(Corrects headline to show the market referred to is for supplementary cementitious materials, not low-carbon cement alternatives)
DUBLIN (Reuters) -CRH expects the market for supplementary cementitious materials (SCM), a low-carbon alternative to cement, to double in the United States by 2050, the head of the largest building materials producer in the U.S. said on Wednesday.
CRH CEO Jim Mintern made the comments after the industrial giant reported a better than expected 9% rise in second quarter core profit and forecast full-year earnings of $7.5 billion to $7.7 billion, versus a prior range of $7.3 billion to $7.7 billion.
The Irish-based, U.S.-listed firm, which makes about 75% of its profit in North America, agreed to acquire U.S. SCM supplier Eco Material Technologies for $2.1 billion last month to meet growing demand for the alternative ash-based products.
“In particular what attracted us (to the deal) is that when you look out in the U.S., we estimate that the SCM market is going to double between now and 2050,” Mintern said.
“This deal puts us right up there in terms of size and leadership levels in the U.S. (and) gives us a very good growth platform.”
The acquisition will boost CRH’s capacity in the 135 million metric ton U.S. SCM market to about 25 million tons, he added. CRH is the third largest cement manufacturer in both North America and Europe.
CRH’s second quarter adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $2.5 billion were ahead of the $2.4 billion expected by an average of seven analysts polled by LSEG SmartEstimate.
Mintern said the increase in the lower end of its full year guidance range was based on trading in the seasonally important month of July and a year-on-year increase in the volume and margins of contracted work across all major U.S. product lines.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Chris Reese)
