CRH PLC (LON:CRH), the Irish building materials provider, cranked out underlying earnings (EBITDA) in 2019 that were slightly higher than expectations.
EBITDA of €4.2bn was up 25% year-on-year, or 7% on a like-for-like (LFL) basis, and slightly ahead of the guidance figure of €4.15bn issued in November of last year.
Profit before tax from continuing operations climbed to €2,115mln from €1,741mln in 2018 on revenue that rose 6% to €25,129mln from €23,241mln. On a LFL basis, revenue was up 3%.
The EBITDA margin improved by 2.3 percentage points to 14.8% in 2019.
The board is recommending a final dividend of 63.0c per share, lifting the full-year dividend to 83.0c for the year (2018: 72.0c), an increase of 15% over last year, resetting the dividend to a higher level, which the group said reflected its "sustainably higher profits and cash generation".
The company said henceforth it would be changing its reporting currency from euros to US dollars to reflect the changing nature of its portfolio of businesses.
In its Americas Materials Division, supported by continuing favourable economic conditions, CRH expects growth in the US residential and non-residential market sectors with positive momentum in infrastructure activity, underpinned by state and federal funding.
In its Europe Materials Division, the group anticipates positive construction demand in key markets with steady progress in Western Europe and good growth in Eastern Europe.
Some stabilisation expected in the UK market
While Brexit has created uncertainty in the UK construction market, CRH expects some stabilisation in 2020.
Against a positive backdrop in North America and Europe, CRH said it expects further growth in Building Products aided by ongoing commercial and operational performance initiatives.
"CRH delivered good profit growth in 2019 supported by positive momentum in our heritage businesses and strong contributions from recent acquisitions. With a continuing focus on margin expansion, cash generation and enhanced returns for shareholders, we believe that 2020 will be a year of further progress for the group," said Albert Manifold, the chief executive of CRH.
Shares in CRH were down 2.6% at 2,625p in early deals, compared to a 3.1% fall for the Footsie.