Crh — Financial Results

Revenue and Profit Hit Record Highs in 2025

CRH describes 2025 as another record year, with revenue growth driven by a mix of acquisitions, disciplined pricing, and solid demand from infrastructure customers. Profitability grew faster than revenue — a good sign — with the Adjusted EBITDA margin (operating profit as a percentage of sales, before interest and tax) expanding to 20.5%. Each of the three business segments improved margins year-over-year.

The International Segment Was the Standout Performer

While all three segments improved, International Solutions stood out with a 23% jump in Adjusted EBITDA and a 200 basis point (two percentage point) margin improvement. Growth was driven by acquisitions, better pricing, and efficiency gains across Europe and Australia. This is notable given that International has historically been the lower-margin division.

Acquisitions Remain the Engine of Growth, Led by a $2.1B Bet on Sustainable Cement

CRH completed 38 acquisitions in 2025 for a combined $4.1 billion, with the headline deal being the purchase of Eco Material, a major North American supplier of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs — materials that partially replace traditional cement in concrete, reducing both cost and carbon emissions). At $2.1 billion, it was the largest single deal of the year. Acquisitions added $2.2 billion in revenue and $0.4 billion in EBITDA in 2025 alone, demonstrating that the acquisition machine is delivering results quickly.

Debt Has Risen Sharply to Fund the Acquisition Spree

Net Debt (total borrowings minus cash on hand) rose by $3.7 billion to $14.2 billion, largely because CRH issued $5.5 billion in new senior notes during the year to fund acquisitions. Interest expense jumped 32% to $810 million as a result. The company maintains investment-grade credit ratings (BBB+ from S&P and Fitch) and has $4.3 billion in undrawn credit lines, so near-term liquidity looks comfortable — but the higher debt load is worth watching.

Cash Generation Remains Strong and Improving

Adjusted Free Cash Flow (cash generated after maintaining existing assets) rose to $5.0 billion, and Free Cash Flow Conversion of 131% means CRH is generating more cash than its reported net income — a healthy sign that earnings are backed by real cash. This gives the company financial flexibility to continue acquiring, paying dividends, and buying back shares simultaneously.

Return on Capital Dipped as the Asset Base Expanded

Adjusted Return on Invested Capital (Adjusted ROIC — how much after-tax profit the company earns for every dollar of capital it has deployed) fell by 1.3 percentage points to 12.1%. This is a common pattern for acquisition-heavy companies: newly bought businesses take time to be fully optimized, so the return on the expanded capital base temporarily dips. Whether ROIC recovers as acquisitions mature will be an important thing to track in coming years.

Infrastructure Funding Runway Provides Multi-Year Tailwind

CRH highlights that roughly 50% of the $350 billion in federal highway funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) — signed into law in 2021 — has yet to be deployed. This represents a meaningful multi-year tailwind for the company's core road-building and materials businesses. Management also points to reindustrialization spending (data centers, semiconductor plants, pharmaceutical facilities) as a growing source of non-residential demand, partially offsetting softness in new-build housing.