CRH predicts profits to rise 18%

Building materials group CRH is expecting full-year profit for 2007 to rise by more than 18 per cent and growth to continue in…

Building materials group CRH is expecting full-year profit for 2007 to rise by more than 18 per cent and growth to continue in 2008.

In a trading statement, the company predicted profit before tax would be €1.9 billion, up from €1.6 billion in 2006. The board is planning to buy backup to 5 per cent of the firm's shares

A strong trading performance in Europe led to predicted operating profit of about €1.1 billion, while in the Americas, profit is expected to rise to €985 million, despite the troubled housing market, CRH said.

Although CRH is expecting further growth in 2008, it said this will be at a slower pace than in 2007. In Europe, strong growth in central and eastern parts of the continent is expected, with more moderate growth in the rest of the euro zone.

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The US residential market is expected to put pressure on the firm, but non-residential and infrastructure businesses are set to continue to perform well, CRH added.

"Our goal is to broadly maintain like-for-like US profitability through our balanced exposure to the US residential, non-residential and infrastructure sectors, while delivering expected returns from the €1.2 billion of acquisitions completed in the Americas during 2007," the company said.

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien is an Irish Times business and technology journalist