CRH executives plan to sell €22m of company shares

Sales by chief executive Albert Manifold and chief financial officer Jim Mintern follow publication of strong results for 2023

CRH group chief executive Albert Manifold has disclosed he plans to sell €19m of company stock. Photograph Nick Bradshaw
CRH group chief executive Albert Manifold has disclosed he plans to sell €19m of company stock. Photograph Nick Bradshaw

Albert Manifold, the chief executive of Irish construction materials firm CRH, is selling $20.8 million (€19 million) worth of shares in the company, new stock exchange filings show.

The company’s chief financial officer, Jim Mintern, is also selling $3.1 million (€2.84 million) worth of shares, the company has announced.

The announcement was made by way of a notice of proposed sale, a form that US-listed companies must file if executives are planning to sell shares. CRH delisted its shares from the Irish Stock Exchange in September of last year and since then has been trading mainly on the New York Stock Exchange.

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Before the transition to New York, Mr Manifold was the highest-paid chief executive on the Irish Stock Exchange and, according to a survey by the High Pay Centre, a think tank that monitors executive pay, he was the third highest-paid executive on the FTSE 100.

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In 2022 he was paid €12.1 million, which was 13 per cent less than the €13.9 million he made in 2021. This was mostly due to a reduction in company contributions to his pension and a fall in the value of his stock awards because of the company’s share price.

The full details of his remuneration for 2023 are yet to be disclosed, but his package will consist of not just his base pay but also shares and options he is awarded under the company’s various incentive schemes.

Mr Manifold also sold a number of shares on the open market last year, including about €8 million in March and €3 million in September.

Last week CRH reported its full-year results for 2023. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 15 per cent last year to $6.2 billion.

The company said it foresaw a further rise in earnings this year of between 5 and 10 per cent, which would equate to a range of between $6.55 billion and $6.85 billion. It also said that it would be spending $35 billion on a combination of deals, investments and payments to investors.

The company’s share price was trading around $83 on Wednesday, up from the price of around $66 at the start of the year.