Gordon Stein, CFO of CleanTech Lithium, explains why CTL acquired the 23 Laguna Verde licenses. Watch the video here.
London South East prides itself on its community spirit, and in order to keep the chat section problem free, we ask all members to follow these simple rules. In these rules, we refer to ourselves as "we", "us", "our". The user of the website is referred to as "you" and "your".
By posting on our share chat boards you are agreeing to the following:
The IP address of all posts is recorded to aid in enforcing these conditions. As a user you agree to any information you have entered being stored in a database. You agree that we have the right to remove, edit, move or close any topic or board at any time should we see fit. You agree that we have the right to remove any post without notice. You agree that we have the right to suspend your account without notice.
Please note some users may not behave properly and may post content that is misleading, untrue or offensive.
It is not possible for us to fully monitor all content all of the time but where we have actually received notice of any content that is potentially misleading, untrue, offensive, unlawful, infringes third party rights or is potentially in breach of these terms and conditions, then we will review such content, decide whether to remove it from this website and act accordingly.
Premium Members are members that have a premium subscription with London South East. You can subscribe here.
London South East does not endorse such members, and posts should not be construed as advice and represent the opinions of the authors, not those of London South East Ltd, or its affiliates.
Why so little chat or interest in this share?
2013 – The Great Irish Share Valuation Project (Part XI) I take a look at CRH, plus a batch of other Irish stocks: http://wexboy.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/2013-the-great-irish-share-valuation-project-part-xi/ Cheers, Wexboy
Helping gains on Wednesday was the news that CRH's domestic market of Ireland registered the biggest increase in industrial production in December when compared to the wider Eurozone. While industrial output rose 0.7% month-on-month across the single-currency region, Irish production increased an impressive 8.5%. In other news, in a press release at midday, CRH notified the market that asset management giant BlackRock had increased its stake in the firm to over 5.0% in a transaction over a year ago, buying up seven million shares. CRH, which is due to release its full-year results on February 26th, is expected to report revenue of 18,720m for 2012, down from 20,992m the year before. Pre-tax profit is expected to slump from 1,904m to just 640m.
Irish building materials group CRH was one of the best performers on the FTSE 100 on Wednesday afternoon on the back of optimism around US infrastructure after President Barack Obama called for more investment in the industry. In his State of the Union address last night, Obama unveiled a new 'Fix it First' programme, pledging $50bn to repair damaged bridges, roads and railways. CRH, with a market capitalisation of nearly �10bn, is highly exposed to the US economy, with just under 50% of its first-half sales coming from the Americas region (which grew by 21% during the period). As well as supplying products for home repair, maintenance and improvement, the company is also heavily involved in the infrastructure markets, providing aggregates, cement and ready-mix concrete. Shares had jumped 61p to 1,417p by 15:03, up 4.5% on the day. Irish industrial production, Blackrock
CRH: Goldman Sachs shifts target price from 16p to 16.50p maintaining a neutral rating.
CRH: HSBC cuts to underweight with a target price of 15p.
CRH: UBS raises target price from 1110p to 1140p, neutral rating unchanged.
Tempus writes that building products provider CRH is taking a cautious view of prospects for continental and American construction markets by identifying another €450m of cost-cuts between now and 2015 — and third-quarter figures, though affected by a couple of one-off factors, give an idea why. In Europe, a 5% sales decline in the first half accelerated to 7% in the third quarter after difficult trading in the Netherlands and Poland. In the US, CRH was lapping a mild winter last time and a strong performance that continued into the spring and saw some work pulled forward from the third quarter. So sales were up by 8% in the first half but only 1% in that quarter, while superstorm Sandy will mean disruption, and a sales decline, in the last three months of the year. Across the group, then, sales were off by 3% in that third quarter.
"With this negative short-term impact, and the ongoing weakness in certain major European markets, we anticipate that EBITDA for the last three months of the year will be below 2011," CRH said. What's more, the group is facing tough comparatives: mild weather in November/December 2011 in both Europe and the US contributed to a strong fourth-quarter EBITDA outcome last year. Full-year EBITDA this year is expected to come in at €1.6bn, below 2011's€1.65bn. The company's guidance in August was for a flat reading year-on-year, with adverse exchange rate movements also having an impact.
Building materials giant CRH has scaled back its earnings forecast this year on the back of ongoing weakness in Europe and Hurricane Sandy disrupting its operations in eastern America. After a flat like-for-like (LFL) sales performance in the first half, with an 8% increase in the Americas being offset by a 5% decline in Europe, CRH experienced "much lower growth in our Americans operations and a higher rate of decline in Europe" in the third quarter. As such, group LFL sales declined by 3% and were down a total 1% for the first nine months of they year. However, overall sales revenue (which includes the net impact of acquisitions, divestments and exchange rate movements) rose 1% in the quarter to €5.3bn, with nine-month revenues up 4% at €13.5bn. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was flat in both the third quarter (at €0.65bn) and year-to-date (€1.2bn). Going into the final three months of the year, the company said that while the storms in the US should result in increased demand for reconstruction work next year, they have caused "significant disruption" to its operations over the past two weeks.
CRH: AlphaValue downgrades from buy to add.
CRH: AlphaValue upgrades from add to buy.
CRH: HSBC downgrades to neutral, target cut from 16p to 15p.
CRH: Deutsche Bank cuts target from 1,300p to 1,275p, hold rating kept.
CRH: Davy Research upgrades to outperform.
In the short term CRH is likely to remain under the cosh. Strip out impairment charges and disposals, and CRH reckons that first-half pre-tax profits fell 45 per cent to €52m. And while the group continues to grow via bolt-on acquisitions, these are not going to be enough to boost short-term earnings sufficiently to make the shares look attractive. Using estimates for the full year, the shares are trading on 19 times - albeit depressed - forecast EPS, a rating that's far higher than shares in similar companies but as always dyor
cRH has responded to the weak outlook by extending its cost-reduction programme into next year. It delivered savings of €50m in the first half of this year, bringing cumulative annualised savings since 2007 of €2.1bn, of which over 40 per cent is recurring. And CRH's dividend delivers a decent enough yield, but the payout, which hasn't been increased since 2009, is under pressure. In 2007, the 61.3¢ payout was covered 3.9 times by earnings. But last year cover was down to 1.3 times and, on forecasts from broker Numis, it will be just 1.2 times for 2012. But CRH has an established business. Last year it ranked as number one for sales of asphalt and concrete products in the US, with similar high standings in Europe and developing areas, such as Poland and China. It's also busy adding bolt-on acquisitions, spending €256m in the first half on 18 such investments, a marked acceleration from the €163m spent a year earlier. This should leave the group well placed when economic conditions improve, but there is little indication that trading is about to improve in the US or Europe. True, the US Federal Reserve has introduced further stimuli through another round of quantitative easing, but that indicates that the US economy is closer to stalling than reviving.
By contrast, European operations struggled to cope with lousy weather. February's extremely low temperatures meant that, even with an element of catch-up, like-for-like sales on the materials side slipped 2 per cent. Meanwhile, price rises of around 2 per cent were insufficient to recoup higher input costs, but operational efficiencies left underlying profit margins little changed. The products division was worse hit, with like-for-like sales down 5 per cent, reflecting a particularly poor performance in the Netherlands and France. The usual culprits played a part, with declining consumer confidence and cutbacks in government and municipal spending providing the gloomy backdrop. On the distribution side, a resilient performance in Germany (20 per cent of sales) was swept away by declines in Switzerland and the Netherlands (60 per cent of sales). Developments in Spain added more gloom, prompting CRH to write down the value of its 26 per cent stake in construction group Uniland by €130m.
CRH has come a long way since it was formed through the merger of Cement Limited and Roadstone in 1970. At that time it was the sole producer of cement in Ireland, and 95 per cent of sales came from Ireland. Now it employs around 76,000 people at 3,600 locations across 36 countries, and its product range has increased substantially to include asphalt, aggregates, concrete, construction accessories and roofing. And its revenue stream is usefully divided - roughly three ways between residential, non-residential and infrastructure. However, all is not well. While first-half sales in the US rose 20 per cent to €4.02bn (£3.2bn), sales in Europe fell 5 per cent to €4.6bn. On a like-for-like basis - which excludes the impact of acquisitions, disposals and exchange rate movements - underlying group sales were flat, as were operating profits at €184m. In the US, benign weather at the start of the year was responsible for much of the growth on the materials side - which includes aggregates, asphalt and concrete - and the pace of growth was slowing by the end of the first half. A similar trend was seen in the products division, which produces pre-cast concrete products; while the distribution side, which trades as Allied Building Products, delivered like-for-like sales growth of 5 per cent. But overall, CRH's bosses reckon that growth rates will continue to slow for the rest of the year.
Numis downgrades CRH from hold to reduce, target price cut from 1300p to 1000p.
Down 59 points today - I think she held well considering todays RNS - she will do very well to sustain this level. Some red days ahead I think
Myles Lee, Chief Executive, said today: "Problems in the Eurozone, which have intensified over the past six months, continue to erode consumer and business confidence in the wider European economy. In the Americas, current trends suggest that the benign early weather in the United States has resulted in some pull-forward of construction demand, while after good early momentum, the pace of economic growth has tempered over recent months. Against this backdrop, we expect that EBITDA for the year as a whole will be similar to last year's level. Across the Group, we are advancing further our cost and efficiency programmes, adjusting our cost base in response to evolving market demand. In addition, in the face of ongoing margin pressures, sharpening our commercial focus remains a key priority. We continue to optimise our cash generation capacity through close attention to working capital management and capital expenditure, while also maintaining our strong and flexible balance sheet."
Trading results reflect a positive start to the year for our Americas operations which benefited from favourable early weather conditions and a generally firmer tone in construction markets in the United States. In Europe however, trading was adversely impacted by very severe weather conditions in February, and by deteriorating confidence as uncertainty continued regarding Eurozone economic issues. · Sales revenue of €8.6 billion, €0.4 billion ahead of 2011 including favourable translation of €0.3 billion · EBITDA of €568 million, in line with May 2012 guidance; close to first half 2011 · Good first half progress in the Americas with sales up 20% to €4.0 billion and EBITDA up 26% to €216 million; in Europe sales were down 5% to €4.6 billion and EBITDA reduced 13% to €352 million. · Profit on disposals of €196 million reflects disposal of Secil and of our German access control business · Share of associates' results amounts to a loss of €118 million (2011: profit of €12 million), after impairment charge of €130 million (2011: €11 million) · Profit before tax, excluding impairment charges and disposals, down 45% to €52 million · Dividend per share maintained at 18.5c · Total development spend of €256 million (2011: €163 million) on 18 acquisitions and investments · Cumulative annualised savings of €2.1 billion from cost savings initiatives implemented since 2007 · Net debt of €3.9 billion at end-June - in line with June 2011; balance sheet one of strongest in sector
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201208140700059193J
CRH Gets Windfall Of €574m As Portuguese Firm Buys Out Stake Portuguese firm Semapa has agreed to pay CRH €574m for a stake the Irish group owns in a joint venture between the two companies. A Paris-based international arbitration tribunal ruled last year that CRH had to sell its 49pc stake in Portuguese cement maker Secil. CRH and Semapa had been at loggerheads since 2009, when Semapa claimed that it was entitled to exercise an option that would allow it to acquire the Irish firm's stake in the joint venture. CRH paid €429m to Semapa in 2004 to buy a 49pc stake in Secil. That included the assumption of €100m in debt. After the firms later bickered about entitlements, the matter was referred to the International Chamber of Commerce for a final resolution. CRH had strongly believed its stance -- which rejected Semapa's claim it was entitled to fully acquire Secil -- would be vindicated. Semapa confirmed yesterday that it will now buy the CRH stake by May 15. While it appeared that CRH may have lost out, it has quite possibly had a lucky escape. Economy Portugal, which was bailed out last year, has been struggling to get back on track. While its unemployment rate is broadly similar to Ireland's, at 14pc, it lacks a broad industrial business base. Portugal's economy is expected to contract 3.3pc this year. The amount being paid by Semapa represents a multiple of 11.5 times earnings in a sector where multiples are currently running at about 6.5 times earnings. "This is a significant positive for CRH," said analyst Barry Dixon at Davy Stockbrokers. "Not only does it remove a business that is struggling, but it further strengthens the company's balance sheet, giving it the firepower to invest in faster-growing businesses and economies." He added that the sale of the stake would have a "significant impact" on CRH's balance sheet. Shares in CRH were trading 2pc higher by yesterday afternoon in London. http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/crh-gets-windfall-of-574m-as-portuguese-firm-buys-out-stake-3092482.html