Building materials giant CRH has reported an increase in first quarter revenues, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, while it also reaffirmed its full year guidance.
In a trading update, CRH said revenues for the three months to the end of March rose by 3% to $6.8 billion.
The company said that contributions from acquisitions and strong commercial management more than offset the impact of divestitures and lower activity levels due to adverse weather in many regions.
Adjusted EBITDA for the three month period rose increased by 11% to $495m.
The company said that due to the localised nature of its operations, it does not expect a material direct impact from recent changes in global trade policies on its business.
"Notwithstanding the current macroeconomic uncertainty, the outlook for our business remains positive and we reaffirm our financial guidance for 2025," the company said.
Jim Mintern, CRH's chief executive, said the strength of its first quarter performance reflects the benefits of its differentiated strategy, good commercial management and contributions from acquisitions.
"Although the first quarter is typically the seasonally least significant period for our business, we are encouraged by the continued strength of underlying demand across our key markets," the CEO said.
"Our relentless focus on financial control and discipline enabled us to maintain our strong balance sheet in the first quarter. Notwithstanding the current macroeconomic uncertainty, the outlook for our business remains positive and we are pleased to reaffirm our financial guidance for 2025, leaving us well positioned for another year of growth and value creation ahead," he added.
Breaking down its divisions, CRH said that revenues at its Americas Materials Solutions' unit were 2% ahead of the same time last year, driven by continued pricing progress across all lines of business along with positive contributions from acquisitions, which offset the effects of lower activity due to weather disruption in many regions.
CRH said that adjusted EBITDA was well ahead of the previous year, driven by commercial progress, ongoing cost management and operational efficiencies.
But revenues at its Americas Building Solutions' total revenues were 1% behind last year as contributions from acquisitions and strong performances in the water and energy markets were offset by weather-impacted demand. Adjusted EBITDA declined by 7% due to adverse weather and subdued residential activity.
Meanwhile, revenues at its International Solutions' were 7% ahead of the first quarter of 2024, driven by good contributions from acquisitions and continued pricing progress, more than offsetting the impact of lower activity levels due to challenging weather in certain markets.
Adjusted EBITDA was 22% ahead of the prior year, driven by good commercial management, operational efficiencies and contributions from acquisitions, the company added.
CRH completed eight acquisitions for a total consideration of $0.6 billion in the first quarter of this year, compared with $2.2 billion in the first quarter of 2024.
Its Americas Materials Solutions completed five acquisitions, the largest of which was Talley Construction, a vertically integrated asphalt and paving company with operations in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina, while Americas Building Solutions completed three acquisitions.
It also made $0.1 billion from divestitures and disposals in the first three months of the year compared with $0.7 billion in the first quarter of 2024.
Looking ahead, CRH said that while it is still early in the construction season, it continues to expect positive underlying demand across its key end-use markets in 2025, underpinned by significant public investment in critical infrastructure and continued re-industrialisation activity in key non-residential segments.
"Assuming normal seasonal weather patterns and absent any major dislocations in the political or macroeconomic environment, CRH's differentiated strategy and leading positions of scale in attractive higher-growth markets, together with our strong and flexible balance sheet, are expected to underpin another year of growth and value creation in 2025," it added.
