanding ordinary shares, excluding treasury shares, is 536,191,317.

Frequently Asked Questions

Treasury shares are company-owned shares that have been repurchased from the open market. Companies hold them for various strategic reasons, such as satisfying employee stock options and awards, using them for future acquisitions, or to increase earnings per share by reducing the number of outstanding shares.

While the filing doesn't explicitly state the reason, share repurchases are typically undertaken by companies when they believe their stock is undervalued, as a way to return capital to shareholders, or to offset dilution from stock-based compensation. It can signal management's confidence in the company's future prospects.

These transfers represent the issuance of shares to employees as part of their compensation or incentive programs. This is a common practice for many companies to retain and motivate their workforce. The varying prices indicate different award schemes or vesting periods for the employee shares.

The repurchase of 60,000 shares reduces the total number of shares outstanding. The transfer of 199,254 shares out of treasury to employees also reduces the treasury share count but does not affect the number of shares available to the public market unless those shares were previously issued and outstanding.