Item 6211 - CRH - Annual Report

CRH plc was formed through a merger in 1970 of two leading Irish public companies, Cement Limited (established in 1936) and Roadstone, Limited (1949). The newly-formed group was the sole producer of cement and the principal producer of aggregates, concrete products and asphalt in Ireland. In 1970, the Group had sales of c.€27m, c.95% in Ireland.
Since that time, CRH’s strategic vision has been to be a responsible international leader in building materials, delivering superior and sustained shareholder returns, while reducing its dependence on individual markets and achieving a balance in its geographic presence and portfolio of products.

Today, CRH is one of the world’s leading building materials companies, with a business that spans 31 countries and which serves all segments of construction industry demand. CRH subsidiary companies employ over 89,000 people at around 3,900 locations around the world and generated proforma sales of c€24 billion in 2015.

The Group’s major businesses are in Europe and North America, and it has growing positions in Asia. Operations focus on three closely related core businesses: primary materials, value-added building products and building materials distribution.