CRH, the Irish building materials giant, revealed on Thursday that it posted better-than-expected earnings last year of $5.35 billion .
“Despite an inflationary input cost environment, we expanded our margins and delivered good growth in profits, returns and cash generation. This further underpins our strong and flexible balance sheet, providing us with significant opportunities for future growth and value creation,” said chief executive Albert Manifold.
CRH, which is also one of the largest cement producers in Ukraine, has a stake in six readymix plants in Russia. They are located in the region of St Petersburg, the second largest city in the country, through a joint venture owned by its Finnish unit, Rudus. Group sales rose by 12 per cent to $31 billion, while its earnings per share jumped 35 per cent to almost $3.29.
IrishTimes I hope that CRH will take a view to maintain Ukrainian business, even on a low return, to assist in the rebuilding eventually of UKR economy and infrastructure as it's humanitarian contribution.