By Joe Hoppe


CRH PLC said Thursday that first-half pretax profit rose due to positive underlying demand and commercial progress in North America and Europe, and that it expects earnings for the second half of the year to be ahead of last year's result.

The Irish building-materials supplier posted a pretax profit of $1.20 billion for the first six months of the year compared with a restated $929 million for the same period last year, with an improved margin despite inflationary headwinds.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the first half rose 21% to $2.2 billion, while revenue increased 14% to $15.0 billion.

CRH had guided in April for first-half sales and Ebitda to be ahead of the same period a year earlier. It said then that its Americas and Europe materials business reported solid growth and demand was expected to remain favorable despite current uncertainties.

The company said it expects full-year Ebitda to be around $5.5 billion, up from $5.0 billion.

"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," Chief Executive Albert Manifold said.

The board declared an interim dividend of 24.0 cents a share, up from 23 cents a year before.


Write to Joe Hoppe at joseph.hoppe@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-25-22 0231ET