Construction building materials firm CRH has said it enjoyed solid pre-tax profit growth in 2006, anticipating a 23 per cent improvement on 2005's pre-tax profits.
The Ireland-based firm, which provides primary materials and value-added building products for the construction industries of 25 countries around the world, said it also benefited from acquisitions totalling €3.3 billion (£2.2 billion).
But it warned that higher input costs and stagnant US residential demand caused by the current slump in the American market had provided a challenging environment in which to operate.
Looking ahead, CRH said that the decline in new residential construction would only affect ten per cent of the company's annual turnover and cited its "broad geographic, product and end-use diversity" as an opportunity to survive the current dearth of demand.
"Notwithstanding recent US weakness, with an ongoing focus on price and cost-effectiveness across our operations, further benefits from the record 2006 acquisition spend and a sustained emphasis on development, we expect to achieve further progress in the year ahead," CRH said.
Today's trading update will be followed by CRH's annual results on March 6th. Shares in the company rose by 0.13 per cent on early morning trading.
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