CRH plans to buy back a further $300 million (€299.6 million) of its own shares before Christmas, which bring the total amount returned to investors under a stock repurchase programme since 2018 to $4.1 billion.
The total equates to almost 15.5 per cent of the Dublin-based building materials giant’s current €26.5 billion market value.
CRH said in a statement on Tuesday that the continuation of the buyback plan follows on from its repurchase of about $300 million shares between mid-June and Monday at an average discount of 0.93 per cent of the stock’s volume-weighted average price over the period.
Share purchases over the coming months will be carried out by UBS and are scheduled to conclude no later than December 16th, it said.
“Any decision in relation to any future buyback programmes will be based on an ongoing assessment of the capital needs of the business and general market conditions,” it said.
Shares in CRH have fallen by 24.5 per cent so far this year, amid concerns about the global economy as central banks hike interest rates to try to rein in soaring inflation.
The buy-backs since mid-2018 have also taken place against the backdrop of CRH continuing to acquire businesses and recycle cash from the disposal of unwanted or underperforming assets.
CRH has committed the equivalent of $20.5 billion to acquisitions since chief executive Albert Manifold took charge of the group in early 2014, including $2.8 billion committed so far this year, in spite of growing concerns about the state of the global economy.
It said last month, as it unveiled interim results, that its acquisition pipeline “remains strong” and its “significant balance sheet capacity provides flexibility” for deals.
The company has also raised more than $12 billion from the sale of underperforming or unwanted businesses under Mr Manifold’s stewardship.
