Irish building materials group CRH expects "high teens" percentage growth in first-half pre-tax profit and to make further progress in the second half.
In a trading update released this morning, CRH said the overall construction market in the United States remained strong but that economies in Europe were generally subdued with little sign of pick-up in the euro zone.
Despite this and the fact recent sharp rises in oil prices would add to cost challenges in the months ahead, CRH expected to push ahead in the second half of the year, it said.
On an IFRS accounting basis, CRH made pre-tax profit of €319 million ($380 million) in the first half of 2004. In its annual statement in May, CRH said overall trading in the first four months of the year had been positive, and today it said this had continued through May and June.
The company spent €231 million on development in the first half - 35 per cent in Europe and 65 per cent in the Americas - and would continue to seek acquisitions, it said.
Dollar/euro impact on full year pre-tax profit would be minimal, it added.
CRH is due to release its results for the six months to end-June on August 30th.