UNITED STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC
20549
FORM 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13A - 16 OR 15D - 16 OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
28 April 2021
Commission
File No. 001-32846
____________________________
CRH
public limited company
(Translation of registrant's name into English)
____________________________
Belgard Castle, Clondalkin,
Dublin 22, Ireland.
(Address of principal executive offices)
____________________________
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports
under
cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F:
Form
20-F X Form
40-F___
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper
as permitted by
Regulation
S-T Rule 101(b)(1):_________
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper
as permitted by
Regulation
S-T Rule 101(b)(7):________
Enclosure:
Trading Update April
2021
Trading
Update - April 2021
Key
Highlights
●
Positive start to the year with Q1
like-for-like sales +3%
●
Good underlying demand & continued
pricing progress across key markets
●
Year-to-date acquisition spend $0.2bn;
strong pipeline of opportunities
●
$0.2bn divestment of Brazil cement
business complete
●
Share buyback programme ongoing;
$0.3bn tranche to be completed by end of June
●
H1 Group EBITDA expected to be well
ahead of prior year
Albert
Manifold, Chief Executive, said today:
"We had a
positive start to the year in a seasonally quiet period for our
business with good underlying demand and pricing progress across
our key markets. While near-term uncertainties remain, we expect
first-half profitability to be well ahead of the prior year period
which experienced a heavily disrupted second quarter due to
COVID-19. As we look ahead to the second half of the year, we
expect further normalisation in our markets as the health situation
continues to improve."
Announced Wednesday, 28 April 2021
Health
& Safety
The health and safety of our people remains our number one priority
as many of our markets continue to be affected by the spread of
COVID-19. Our primary focus is to ensure that we provide a safe
working environment for our employees, contractors and customers,
enabling them to carry out their activities in accordance with the
various health and safety protocols currently in place across our
markets.
Trading
Summary
First quarter like-for-like1 sales
increased by 3% compared with the same period last year as a
particularly strong performance in Building Products was partly
offset by weather disruption in our materials businesses in North
America and Europe.
Americas Materials
Like-for-like sales for our Americas Materials operations were 1%
behind 2020, as the impact of harsh winter weather conditions on
volumes during February was partly offset by strong commercial
management. The bidding environment remains stable while there is
positive momentum on infrastructure stimulus efforts. This notably
seasonal business typically sells less than 10% of annual asphalt
volumes and less than 20% of aggregates, readymixed concrete and
cement volumes in the first quarter of the year.
Key Products in Brief
● Aggregates: Q1 like-for-like aggregates volumes were 4% behind
2020 impacted by adverse weather conditions; average year-to-date
prices increased by 3%.
● Asphalt: Unfavourable weather resulted in volumes 6% behind
on a like-for-like basis; average prices were 3% behind, however
margins increased due to lower input costs.
● Readymixed Concrete: Volumes were 2% ahead on a like-for-like basis,
driven by strong demand across most regions; average prices were 5%
ahead with increases across all regions.
● Cement: Q1 like-for-like volumes were 5% ahead of 2020
with strong demand in our West region; prices were 4% ahead with
good momentum in both the United States (US) and
Canada.
Europe Materials
Like-for-like sales were 1% ahead of 2020, as challenging weather
at the start of the year was offset with improved trading in March.
The pricing environment remained favourable.
Key Markets in Brief
● Western Europe: Overall Q1 like-for-like sales were broadly in
line with 2020 with mixed performances regionally. Sales in the
United Kingdom were ahead with strong volumes across most lines of
business, supported by good demand in the infrastructure and
residential sectors. In France, cement volumes were well ahead of
the prior year which was impacted by COVID-19 related shutdowns.
Adverse weather impacted activity levels in Finland and Germany
while COVID-19 restrictions in Ireland resulted in lower cement
volumes than prior year. Pricing progress
continued.
● Eastern Europe: Q1 like-for-like sales were behind prior year as
harsh winter weather impacted volumes in Poland which was partly
offset by resilient demand in North Danube and Serbia; overall
cement pricing was ahead.
● Asia: Strong cement volumes in Q1 were partly offset by
lower prices, resulting in increased sales compared to
2020.
1 Like-for-like movements exclude
the impact of currency exchange, acquisitions and
divestments
Building Products
First quarter like-for-like sales were 12% ahead of 2020,
reflecting strong demand for residential construction, particularly
in North America, partly offset by lower activity levels in the
non-residential sector.
Key Products in Brief
● Architectural Products: Like-for-like sales were 27% ahead supported by
strong underlying demand for outdoor living products and good early
season purchasing by homecenters in the US.
● Building Envelope: Like-for-like sales were 5% behind Q1 2020 as a
result of reduced non-residential activity due to COVID-19 related
uncertainty and lower backlogs entering 2021.
● Infrastructure Products: Like-for-like sales were 3% ahead as good demand
in both the European and North American telecoms and energy sectors
was partly offset by adverse weather.
● Construction Accessories: Stronger residential demand, more project work and
fewer pandemic restrictions in key markets resulted in
like-for-like sales 3% ahead.
Capital
Allocation Update
Share
Buyback Programme
As announced on 8 March 2021, reflecting our strong financial
position and commitment to returning excess cash to shareholders,
the Group recommenced its share buyback programme with a further
tranche of $0.3 billion to be completed no later than 24 June
2021.
Development Activity
The Group has spent c. $0.2 billion on four acquisitions in the
year to date, the largest of which was a Building Products pipe and
precast concrete business, expanding our Infrastructure Products
footprint in the Midwest of the US.
On the divestment front, the Group completed the divestment of its
Brazil cement business for consideration of $0.2 billion, as well
as two smaller transactions resulting in total business and asset
disposal proceeds of c. $0.3 billion.
Trading
Outlook
Despite near-term uncertainties, we expect Group EBITDA for the
seasonally less significant first half of the year to be well ahead
of the first half of 2020 which was adversely impacted by COVID-19
related disruption in the second quarter (H1 2020: $1.59 billion).
We anticipate further normalisation in our markets in the second
half of the year as the health situation continues to improve.
Given the resilience of our business model and strength of our
balance sheet we remain well positioned to benefit from the growth
opportunities that lie ahead.
CRH will report its interim results for the six months ending 30
June on Thursday, 26 August 2021.
CRH plc will host an analysts' conference call at 14:00 BST on
Wednesday, 28 April 2021 to discuss the Trading Update. To join
this call please dial: +353 (0) 1 506 0650, confirmation code
7465477 (further international numbers are
available here).
A recording of the conference call will be available on
the Results
& Presentations page of the CRH
website.
Contact CRH at +353 1 404 1000
Albert Manifold Chief
Executive
Senan
Murphy
Finance Director
Jim
Mintern
Finance Director Designate
Frank Heisterkamp
Director of Capital Markets & ESG
Tom Holmes
Head of Investor Relations
About CRH
CRH (LSE: CRH, ISE: CRG, NYSE: CRH) is the leading building
materials business in the world, employing c.77,000 people at
c.3,100 operating locations in 29 countries. It is the largest
building materials business in North America and Europe and also
has regional positions in Asia. CRH manufactures and supplies a
range of integrated building materials, products and innovative
solutions which can be found throughout the built environment, from
major public infrastructure projects to commercial buildings and
residential structures. A Fortune 500 company, CRH is a constituent
member of the FTSE 100 Index, the EURO STOXX 50 Index, the ISEQ 20
and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) Europe. CRH's
American Depositary Shares are listed on the NYSE.
For more information visit www.crh.com
Disclaimer
In order to utilise the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the United
States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, CRH public
limited company (the "Company"), and its subsidiaries
(collectively, "CRH" or the "Group") is providing the following
cautionary statement.
This document contains statements that are or may be deemed to be
forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition,
results of operations, business, viability and future performance
of CRH and certain of the plans and objectives of CRH. These
forward-looking statements may generally, but not always, be
identified by the use of words such as "will", "anticipates",
"should", "could", "would", "targets", "aims", "may", "continues",
"expects", "is expected to", "estimates", "believes", "intends" or
similar expressions. These forward-looking statements include all
matters that are not historical facts or matters of fact at the
date of this document.
By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and
uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on
circumstances that may or may not occur in the future and reflect
the Company's current expectations and assumptions as to such
future events and circumstances that may not prove
accurate.
A number of material factors could cause actual results and
developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied
by these forward-looking statements, certain of which are beyond
our control, as detailed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in
our 2020 Annual Report on Form 20-F as filed with the US Securities
and Exchange Commission.
You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are
made as of the date of this document. The Company expressly
disclaims any obligation or undertaking to publicly update or
revise these forward-looking statements other than as required by
applicable law.
The forward-looking statements in this document do not constitute
reports or statements published in compliance with any of
Regulations 6 to 8 of the Transparency (Directive 2004/109/EC)
Regulations 2007.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
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CRH public limited company
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(Registrant)
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Date 28
April 2021
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By:___/s/Neil
Colgan___
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N.Colgan
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Company Secretary
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