The following is a summary of the CRH Plc (CRH) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript:
Financial Performance:
CRH reported Q1 revenues of $6.5 billion, 2% ahead.
Adjusted EBITDA for Q1 was $445 million, 15% ahead, and a margin improvement of 80 basis points.
FY 2024 group adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $6.55 billion and $6.85 billion, with a net income of $3.55 billion to $3.8 billion and earnings per share between $5.15 and $5.45.
The net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio is approximately 1.5 times on a trailing 12-month basis.
The company's share buyback program has returned approximately $600 million so far this year, with a further quarterly tranche of $300 million announced, representing an annual run rate of approximately $1.2 billion.
A new quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share was declared, representing a 5% annualized increase on the prior year.
Business Progress:
CRH acquired a $2.1 billion portfolio of cement and readymix concrete in Texas, with identified run rate synergies of around $60 million.
The company also acquired a building materials business in Northern California and proposed to acquire a majority stake in Adbri, a leading provider of building materials in Australia.
CRH expects robust demand in the US and EU infrastructure industries, and steady growth in nonresidential segments, while new residential construction is expected to remain subdued due to the current interest rate environment.
CRH had made significant progress in sustainability with its mission to reduce absolute emissions by 30% at Scope 1, 2 and 3 by 2030, and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
In the cement sector, CRH performed 9% ahead in Q1 and is planning to explore targeted opportunities for a second price increase in '24 due to good underlying demand.
The net movement on M&A stands at $1.9 billion, factoring in the outflows from the Texas acquisition and regular bolt-ons as reported in Q1, and the inflow from the Phase 1 and 2 of the European Lime divestiture.
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