CRH has received an upgrade from UBS ahead of interim results this Thursday based on trends identified by the bank among US building material supplier peers.
Underlying earnings [EBITDA] are now forecast at US $2.43 billion (+10% y/y, +5% on a like-for-like basis and 2% above previous forecasts).
“Overall, we think the set-up is one of ‘beat and raise’ and see scope for the company to quantify full-year underlying profit guidance to US$6 billion.
“Taking the conservative nature of management, we see scope for underlying profit to be above this and have reflected that in our revised estimates, which now look for full-year EBITDA of $6.169bn, 5% ahead of Bloomberg consensus.”
As a result, UBS has raised its price target to €57 adding that while there might be some disruption from September's shift of listing to the US, this would be a buying opportunity as the US infrastructure end-market is being underpinned by the IIJA bill.