CRH detail second-half development activity
Company announces acquisition and investment spend of €0.22 billion bringing full-year spend to €0.69 billion
CRH plc, the international building materials group, undertook acquisition and investment initiatives during the second half of 2013 which, together with the previously announced acquisition of Mykolaiv Cement in Ukraine and the purchase of Sree Jayajothi Cements Ltd by CRH’s 50:50 joint venture My Home Industries Ltd, in India, brought total second-half spend to €0.22 billion and Group development activity for 2013 to approximately €0.69 billion.
In September 2013, the Group’s 26% associate in China, Yatai Group Building Materials, completed the acquisition of Zhongbei Cement Company for €46 million. Located in central Liaoning Province, in north-east China, Zhongbei have the capacity to produce 3.6 million tonnes of clinker per annum and to grind up to 4.8 million tonnes of cement and 1.5 million tonnes of slag.
Liaoning is the largest cement market in north-east China and this acquisition further consolidates Yatai’s position as market leader in the region, in addition to supporting the continued expansion of the downstream business around Liaoning’s capital, Shenyang. The acquisition brings Yatai’s cement equivalent capacity to 32 million tonnes.
Meanwhile, in the US, three bolt-on acquisitions worth a total of €33 million were completed by CRH’s Americas Materials Division in the second half of 2013, adding incremental sales of €21 million.
Commenting on the developments, Albert Manifold (pictured), CRH’s chief executive, said development spend of almost €0.7 billion in 2013 reflected the Group’s strategic focus on establishing leading positions in attractive markets.
‘During the second half of the year, we continued to strengthen our cement operations in high growth markets in Ukraine, India and China,’ he said. ‘The second half also saw several attractive bolt-on transactions which expand our aggregates positions in a number of key markets in the US.’
