7th May 2008 07:01
CRH PLC07 May 2008 7 May 2008 INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT CRH plc, the international building materials group, is issuing the followingInterim Management Statement, which is in accordance with the reportingrequirements of the EU Transparency Directive, in advance of its Annual GeneralMeeting which is being held today at 11.00 am in Dublin. Overall profitability in the seasonally less significant January/April period,which traditionally accounts for a small proportion of annual profit before tax,is behind the very strong performance experienced in the early months of 2007. Europe Europe Materials has had a positive start with significant advances in Polandand Ukraine more than compensating for declines in the Irish and Spanishmarkets, where the benefits of continuing growth in infrastructure investmenthave been outweighed by sharp reductions in residential construction activity. In Europe Products, trading in January and February was well ahead of 2007.However, March results were lower than last year due to an earlier Easter andharsher weather conditions. As expected, April saw a rebound and cumulativeresults to date are in line with the very strong start experienced in 2007. For Europe Distribution, lower activity levels and profitability in our DIYoperations in the Benelux due to weakening consumer confidence more than offsetthe benefits of a generally good start across our builders' merchantingoperations. Overall for Europe, results to date are similar to 2007 and organic growthremains underpinned by a continuing strong dynamic in central and easterncountries. Americas As is normal for Americas Materials, the highway construction season in most ofits markets is just getting underway. While energy costs, in particular diesel,will be higher in 2008 our liquid asphalt winter-fill programme has beenencouraging. Early indications point to a continuation of the positive pricingenvironment and slightly softer volume trends of recent years. Americas Products is seeing ongoing declines in US residential construction, andsome evidence of moderation in forward indicators for non-residential activity.Further significant cost reduction initiatives have been implemented across ourvarious operations. To date while Americas Distribution operating margins are lower, turnover in US$is ahead of 2007 reflecting the acquisition last November of AcousticalMaterials Services. Although the difficult trading conditions experienced in2007 have continued into 2008 the rate of decline in like-for-like sales haseased over the past two months. Overall for the Americas, results to date are behind 2007 mainly reflectingcontinuing difficult trading in residential markets. Development On the development front a total of approximately euro 0.35 billion has beeninvested to date in acquisitions and investments. In addition, transactions inChina, India, and the United States which have already been announced in 2008are expected to be completed later in the year at a cost of approximately euro0.85 billion. Share Buyback The share repurchase programme announced on 3 January 2008, which is limited toa maximum of 5% of the 547 million Ordinary shares in issue at December 2007, isongoing and to date CRH has repurchased 11.4 million shares at an average priceof euro 24.40 per share. Outlook The further depreciation of the US Dollar over recent months, together withweaker trends in a number of markets, has made our goal of achieving anotheryear of profit and earnings growth more challenging. However, CRH'sprofitability and cash flow remain well underpinned by its geographic, sectoraland product balance and as we move into the busier and more significant tradingmonths we have intensified our emphasis on operational efficiency and commercialdelivery across our businesses. This interim management statement contains certain forward-looking statements asdefined under US legislation. By their nature, such statements involveuncertainty; as a consequence, actual results and developments may differ fromthose expressed in or implied by such statements depending on a variety offactors including the specific factors identified in this management statementand other factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with theSEC. Contact CRH at Dublin 404 1000 (+353 1 404 1000) Liam O'Mahony, Chief ExecutiveMyles Lee, Finance DirectorEimear O'Flynn, Head of Investor RelationsMaeve Carton, Group Controller CRH plc, Belgard Castle, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, IrelandTELEPHONE +353.1.4041000 FAX +353.1.4041007E-MAIL [email protected] WEBSITE www.crh.comRegistered Office, 42 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2, Ireland This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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