CRH shares climbed 4.3% to 3,267.5p in early morning trading on Thursday after the group announced a 14% sales growth to $14.9 billion in HY1 2022 against $13.1 billion the last year.
The company reported a 21% EBITDA rise to $2.2 billion, as a result of commercial and operational initiatives which offset cost inflation, alongside a 0.9% EBITDA margin increase to 14.7% despite inflationary challenges.
CRH confirmed $2.8 billion spent in acquisitions across the financial period, including the acquisition of Barrette Outdoor Living.
The company mentioned net debt of $4.3 billion at 30 June 2022, representing a $1.7 billion fall from its $6 billion debt in HY1 2021, linked to proceeds from the divestment of Building Envelope exceeding the HY1 acquisition spend.
CRH highlighted $6.8 billion of cash with sufficient liquidity to meet all maturing debt obligations for the coming 5.4 years.
CRH noted a basic EPS of $2.74 compared to $1 the year before.
The firm announced an anticipated FY EBITDA in the range of $5.5 billion, against $5 billion in the previous year, assuming normal weather patterns and no further major upsets in the macro-economic environment.
“CRH has delivered another strong performance with further growth in sales, EBITDA and margin despite a challenging and volatile cost environment,” said CRH CEO Albert Manifold.
“This performance reflects the continued execution of our integrated and sustainable solutions strategy.”
“Looking ahead, despite some continued cost headwinds, the strength of our balance sheet and resilience of our business leaves us well positioned to deliver superior value for all our stakeholders.”
CRH hiked its interim dividend 4% year-on-year to 24c for the HY1 2022 financial term.