CRH chief executive Albert Manifold says he has "no doubt" that the Irish building materials group's financial strength and experienced leadership teams will see it through these "unprecedented and uncertain times".
Manifold’s reassuring comments came as the sector giant revealed its Q1 2020 like-for-like sales were up 3% compared to the same period of last year.
COVID-19 mitigating actions implemented across CRH include a 25% salary reduction for all leadership teams and board members; temporary lay-offs and a furloughing arrangement in affected areas; and reducing working capital in line with lower activity levels.
Speaking on Wednesday (22 April 2020), Manifold said: “We have had a good start to the year. Although the global spread of COVID-19 brings challenges for us all, I have no doubt that with the financial strength of CRH and the experience of our leadership teams, we will endure through these unprecedented and uncertain times.
“All necessary actions are being taken to protect our employees and businesses, and to ensure that we are well-positioned for the recovery in our markets.”
A CRH statement released with the Q1 2020 trading figures says the group is in a strong financial position, holding over US$6bn of cash and cash equivalents.
The statement also highlights positive long-term prospects, as the group will be among expected beneficiaries of any future stimulus measures.
Going into more detail about Q1 2020 trading, CRH says a solid start to the year for its Europe Materials business was offset by the impact of COVID-19 related government restrictions across several key markets in Europe and Asia during the last two weeks of March. As a result, the group says sales in the first quarter were broadly in line with the same period in 2019.
In Western Europe, continued pricing progress was offset by lower volumes which were impacted by government shutdown orders in core markets such as the UK and France towards the end of the quarter.
In Eastern Europe, sales were ahead of the prior year, driven by higher cement volumes and improved pricing. The trading impact of COVID-19 restrictions was less evident in Eastern Europe during the period.
In Asia, despite a positive start to the year, cement volumes and prices in the Philippines finished behind Q1 2019, impacted by COVID-19 restrictions experienced in the second half of March.
First-quarter like-for-like sales for CRH’s Americas Materials operations were 8% ahead of 2019, benefiting from good underlying demand and pricing improvements in all products. Sales volumes benefited from milder weather in the group’s North and West regions, while wet weather impacted activity levels in the South.
