Another year of record delivery for CRH

Diversified building materials business issues full-year results for the year ended 31 December 2021

CRH plc have reported another year of record delivery, driven by the company’s integrated solutions strategy, in their full-year results for the year ended 31 December 2021.

Sales were up 12% to US$31.0 billion in 2021, whilst EBITDA increased by 16% to US$5.35 billion, EBITDA margin was up 50 bps at 17.3%, and operating cash flow increased by 7% to US$4.2 billion.

CRH said good underlying demand, strong profit growth, and further margin improvement, together with continued strong cash generation, further underpinned their financial strength and flexibility.

During the year, agreement was reached on the US$3.8 billion divestment of CRH’s Building Envelope business, whilst US$1.5 billion was invested across 20 bolt-on acquisitions.

Chief executive Albert Manifold said: ‘Our 2021 performance reflects the outstanding commitment and resilience of our people as well as the benefits of our integrated, customer-focused business strategy.

‘Despite an inflationary input cost environment, we expanded our margins and delivered good growth in profits, returns, and cash generation. This further underpins our strong and flexible balance sheet, providing us with significant opportunities for future growth and value creation.

‘While the demand backdrop remains favourable across our markets, there are a number of challenges and uncertainties which we must continue to manage carefully as we look to deliver further value for our shareholders in the year ahead.’