CRH trading update indicates growth

Irish-based building materials firm CRH has reported year-to-date group sales of €14 billion, up from €13.4 billion for the same period last year.

The company’s interim management statement said its third-quarter EBITDA figures (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) were up 6% - with figures in America increasing by 10%.

It has also reduced its debt to a figure of €3.5 billion, compared to a sum of €3 billion for the same period last year.

The company said, “After an encouraging start to the year helped by favourable early-season weather, trading in the third quarter was affected by moderating trends in more recent months.

“Like-for-like sales for the quarter were 2% lower than in 2013, although very tight cost control enabled the group to maintain EBITDA close to last year’s level.

“Assuming normal weather patterns for the remainder of the year, we expect Europe EBITDA, for the year as a whole, to be approximately 10% ahead of last year’s figure of €583 million.”

On its American activities, the company said it had benefited from an underlying demand in growth, “despite a weather-impacted first half of 2014.”

Its EBITDA results for the year-to-date showed a 6% increase on 2013 and forecast that its full 2014 results would be 10% above its figures of €892 million for last year.