CRH 10-K 2024-12-31

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to

Commission File Number: 001-32846

CRH public limited company (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Stonemason’s Way, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16, D16 KH51, Ireland

+353 1 404 1000

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

☒ Yes ☐ No

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. ☐ Yes ☒ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. ☒ Yes ☐ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). ☒ Yes ☐ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes Oxley Act (15 U.S.C 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒ Yes ☐ No

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. □

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). □

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). ☐ Yes ☒ No

The aggregate market value of the voting shares held by non-affiliates of the registrant, computed by reference to the closing price as reported on the New York Stock Exchange, as of the last business day of CRH plc’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter (June 28, 2024), was $51,283,330,098. CRH plc has no non-voting common equity.

As of February 13, 2025, the number of outstanding ordinary shares was 676,475,037 (excluding Treasury stock of 40,944,153 shares).

Documents Incorporated by Reference: Portions of CRH plc’s proxy statement to be prepared in connection with its 2025 Annual General Meeting (the 'Proxy Statement') are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. CRH plc intends to file the Proxy Statement with the SEC no later than 120 days following December 31, 2024.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

CRH plc (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, the 'Company’, 'CRH’, the ‘Group’, ‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘our’), a corporation organized under the laws of the Republic of Ireland, previously determined, as of June 30, 2024 (including as a result of more than 50% of its ordinary shares being held by U.S. residents), that it will no longer qualify as a foreign private issuer as defined under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ‘Exchange Act’).

Effective as of January 1, 2025, CRH is a U.S. domestic issuer.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CRH Form 10-K 4

Forward-Looking Statements – Safe Harbor Provisions Under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act Of 1995

In order to utilize the “Safe Harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, CRH is providing the following cautionary statement.

This document contains statements that are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations, business, viability and future performance of CRH and certain of the plans and objectives of CRH. These forward-looking statements may generally, but not always, be identified by the use of words such as “will”, “anticipates”, “should”, “could”, “would”, “targets”, “aims”, “may”, “continues”, “expects”, “is expected to”, “estimates”, “believes”, “intends” or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts or matters of fact at the date of this document.

In particular, the following, among other statements, are all forward-looking in nature: plans and expectations regarding customer demand, pricing, costs, underlying drivers for growth in infrastructure, residential and non-residential activity, and macroeconomic and other trends in CRH’s markets, including onshoring, regulatory trends, and investment in technology, clean energy and manufacturing; plans and expectations regarding government funding initiatives and priorities, including the timing and amount of government funding and its effects on CRH’s business; plans and expectations regarding CRH’s strategy, expansionary capital expenditures, competitive advantages, growth opportunities, innovation, research and development and acquisitions and divestitures, including the timing for completion, tax and accounting effects and expected commercial benefits; plans and expectations regarding the outcome of pending legal proceedings and provisions for environmental and remediation costs; plans and expectations regarding the timing and amount of share buybacks and dividends, including the Board’s policy of consistent long-term dividend growth; expectations regarding taxation of U.S. holders of our shares, including applicability of Irish Dividend Withholding Tax (DWT) and Irish stamp duty; expectations regarding the Company’s income tax reserves and returns; plans and expectations regarding equity incentive plans and pension plans; plans and expectations regarding CRH’s balance sheet, capital allocation, financial capacity, accounting policies, cash flows and working capital; expectations regarding CRH’s ability to fund its long-term contractual obligations, maturing debt obligations, capital expenditures, and other liquidity requirements; plans and expectations regarding the Share Option Schemes; plans and expectations regarding CRH’s inclusion on certain equity indices; plans and expectations regarding the effect of existing and future laws, rules and regulations on CRH’s business; plans and expectations regarding human capital initiatives, workplace safety, sustainability and climate change, CRH’s decarbonization targets, sustainability-related initiatives and business opportunities, including investments, and the delivery of and consumer demand for sustainable solutions and products; and plans and expectations regarding the potential impact and evolving nature of risks and CRH’s management of such risks.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future and reflect the Company’s current expectations and assumptions as to such future events and circumstances that may not prove accurate. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this document. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements other than as required by applicable law.

A number of material factors could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, certain of which are beyond our control, and which include, among other factors: economic and financial conditions, including changes in interest rates, inflation, price volatility and/or labor and materials shortages; demand for infrastructure, residential and non-residential construction and our products in geographic markets in which we operate; increased competition and its impact on prices and market position; increases in energy, labor and/or other raw materials costs; adverse changes to laws and regulations, including in relation to climate change; the impact of unfavorable weather; investor and/or consumer sentiment regarding the importance of sustainable practices and products; availability of public sector funding for infrastructure programs; political uncertainty, including as a result of political and social conditions in the jurisdictions CRH operates in, or adverse political developments, including the ongoing geopolitical conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East; failure to complete or successfully integrate acquisitions or make timely divestitures; cyber-attacks and exposure of associates, contractors, customers, suppliers and other individuals to health and safety risks, including due to product failures. Additional factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to be materially different from those expressed by the forward-looking statements in this report including, but not limited to, the risks and uncertainties described herein and in “Risk Factors” in Part 1, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 (the ‘Annual Report on Form 10-K’).

CRH Form 10-K 5

PART I

Overview

CRH is a leading provider of building materials that build, connect and improve our world. In 2024, the Company generated $35.6 billion of revenues, $3.5 billion of net income and $6.9 billion of Adjusted EBITDA*.1Since formation in 1970, CRH has evolved from being a supplier of base materials to solving complex construction challenges for our customers.

CRH’s differentiated solutions strategy uniquely integrates materials, products and services across the construction value chain, better serving our customers’ needs and driving repeat business while making construction simpler, safer and more sustainable.

The Company integrates essential materials (aggregates and cement), value-added building products as well as construction services, to provide our customers with complete connected solutions. CRH’s capabilities, innovation and technical expertise enable it to be a valuable partner for transportation and critical infrastructure projects, complex non-residential construction and outdoor living solutions.

CRH’s business addresses the needs of customers across infrastructure, non-residential and residential construction markets. In 2024, approximately 35% of revenues came from infrastructure (such as highways, streets, roads and bridges), 30% from non-residential construction (including construction and maintenance of critical water, energy and telecommunications projects, in addition to manufacturing, commercial, warehouse and data center facilities) and 35% from residential construction. Approximately 60% of revenues came from sales to new-build construction, while 40% of revenues came from repair and remodel activity.

Operating in 28 countries, the Company has market leadership positions in North America, Europe and Australia. In 2024, approximately 72% of net income and 74% of Adjusted EBITDA* was generated in North America. The United States is expected to be a key driver of future growth for CRH due to continued economic expansion, a growing population and significant public investment in construction. In 2024, approximately 28% of net income and 26% of Adjusted EBITDA* was generated by our International Division. Our International businesses, which benefit from strong economic and construction growth prospects as well as recurring repair and remodel demand, are an important strategic part of the Company. CRH intends to continue to expand its North American and International operations given significant government support for infrastructure and increasing demand for customer-connected solutions in major infrastructure and commercial projects.

CRH has a proven track record in value creation through acquisition which over the last decade has accounted for approximately 60% of the Company’s growth. We achieve this by acquiring businesses at attractive valuations and creating value by integrating them with our existing operations and generating synergies. The Company takes an active approach to portfolio management and continuously reviews the competitive landscape for attractive investment and divestiture opportunities to deliver further growth and value creation for shareholders. In 2024, CRH completed 40 acquisitions for a total consideration of $5.0 billion compared with $0.7 billion in 2023. The largest acquisition in 2024 was in our Americas Materials Solutions segment where the Company completed the acquisition of a portfolio of cement and readymixed concrete operations and assets in Texas. The Company also completed the acquisition of a majority stake (57%) in the Australian building materials business Adbri Ltd (Adbri) within our International Solutions segment.

CRH has a primary listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and an international secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) for its ordinary shares, each listing represented by the ticker symbol “CRH”. References to the 'Ordinary Shares' and 'Common Shares' refer to our ordinary shares of €0.32 each.

Effective as of January 1, 2025, CRH is a U.S. domestic issuer.

Customer-Connected Solutions

CRH’s strategy integrates building materials, products and services by providing them to customers as complete solutions that solve complex challenges across the built environment.

Essential Materials

Essential Materials, consisting of aggregates and cement, are the foundation of CRH’s strategy. Our vertically integrated businesses manufacture and supply these materials for use extensively in a wide range of construction applications, ranging from major road and infrastructure projects to the development and refurbishment of commercial buildings, private residences, public spaces and communities. Our deep materials and market knowledge, along with our extensive network of locations and assets, drive our performance and helps us deliver value to our customers. Customers typically range from national, regional and local governments to contractors and other construction product and service providers.

Road Solutions

CRH is a leading provider of solutions for sustainable road construction in North America and Europe. With our capabilities in manufacturing, installation, maintenance and circularity, we deliver a range of innovative solutions for our customers to better connect our communities, from major public highway infrastructure projects to residential roads, airports and parking lots. As responsible operators considerate of our environmental impact, we optimize the use of recycled materials in our paving services, thereby reducing waste, emissions and energy consumption. Fully integrated with our Essential Materials businesses, we have developed our Road Solutions offering to provide customers with quality, flexibility, speed, expertise and convenience through our deep market knowledge and highly capable team of professionals.

Building and Infrastructure Solutions

Our Building & Infrastructure Solutions connect, protect and transport critical water, energy and telecommunications infrastructure to help solve complex construction challenges. We integrate design, materials, products and engineering to enable the transition to a more sustainable and resilient built environment. Our products have a particular focus on the below-ground built environment where we are a leading provider of multi-material infrastructure that connects and protects the critical projects that enhance the daily lives of millions of people.

• Represents a non-GAAP measure. See the discussion within 'Non-GAAP Reconciliation and Supplementary Information' on pages 40 to 42.1

CRH Form 10-K 6

Outdoor Living Solutions

CRH’s Outdoor Living Solutions integrate specialized materials, products and design features to enhance the quality of private and public spaces. We help our customers in residential and commercial markets create unique outdoor settings by providing solutions for repair, remodel and new construction projects. Our business is closely connected to our customers through a broad geographic network as well as a comprehensive suite of products and services spanning hardscapes, masonry, fencing, railing, packaged lawn and garden products, pool finishes and composite decking. We place a strong focus on anticipating the needs of our customers and constantly strive to exceed their expectations. We do this by continually enhancing our offering through innovation, portfolio expansion and multifaceted collaboration.

Innovation and Sustainability

We are accelerating investment in innovation to develop a higher-performing and more sustainable built environment. Through our $250 million Venturing and Innovation Fund we are supporting the development of new technologies and innovative solutions to meet the increasingly complex needs of customers and evolving trends in construction. Our CRH Ventures platform partners with and invests strategically in construction and climate technology start-ups across the entire construction value chain, to pilot and scale cutting-edge and innovative technologies. Our ability to replicate and scale our innovation and technical expertise between geographies provides us with opportunities for further growth. Through our Innovation Center for Sustainable Construction (iCSC), we have a global network of experts across our businesses collaborating in the research, development and replication of innovative solutions.

Sustainability is deeply embedded in all aspects of our business and sustainability leadership is a key pillar of CRH’s purpose. CRH’s building materials solutions play an important role in shaping a more sustainable built environment and, in 2024, revenues from products with enhanced sustainability attributes1 was $14.6 billion, an increase of 5% compared with 2023 and an increase of 16% compared with 2022.

Our sustainability framework identifies three global challenges for society and the built environment: water, circularity and decarbonization. Our strategy focuses on transforming essential materials into value-added and innovative solutions to address these global challenges. By uniquely integrating our materials, products and services, we are positioned to capture further value and accelerate growth across CRH.

• Water: We are advancing solutions to address global water challenges by enhancing flood resilience and improving water management. This includes upgrading water infrastructure, improving wastewater treatment, recharging groundwater and conserving water across the supply chain.

• Circularity: We are reimagining the way materials are used to enable a more circular economy. Our efforts include preserving natural resources, recycling and reusing construction and waste materials, facilitating resource-efficient buildings and infrastructure and building more circular supply chains.

• Decarbonization: We are developing innovative solutions to support a low-carbon future. Our goals include reducing our absolute carbon emissions, minimizing operational carbon from our products and creating energy-efficient solutions to facilitate a clean energy transition.

In 2024, we continued to enhance our capabilities to meet these challenges through investment in innovative technologies. Two recent examples include our investment in FIDO AI, supporting the development of artificial intelligence leak detection software to accelerate our water infrastructure solutions in North America, as well as our strategic investment partnership with Sublime Systems, a U.S.-based company operating in the field of sustainable cement production. Through these efforts, we continue to develop and deliver innovative, climate-resilient solutions for our customers.

By continuing to meet the changing needs of our customers and society, we aim to drive further growth and value creation. In addition, we are striving to create a positive impact on the natural world, helping our people and communities to thrive. We stand out as a responsible business by collaborating to ensure a more sustainable supply chain and embedding responsible conduct at each level throughout our organization.

Business Segment Information

During the fourth quarter of 2024, the Company’s segments changed to three segments across two divisions. Refer to Note 20 “Segment information” in Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” for additional information.

Americas Division

CRH’s Americas Division comprises two segments: Americas Materials Solutions and Americas Building Solutions. The North American market’s positive fundamentals, including strong population growth and significant public investment in construction, is driving demand for CRH’s connected portfolio of materials, products and services. Over several decades, CRH has established difficult to replicate, leading positions of scale across the United States and Canada. The Division employs approximately 47,400 people at 2,008 locations across 48 states of the United States and seven Canadian provinces.

Americas Materials Solutions

Americas Materials Solutions provides building materials for the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure and commercial and residential buildings in North America. The primary materials produced by this segment include aggregates, cement, readymixed concrete and asphalt. This segment also provides paving and construction services for customers.

In 2024, this segment accounted for approximately 45% of CRH’s total revenues and 54% of Adjusted EBITDA. Approximately 50% of segment revenues came from infrastructure, 30% from non-residential construction and 20% from residential construction. New-build construction accounts for approximately 60% of segment revenues while the remaining 40% came from repair and remodel activity.

The Americas Materials Solutions segment leverages our benefits of scale, strong market knowledge, deep industry expertise and extensive array of essential materials to implement CRH’s strategy, offering value-added solutions which combine different types of materials, products and services to satisfy multiple customer needs. In turn, this enables CRH to provide a value-enhancing, differentiated experience, saving time and reducing logistical challenges for customers. Through this customer-connected approach CRH aims to reduce lead times and complexity, deepening relationships, driving repeat business and increasing the share of customer wallet spent on CRH products and services.

Vertical integration is a defining characteristic within this segment, enabling us to optimize production throughout the supply chain and to capture greater value. In order to support its operations, the Company has established a network of long-term reserves at quarry locations, predominantly adjacent to urban areas where demand for its materials and products is strongest.

1 Revenues from products with enhanced sustainability attributes is defined as revenues derived from those products that incorporate any, or a combination of: recycled materials; are produced using alternative energy and fuel sources; have a lower carbon footprint as compared to those products using traditional manufacturing processes; and are designed to specifically benefit the environment.

CRH Form 10-K 7

Americas Building Solutions

Americas Building Solutions manufactures, supplies and delivers high-quality, value-added, innovative solutions for the built environment in communities across North America. Products in this segment are highly specified, designed and engineered thereby adding value for the customer. This segment serves complex critical infrastructure (such as water, energy, transportation and telecommunications projects) and outdoor living solutions for enhancing private and public spaces.

In 2024, Americas Building Solutions accounted for approximately 20% of CRH’s total revenues and 20% of Adjusted EBITDA. Approximately 65% of segment revenues came from sales to residential, 25% to non-residential and 10% to infrastructure markets. Repair and remodel activity accounted for approximately 60% of segment revenues, with the remaining 40% from new-build construction.

This segment analyzes market trends, including increasing urbanization, demand for more sustainable construction and evolving customer preferences to devise high-quality, effective building product solutions. CRH’s ability to provide solutions which are tailored to the specific requirements of individual customer projects helps to drive competitive advantage and deliver sustainable growth in this segment.

International Division

CRH’s International Division, which comprises one segment, International Solutions, is a leading provider of integrated building solutions primarily across Europe and Australia. During the fourth quarter of 2024, the former Europe Materials Solutions and Europe Building Solutions segments were combined into this International Solutions segment reflecting how the business is managed. In Eastern Europe and Australia we see higher-growth potential through strong economic activity, while in Western Europe, CRH’s businesses operate in attractive markets backed by significant public infrastructure spending and region- wide programs that support construction activity. In these regions, CRH is experiencing increasing demand for its customer-connected solutions offering. The Division employs approximately 32,400 people at 1,808 locations across 27 countries.

International Solutions

International Solutions integrates building materials, products and services for the construction and renovation of public infrastructure, critical networks, commercial and residential buildings, and outdoor living spaces. CRH has established itself as a leader in its markets, enabling strong value creation through commercial excellence and performance improvement initiatives, while serving growing demand across the construction value chain for innovative and value-added products and services.

In 2024, this segment accounted for approximately 35% of CRH’s total revenues and 26% of Adjusted EBITDA. Approximately 35% of segment revenues came from infrastructure, 35% from residential construction, and 30% from non-residential construction. New-build construction accounted for approximately 70% of segment revenues, with the remaining 30% from repair and remodel activity.

Materials and Products

The following materials and products are produced and supplied by CRH’s connected portfolio of businesses.

Aggregates

Aggregates are naturally occurring mineral deposits such as granite, limestone and sandstone. CRH extracts these deposits and processes them for sale as aggregates products such as crushed stone, sand and gravel. Typically, aggregates are used in road and rail infrastructure, building foundations and in the production of products including concrete and asphalt. Annualized aggregates sales volumes2 in 2024 for the Americas Division and International Division were 229.8 million tons and 143.1 million tons, respectively.

Cement

Cement is produced from limestone reserves and is the primary binding agent in the production of concrete products, including readymixed concrete and mortars, which are used extensively throughout the built environment. Annualized cement sales volumes2 in 2024 for the Americas Division and International Division were 13.9 million tons and 35.7 million tons, respectively.

Concrete

Concrete is a highly versatile building material, comprised of aggregates bound together with cement and water. Readymixed concrete is the most commonly used form of concrete. It forms the foundations of buildings and homes, roads, tunnels and bridges, water management systems and clean energy structures. While readymixed concrete is supplied to customers for on-site casting, CRH’s infrastructural concrete businesses produce and supply precast and pre-stressed concrete products such as floor and wall elements, beams and vaults, pipes and manholes. These products are delivered to, and assembled at, construction sites where they are used throughout the modern built environment. Annualized readymixed concrete sales volumes2 in 2024 for the Americas Division and International Division were 17.4 million cubic yards and 21.1 million cubic yards, respectively.

Asphalt

Asphalt consists of aggregates bound together with bitumen and is widely used as a surface material in roads, bridges, airport runways, sidewalks and other amenities. In recent years, the use of recycled materials in asphalt has increased considerably. Using materials from existing road surfaces to produce new asphalt reduces the demand for virgin material, extends the life of our aggregates reserves and contributes to reducing the carbon footprint of the product. Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP) and Recycled Asphalt Shingles (RAS) are used extensively by CRH businesses to produce new asphalt products for road and other surfaces. Annualized asphalt sales volumes2 in 2024 for the Americas Division and International Division were 52.2 million tons and 10.0 million tons, respectively.

Building Products

CRH’s strategy of vertical integration utilizes our essential materials to produce a range of value-added building products and solutions. These include the manufacturing of concrete and polymer-based products such as underground vaults, drainage systems, enclosures and modular precast structures which are typically supplied to the water, energy, telecommunications and railroad markets. CRH also provides a range of engineered steel and polymer-based anchoring, fixing and connecting solutions for a variety of new-build construction applications.

2 Annualized sales volumes reflect the full-year impact of acquisitions and divestitures during the year and may vary from actual volumes sold. This includes volumes which are used internally (e.g. aggregates supplied internally for cement production).

CRH Form 10-K 8

Further, CRH manufactures a variety of concrete masonry, hardscape and related products including pavers, blocks and curbs, retaining walls and slabs. CRH also produces fencing and railing systems, composite decking, lawn and garden products and packaged concrete mixes. These products are supplied to residential, commercial and do-it-yourself (DIY) construction markets.

Key Trends and Opportunities

Key trends affecting the development of CRH's businesses include:

• Population growth and urbanization driving increasing demand for construction;

• Economic development and further investment in infrastructure, commercial and residential projects; and

• Recurring need to repair, maintain and upgrade the built environment as existing buildings and infrastructure age and wear.

In addition, there are several industry-specific trends that are shaping how CRH evolves to meet the needs of its customers:

• Unprecedented levels of funding support for critical infrastructure and the onshoring of manufacturing activity;

• An evolving regulatory landscape driving increasing customer demand for innovative, connected solutions to deliver a more resilient and sustainable built environment; and

• Supply-side dynamics, such as labor constraints, driving increasing investment in automation, technology and digital solutions.

Environmental and Governmental

Regulations

Our operations in the United States are subject to federal, state and local laws, while our European operations are subject to national environmental laws and regulations stemming primarily from European Union (EU) directives and regulations. Our operations elsewhere are typically subject to both national and local regulatory requirements.

Compliance and Costs

Compliance with applicable regulations requires capital investment and ongoing expenditures for the operation and maintenance of systems and implementation of improvement programs. These include investments in licensing, permitting and monitoring, waste and water management plans, reductions in air emissions and energy consumption, promotion and protection of biodiversity, education and training, as well as employment of environmental specialists within CRH. These capital investments and expenditures were not material to CRH’s earnings, results of operations or financial condition in 2024 and 2023.

Management believes that its current provision for environmental and remediation costs is reasonable and that any potential non-compliance at its operations and facilities with applicable environmental laws and regulations is not likely to have a material adverse effect on CRH’s operations or financial condition. See Item 3. “Legal Proceedings" and Note 13 “Asset retirement obligations” in Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”.

Land and Environmental Management

We generally own or lease the real estate on which our main raw materials, aggregates and other minerals are located. As part of our vertically integrated business model, we have established an extensive global network of extractive sites comprised of 1,296 properties, of which 246,058 acres of land are owned and 129,818 acres are leased. These extractive sites provide us with the raw materials to manufacture various primary building materials, such as aggregates, cement, asphalt, readymixed concrete and concrete products. We offer these products directly for sale and integrate them into our downstream products and services. Materials produced by our aggregates and cement businesses, for example, can be supplied to our downstream businesses for use in our Road Solutions, Building & Infrastructure Solutions and Outdoor Living Solutions businesses.

Our operations are typically required to comply with government land use plans and zoning requirements. We are required by government authorities to obtain permits to operate certain workplaces, such as quarries, mines, production and distribution facilities, including water rights required to operate many of our sites. The terms and general availability of government permits required to conduct our business influence the scope of our operations on the respective sites. We are also required to obtain permits and adhere to applicable restrictions, often including establishing appropriate environmental management systems, to minimize the risk that necessary permits are revoked, modified or not renewed.

CRH is also subject to multiple laws that require the Company, as a mine operator, to reclaim and restore properties after mining activities have ceased. As a result, we are required to record reasonable provisions for such reclamation in our Consolidated Financial Statements.

From time to time, we are required by law and/or contractual obligations to investigate and remediate releases of hazardous substances at our manufacturing sites and at sites where hazardous substances from our operations may have been disposed of. Where we have been required to incur such expenses, we are required to record reasonable provisions for such remediation in our Consolidated Financial Statements.

The Clean Air Act in the United States and similar laws elsewhere require that certain of our facilities, including our cement plants, obtain and maintain air emissions permits that subject them to pollution control requirements and require pre-approval for constructing certain facilities. CRH is also required to comply with laws designed to promote biodiversity and protect ecosystems. From time to time, CRH may be required to install additional equipment or technologies to remain in compliance with such environmental regulations.

Climate Change

We believe the transition to a more sustainable built environment represents a significant commercial opportunity for CRH. We are well-positioned to support the increased demand for more sustainable products, which is underpinned by robust funding programs and regulatory policies in the geographies in which we operate. In addition, extreme weather events are increasing the need for more climate-resilient infrastructure.

CRH Form 10-K 9

CRH has an absolute carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reduction target of 30% by 2030 (from a 2021 base year) inclusive of organic business growth. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has validated our targets3 in line with a 1.5°C trajectory. A significant portion of the actions required to deliver on the 2030 roadmap are based on known technologies, well-established operational excellence programs and activities in which CRH has a proven track record of delivery. CRH’s roadmap includes incremental capital expenditure of approximately $150 million per annum on average, which is subject to strict internal investment criteria and the net business benefit is expected to increase revenues and profitability.

In 2024, our Scope 1 and 2 absolute carbon emissions decreased by 4%, from 31.0 million tonnes4 in 2023 to 29.7 million tonnes in 2024, as we made further progress implementing the key levers in our decarbonization roadmap which offset the impact of an increase in emissions arising from changes in our business portfolio. Our cement-specific net CO2 emissions per tonne of cementitious product reduced to 537kg (562kg in 2023). We are also continuing to advance our contribution to the circular economy, preserving scarce natural resources and using more recycled materials in construction. In 2024, we recycled 44.7 million tonnes of by-products and wastes, sourced internally and from other industries, for use as alternative materials and fuels in our products and processes (43.9 million tonnes in 2023).

Supply Chain

CRH employs a dedicated global purchasing team and its supply chain combines vertical integration as well as external suppliers and service providers to deliver products to customers in various markets.

As outlined on page 9, CRH owns or leases the real estate on which its main raw materials are located and has established an extensive global network of quarries. As part of its vertically integrated business model, the raw materials from these quarries are used to manufacture primary building materials, such as aggregates, cement, asphalt, readymixed concrete and concrete products, which are offered directly for sale or integrated into downstream products and services.

CRH is a significant purchaser of certain materials and resources important to its business, including cement, bitumen, steel, supplementary cementitious materials and energy supplies, all of which it acquires at market rates. CRH is not dependent on any one source for the supply of these materials and resources, other than in certain jurisdictions with regard to the supply of gas and electricity.

CRH also utilizes various external suppliers and service providers throughout its business in addition to its internal supply chains, which enables it to economically source various raw materials, equipment and other inputs and to transport finished product to customers. The Company is committed to establishing a sustainable and resilient supply chain. The Company takes an active approach to monitoring the resilience of its supply chain and ensures that it has access to a satisfactory level of required inputs at all times.

Seasonality

Activity in the construction industry is dependent to a considerable extent on the seasonal impact of weather on the Company’s operating locations, with periods of higher activity in some markets during spring and summer which may reduce significantly in winter due to inclement conditions and extreme weather events. In addition to impacting demand for our products and services, adverse weather can negatively impact the production processes for a variety of reasons. For example, workers may not be able to work outdoors in sustained high temperatures and heavy rainfall and/or other unfavorable weather conditions.

Competitive Environment

CRH is a market leader in many of the construction markets it operates in across North America, Europe and Australia. CRH prioritizes investment in markets with attractive fundamentals including population and economic growth, which drive demand for construction. Many of the markets in which CRH operates are highly fragmented, and as a result, CRH products and services face strong competition. The Company’s profits are sensitive to changes in volumes and prices which are impacted from time to time by competitive conditions experienced in different markets.

Pricing for products is impacted by macroeconomic conditions, the number of competitors, the degree of utilization of production capacity, the specifics of product demand, innovation and differentiation, among other factors.

Fragmented markets continue to offer focused growth opportunities for CRH. Similarly, competitors may seek to expand their existing positions or enter new markets and the Company may experience competition for potential acquisitions identified by CRH management.

3 The SBTi’s Target Validation Team has determined that CRH’s target ambition for Scope 1 and Scope 2, as well as Scope 3 for purchased clinker and cement, is in line with a 1.5°C trajectory.

4 Note all sustainability metrics are presented in metric tonnes. Scope 1, 2 and 3 absolute CO2 emissions were 47.1 million tonnes in 2024 (44.1 million tonnes in 2023).

CRH Form 10-K 10

Intellectual Property and Research & Development

CRH relies on a combination of intellectual property laws, confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions to protect its proprietary assets and brands. CRH has registered or applied for registration of trademarks, service marks and internet domain names, both domestically and internationally, where appropriate.

CRH engages in ongoing research & development projects to improve existing and develop new technologies that will empower more sustainable forms of construction in the future. The Company’s research initiatives include:

• A $250 million Venturing and Innovation Fund to support the development of new technologies and innovative solutions. To date, research initiatives across the Company include hydrogen use, CO2 mineralization projects, novel cements, artificial intelligence technology and Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS);

• CRH Ventures, the Company’s venture capital arm, invests in, and partners with, construction technology and climate technology companies across the construction value chain to pilot and scale new technologies and innovations that will enable safer, smarter and more sustainable construction; and

• iCSC, CRH’s global center of excellence provides expertise and leadership to identify and analyze global market and construction trends and new growth opportunities to maximize the value of sustainable innovation. The iCSC incorporates a global network of laboratories and experts at CRH’s operating companies collaborating to advance research on sustainable building materials and processes, such as low-carbon cement and concrete.

Through these initiatives, CRH is supporting the development of new technologies and innovative solutions to meet the increasingly complex needs of customers and evolving trends in construction.

Human Capital Resources

People are our priority, and we believe that building a safe and inclusive work environment that empowers and inspires our global workforce is core to our success. In 2024, we employed approximately 79,800 people at 3,816 locations in 28 countries, of which approximately 47,400 were in the Americas Division and 32,400 in the International Division. Some of our businesses are seasonal in nature which results in peaks and troughs in employment numbers across certain sections of our workforce. These changes are managed through fair and flexible hiring practices.

Safety and Well-Being

The safety and well-being (including physical and mental health) of our employees, contractors and other stakeholders is embedded in CRH’s values. Our ambition is to have a culture of safety and wellness working towards zero harm, with a target of zero fatalities in any year. The Safety, Environment & Social Responsibility Committee, a Board committee, receives regular reports in relation to safety indicators.

CRH invests substantial time, effort and financial resources to comply with applicable regulations and ensure a safe workplace. In 2024, 94% of our locations had zero accidents and we achieved a lost time incident rate of 0.22 based on the number of incidents per 200,000 work hours for employees and contractors globally. We continue to monitor near misses, prioritizing those high potential learning events to achieve our goal of zero harm. We also invest in initiatives and programs across CRH, including training, technologies and our equipment to increase the standard of safety across our operations and reduce risks. CRH further supports our employees through our health and well-being programs providing tools, social support and strategies for physical and mental health.

Our mining operations, manufacturing facilities and other operations are subject to a variety of worker health and safety requirements, including laws and regulations administered by the United States’ Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and their state-level and foreign equivalents. Failure to comply with these applicable workplace health and safety requirements can result in sanctions and claims for personal injury and property damage and/or the closure of sites.

Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is critical in generating insights regarding CRH’s performance culture, training and career development opportunities, safety culture, corporate purpose, initiatives to support inclusion and overall strategy. The Board has delegated responsibility for the management of employee engagement to the Nomination & Corporate Governance Committee. Through employee engagement, we gain a better understanding of what matters most to our employees. We continue to adapt engagement strategies, ways of working and leadership development approaches based on employee feedback.

Working with the executive leadership team (Global Leadership Team), CRH develops action plans based on the results of these engagements. The proximity of our senior leaders to daily operations across CRH is a key reason for the Company's continued success and enables dynamic engagement across our operations.

We operate both unionized and non-unionized workplaces.

Learning and Development

We are focused on creating a global workforce that will drive performance now and for years to come. Learning and development is integral to embedding our culture and values, ensuring compliance with policies and attracting, retaining and developing top talent. We invest in talent development throughout our businesses, empowering our employees across all levels of education and employment to grow their careers through personal and professional development opportunities to ensure we have a pipeline of talent in place for the next generation of leaders at CRH. We continue to roll out our Frontline Leadership Program, which provides leadership development training for frontline supervisors across CRH, advancing the skills of our employees across a range of programs such as management, inclusive leadership and safety. We have also established multiple training and compliance programs to support appropriate conduct, including mandatory annual trainings regarding anti-bribery, anti-fraud and anti-theft topics.

Inclusion and Engagement

At CRH, we want to enhance and sustain a culture where fairness, inclusion and belonging are achievable for everyone. The Board and management team are committed to building a respectful and inclusive culture where talented people of all backgrounds have opportunities and can perform at their best. CRH has an engagement strategy which is built on, among other things, a firm commitment to nurture respect and inclusion as a core capability.

CRH promoted our inclusion and engagement goals through a range of initiatives and developments in 2024, including the development of new toolkits, forums and supports for our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). Our ERGs are voluntary, employee-led groups, open to all employees including allies. Their aim is to foster an inclusive workplace by strengthening communication, community and employee experience.

CRH Form 10-K 11

Available Information

The Company maintains an internet address at www.crh.com and makes available free of charge through its website its annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments thereto, if any, filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, which are available as soon as reasonably practicable after CRH files or furnishes such information to the SEC. The Company also posts its proxy statements on its corporate website. Investors may also access such documents via the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

References in this document to other documents on the CRH website are included only as an aid to their location and are not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K. CRH’s website provides the full text of earnings updates, and copies of presentations to analysts and investors.

Further, copies of CRH’s key corporate governance policies and other reports, including its Code of Business Conduct, Sustainability Performance Report and the charters for Committees of the Board, may be found on the CRH website.

The Company undertakes no obligation to update any statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K or the documents incorporated by reference herein for revisions or changes after the filing date of this Annual Report on Form 10‐K, other than as required by law.

We post on our website news releases, announcements and other statements about our business performance, results of operations and sustainability matters, some of which may contain information that may be deemed material to investors. Additionally, we use our LinkedIn account (www.linkedin.com/company/crh), as well as our other social media channels from time to time, to post announcements that may contain information that may be deemed material to investors. Our executive officers may use similar social media channels to disclose public information. We encourage investors, the media and others interested in CRH to review the business and financial information we or our executive officers post on our website and the social media channels identified above. Information on CRH’s website or such social media channels does not form part of, and is not incorporated into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

CRH Form 10-K 12

In addition to the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, you should carefully consider the following risk factors before investing in our ordinary shares. The risks and uncertainties we describe below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties of which we are not aware or that we currently believe are immaterial may also adversely affect the business, financial condition and results of operations of the Company. If any of the possible events described below were to occur, the business, financial condition and results of operations of the Company could be materially and adversely affected. If that happens, the market price of our ordinary shares could decline, and holders of our ordinary shares could lose all or part of their investment.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K also contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including the risks described below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Risks Related To Our Industry And Our Business

Industry Cyclicality and Economic Conditions

CRH’s business depends on construction demand, and construction activity is inherently cyclical and influenced by multiple factors, including global and national economic circumstances (particularly those affecting the infrastructure and construction markets), monetary policy, consumer sentiment, swings in fuel and other input costs, and weather conditions that may, individually or collectively, disrupt outdoor construction activity.

Given the nature of our core products, many of which cannot be transported on a cost-effective basis over long distances, our operations are particularly sensitive to the economic conditions in the local markets in which we operate. In general, economic uncertainty and rising interest rates can exacerbate negative trends in construction activity, including when current and/or prospective customers are unable to obtain credit or issue bonds, which can lead to the postponement, delay and/or cancellation of projects, and an associated negative impact on demand for building materials and related services. With a significant proportion of construction activity undertaken outside (e.g. highway construction), demand for and the utilization of the Company's products and services such as aggregates, asphalt and concrete can be highly seasonal in line with customer demand, and may additionally be impacted by acute and/or chronic changes in global and/or localized weather events/conditions.

In addition, CRH may also be negatively impacted by fluctuations in the price of fuel and principal energy-related raw materials, which accounted for approximately 10% of total revenues in 2024, compared to 11% in 2023, with no guarantee that the Company will continue to be able to absorb these inflationary pressures.

Government Infrastructure Spending

CRH’s financial performance may be adversely impacted by reductions or delays in government infrastructure spending.

A significant percentage of the Company’s products and/or services is consumed by public infrastructure projects, including the construction of highways and bridges. Accordingly, demand for our products may be impacted by adverse changes in public policy, as well as the financial resources and investment strategy of government bodies in our markets. The allocation of government funding for public infrastructure programs is a key driver for our markets, such as the infrastructure elements of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in the United States, and large European infrastructure initiatives.

However, government budget deficits might reduce government infrastructure investment and reduce demand for the Company’s products. Similarly, any significant delay and/or adverse change in investment strategy by policy makers in any of the Company’s key markets could reduce market demand, adversely impacting financial performance.

Adverse Geopolitical Change/Environment

Adverse public policy, economic, social and political situations in any country in which the Company operates could lead to a number of risks including health and safety risks for the Company's people, a fall in demand for the Company’s products, business interruption, restrictions on repatriation of earnings and/or a loss of plant access.

CRH primarily operates across North America, Europe and Australia. The economies of these countries in which we operate are broadly stable. However, they are at varying stages of development, which presents multiple risks and uncertainties that could adversely affect the Company’s operations and financial results. These risks and uncertainties include:

• Changes in political, social or economic conditions;

• New or strengthened trade protection measures, currency controls or import or export licensing requirements;

• Political unrest and currency shocks;

• Social activism and civil disturbance, terrorist events or outbreak of armed conflict, among other potential causes;

• Labor and procurement practices which contravene ethical considerations and regulatory requirements;

• Unexpected changes in regulatory and tax requirements; and

• Lockdowns or other restrictions due to public health emergencies, such as pandemics.

In addition, CRH has people, assets and operations in Ukraine and neighboring countries, which face physical risk due to the ongoing conflict. The Board and management are actively monitoring the situation in Ukraine, as uncertainty continues to exist due to the ongoing conflict in the region.

CRH Form 10-K 13

Health and Safety Performance

CRH’s businesses operate in an industry with inherent health and safety risks, including the operation of heavy vehicles, working at height, use of mechanized processes, and handling of substances and materials potentially hazardous to people, animal life and/or the environment. Any failure to ensure safe workplaces could result in a deterioration in CRH’s safety performance and related adverse regulatory action or legal liability. Health and safety incidents could significantly impact CRH’s operational and financial performance, as well as its reputation.

CRH’s safety risks extend to sites not wholly within our control, including outdoor paving and construction sites. This environment presents a complex challenge which requires safe behaviors and engagement from employees as well as robust Company policies and procedures. A high number of accidents may pose additional challenges in recruiting new employees, ensuring operational continuity and maintaining licenses and permits.

Further, CRH is subject to a broad and stringent range of existing and evolving laws, regulations, standards and best practices with respect to health and safety in each of the jurisdictions in which it operates. Should CRH’s health and safety frameworks, processes and controls fail to comply with such regulations, the Company could be exposed to significant potential legal liabilities and penalties. Any failure resulting in the discharge or release of hazardous substances to the environment (e.g. storage tank leaks, or explosions) could in addition expose CRH to significant liability remediation costs and/or penalties that impact our financial position.

In addition, potential issues with products could lead to health, safety and other issues for our broad range of stakeholders including our employees, contractors, customers and communities.

The recurrence of Covid-19 and/or similarly disruptive/dangerous pandemics could materially endanger our workers and/or contractors.

People Management

CRH may not achieve its strategic objectives if it is not successful in attracting, engaging, retaining and developing employees with the required skill sets, planning for leadership succession, developing an engaged and inclusive workforce, and building constructive relationships with collective representation groups.

The identification and subsequent assessment, management, development and deployment of talented individuals is of major importance in continuing to deliver on the Company’s strategy and in ensuring that succession planning objectives for key executive roles throughout its international operations are satisfied. As well as ensuring the Company identifies, hires, integrates, engages, develops and promotes talent, the Company must attract and retain a broad workforce representing diversity of thought and perspective and maintain an inclusive working environment. Our ability to achieve these objectives depends on the availability of a pool of workers with the required training and skills, and the attractiveness of our employer value proposition compared with competing employers.

The Company operates in a labor-intensive industry and can face frontline labor shortages that impact its ability to produce goods, operate facilities and install products. Additionally, any significant loss of employee resources for a sustained period of time (e.g. due to sickness or a public health emergency) could impact the Company’s ability to maintain operations.

The Company must also maintain constructive relationships with the trade/labor unions that represent certain employees under collective agreements. Failure to do so could mean that the Company cannot renegotiate on appropriate terms the relevant collective agreements upon expiration and may face strikes or work stoppages as a consequence. Poor labor relations could create reputational risk for the Company and/or disrupt our businesses, raise costs and reduce revenues and earnings from the affected locations, with potential adverse effects on the results of operations and financial condition of the Company.

Strategic Mineral Reserves and Permitting

Failure of CRH to maintain access to mineral resources and reserves, plan for reserve depletion and secure or maintain permits for its mining operations may result in operation stoppages, adversely impacting financial performance.

Continuity of the cash flows derived from the production and sale of certain building materials depends on satisfactory reserves planning, including appropriate long-term arrangements for their replacement. The high weight-to-price ratio of the aggregates we consume generally makes it uneconomical to transport them over long distances, and accordingly it is important to secure high quality mineral resources local to our markets or adjacent to appropriate logistical hubs (e.g. rail infrastructure). Any failure to adequately plan for reserve depletion, or accurately forecast future growth markets, could lead to a failure to maintain, and/or acquire and develop required sites, especially given long development lead times, and associated operational stoppages that adversely impact financial performance and cash flows.

Appropriate reserves are increasingly scarce, and licenses and permits required for operations are also becoming harder to secure (e.g. due to increasing resistance from communities that have expanded around potential attractive reserves). In addition, the Company cannot guarantee that it will continue to satisfy the many terms and conditions under which such licenses and permits are granted and/or renewed.

Reserve estimates and projections of production rates of the minerals used in the Company’s products inherently contain numerous assumptions and uncertainties, that, for example, may depend upon geological interpretation, and statistical inferences or assumptions drawn from drilling and sampling analysis. If such interpretations, inferences or assumptions are subsequently proven incorrect and differ materially from actual geological conditions and/or production rates, we may exhaust reserves more quickly than anticipated over the long-term.

The failure to plan adequately for current and future extraction and utilization or to ensure ongoing compliance with requirements of issuing authorities could lead to operational disruptions and negatively affect our long-term financial results. For additional information on the Company’s reserves position, see pages 22 to 26.

Climate Change and Policy

The impact of climate change may adversely affect CRH’s operations and cost base and the stability of markets in which the Company operates. Risks related to climate change that could affect the Company’s operations and financial performance include both physical risks (such as acute and chronic changes in weather) and transitional risks (such as technological development, policy and regulation change and market and economic responses).

Risks related to climate change that could affect the Company’s operations and/or financial performance are discussed as follows:

Physical

Acute weather events such as hurricanes or flooding, and chronic events such as increased precipitation, rising sea levels and/or temperatures may have an adverse effect on the Company’s business and operations. Operational productivity and demand for the Company’s products may be reduced during these weather events leading to reduced financial performance. Changing population demographics and other macro events arising from climate change may also impact demand for our products in significantly affected areas.

CRH Form 10-K 14

Transition

• Legal and Regulatory: As stakeholder expectations with regard to climate change continue to evolve, and various governmental bodies in our markets propose changes to laws and regulations covering emissions, carbon allowances and taxation, we may be exposed to increased operational, compliance and litigation related risks and costs. Efforts to address climate change through laws and regulations, for example by requiring reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) such as CO2 can create economic risks and uncertainties for the Company’s businesses. Such risks could include the introduction of more extensive carbon emissions caps and associated carbon costs, additional costs of installing equipment to reduce emissions to comply with GHG limits, and higher costs from the imposition of legislative and/or regulatory controls. There is a risk of reduced competitiveness due to any failure of equalization measures to level costs between domestic producers and importers from countries with lower enforced environmental regulations/GHG constraints.

• Technology: The Company has publicly set itself carbon emission reduction goals and ambitions, the delivery of which may depend on the rapid advancement of technologies, such as CCUS, that are still in early prototype or development phases. If our assumptions as to technology development timelines and/or our ability to economically access them prove inaccurate, we may be unable to deliver our emissions targets.

• Reputational: Any failure to reduce emissions arising from our operations or meet investor and other stakeholder groups’ expectations with regard to emissions reductions may adversely impact the Company's reputation and/or increase the likelihood of associated stakeholder litigation. In addition, the Company may incur materially increased costs related to increases in the cost of carbon, requirements to make further capital investments, reduced access to capital, challenges in retaining and/or attracting talent, local community opposition to operating facilities, and any inability to secure licensing permits.

Portfolio Management

CRH engages in acquisition and divestiture activity as part of active portfolio management, and this portfolio management activity presents risks around due diligence, execution and integration of assets. Additionally, the Company may be liable for liabilities of companies it has acquired or divested. Failure to efficiently identify and execute deals may limit the Company’s growth potential and impact financial performance.

The Company’s acquisition strategy depends on successfully identifying and acquiring suitable assets at prices that satisfy our stringent cash flow and return on investment criteria. The Company may not be able to identify such companies, and, even if identified, may not be able to acquire them because of a variety of factors including the outcome of due diligence processes, the ability to raise required funds on acceptable terms, regulatory approvals (including in certain instances from competition authorities) and competition for transactions from peers and other entities acquiring companies in the building materials sector. In addition, situations may arise where the Company may be liable for the past acts, omissions or liabilities of acquired companies, or may remain liable in cases of divestiture (including for potential environmental liabilities or potential on-going information technology (IT) support).

In addition, the Company’s ability to realize the expected benefits from acquisitions depends in part on its ability to integrate newly-acquired businesses. If the Company fails to integrate acquisitions, it may not achieve expected growth synergies or financial, operating or other benefits, and it may incur write-downs, impairment charges or unforeseen liabilities that could negatively affect its operating results or financial position or could otherwise harm its business. Further, integrating an acquired business, products, or technology, or remediating post-acquisition underperformance and associated operational challenges, could divert management time and resources from other matters.

The Company may decide to use shares of its common stock to complete an acquisition and/or make strategic investments in other companies, which may dilute the ownership interests of existing shareholders and adversely impact the price of our stock.

Early Stage Business/Technology Investment

CRH’s venture capital unit may fail to achieve expected commercial success and financial returns, and CRH may lose all or part of its investments in early-stage companies.

CRH, through its $250 million Venturing and Innovation Fund, makes investments in early stage ventures focused on construction, sustainability and digitalization technology whose products and services may offer us future competitive advantage.

Investing in early-stage businesses and/or technologies presents inherent risks, with the potential that we may lose all or part of our investment if they fail to achieve anticipated strategic, technological and financial returns. If we realize losses on our venture investments, our results of operations and financial condition may be adversely impacted.

Sustainable Products and Innovation

If CRH fails to develop new sustainable products that meet customer needs, we may fall behind our competitors and our financial performance may be adversely impacted.

We operate in competitive markets with customers continuously pushing suppliers to deliver new, innovative products and solutions that enable them to work more efficiently, reduce their environmental footprint and realize greater cost savings. This is especially so in relation to changing customer preferences and demands for high-performance sustainability solutions with enhanced emissions and/or circularity profiles, including those with greater recycled content and/or innovations to existing products, that help them to deliver on their own climate and/or emissions-related commitments.

The failure to keep up with the pace of technological change may lead to increased operational costs and financial loss through the inability to supply products to customers who require innovative and low-carbon sustainable solutions. Failure to leverage innovation and other sustainability initiatives, for example transitioning to innovative lower-carbon products such as RAP, permeable paving solutions, lower-carbon cements and other high-performance sustainability solutions, may shorten product life cycles or give rise to early product obsolescence thus impairing financial performance and/or future value creation.

CRH Form 10-K 15

Commodity Products and Substitution

CRH manufactures and supplies a large number of commodity products into highly competitive markets. Failure by CRH to maintain pricing in an inflationary environment and to differentiate its products from its competitors could adversely impact our financial performance.

Many of the Company’s products are commodities that face strong volume and price competition, with pricing impacted by macroeconomic conditions, the competitive environment, the degree of utilization of production capacity and the specifics of product demand, among other factors. In addition, the Company’s local competitors are increasingly innovative and cost competitive, and our products may also face competition from substitute products, including new products, that the Company does not produce. Any significant shift in demand preference to these alternate products could adversely impact market share and results of operations.

The Company may experience downward pricing pressure from time to time across its different markets and may not always be able to raise prices to offset increased operating expenses and inflationary pressures. The Company’s profits are particularly sensitive to changes in volume, as the cement business is capital-intensive and thus has significant fixed and semi-fixed costs.

Any failure to maintain strong customer relationships could result in an inability to respond to changing consumer preferences and approaches to construction. Failure to differentiate and innovate could lead to market share decline, with adverse impacts on financial performance.

Enabling Business Technology

CRH depends on multiple types of information and operational technologies, and failure to properly manage and maintain such technologies could adversely impact our ability to operate.

The Company makes significant capital investments in information and operational technology, and systems to promote operational efficiency and maintain competitive advantage. Some of these investments relate to complex, multi-year technology deployments that require specialist customization and project management to deliver expected value (including Enterprise Reporting Program (ERP) and industrial control systems deployments and upgrades). The Company maintains a complex operating environment in relation to both information and operating technology, that includes on-premises, hybrid and cloud technologies supported by a mixture of third-party outsourced service providers and internal resources. Any failure to properly manage the customization and/or deployment of these systems or this complex operating environment may result in additional costs being incurred, and/or delayed or eroded benefit realization. If we fail to make the required technological investments at the right time, we may lose competitive advantage and/or inhibit our ability to comply with evolving laws and/or regulations.

Given the specific nature of the technology that the Company implements, it often relies on the support of specialist third-parties; any failure to secure appropriately skilled and experienced third-parties may result in an increased risk of unsuccessful implementations, time delays and/or increased costs.

Major Business Interruption

CRH depends on the continued availability of people, production equipment, processes and systems, and our production could be materially disrupted by operational failures, which would have a negative impact on our profitability.

Given the capital-intensive nature of some of our product lines, with significant fixed and semi-fixed costs, the Company's profits are particularly sensitive to changes in volume, creating an exposure to any natural and/or human events that could disrupt production.

The ongoing, efficient operation of our facilities is often dependent on important pieces of equipment and IT networks/infrastructure. These can present single points of failure and can be difficult to quickly and/or easily replace due to long supply chain lead times and high associated capital costs. It is possible we could experience periodic disruption to equipment availability for a variety of reasons, including accidents, mechanical failures, fires/explosions and extreme weather conditions.

In addition to damaging equipment, extreme weather events could also disrupt operations through delaying project start dates, extending product curing times, and/or disrupting infrastructure on which we depend including power and water networks. In addition, the manual nature of some of our manufacturing processes and infrastructure projects, including highway construction and maintenance, creates a high level of dependency on our highly skilled workforce. Any event that materially inhibits our people from being able to work, including an inability to get to our facilities and/or customer sites or widespread sickness/pandemic, could materially disrupt our operations, with adverse impacts on financial performance.

Cybersecurity

CRH depends on multiple information and operational technology systems, including certain systems for which third-parties are in whole or in part responsible. We may be unable to protect our assets and data against increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity attacks. Security breaches, IT interruptions or data loss could result in significant business disruption, loss of production, reputational damage and/or regulatory penalties.

The Company has not been subject to a cyber-attack that has had a material impact on our operations or financial results. However, we have faced attempted cyber-attacks and may face future cyber-attacks, including malware or ransomware attacks, or suffer other human or technological errors that have a material impact. Breaches, significant IT interruptions or errors could disrupt production software, permit manipulation of financial data, and could lead to corruption or theft of sensitive data that we collect and retain about our customers, suppliers, employees and business performance. Following a material cybersecurity incident, the Company may incur significant remediation costs, may face regulatory proceedings and/or private litigation, and may suffer damage to our reputation and customer confidence in our operations.

Our businesses rely on information and operational technologies to support critical business processes and activities, and failures or breaches of such technologies could lead to production curtailment and/or other operational disruptions. We rely on specialist third-parties to provide many of our information and operational technology systems, and vulnerabilities within such third-party systems could have a material negative effect on us. The third-parties on whom we rely may themselves be affected by cybersecurity breaches or failures, which could lead to operational disruption or other negative consequences that could adversely impact our own business and financial condition.

In addition, the Company regularly engages in acquisition activity as part of its active portfolio management. Many newly-acquired companies rely on different information and operational technology systems to the rest of the Company and may not have cybersecurity protections comparable to those implemented throughout the existing Company. Integrating newly-acquired companies and assets and implementing appropriate cybersecurity controls may be more resource-intensive and time-consuming than anticipated. Failure to appropriately integrate new acquisitions into our cybersecurity and IT systems can lead to vulnerabilities and make our systems more complex to secure. Further, the global nature of our operations and diverse information and operational technologies used across the Company may result in potential delays in the detection and reporting of cyber incidents. In addition, as cybersecurity threats evolve, the Company is increasingly required to expend additional resources to enhance our cybersecurity protection measures and may be required to expend additional resources to investigate and remediate identified vulnerabilities.

CRH Form 10-K 16

Supply Chain Failure

CRH’s ability to maintain production capacity and/or quality depends on the reliable and economic sourcing of various input materials, and failure to manage any material disruption in our supply chains could adversely impact our ability to service our customers and result in a deterioration in operational and/or financial performance.

The Company must reliably and economically source various raw materials, equipment and other inputs from many third-party suppliers and then transport finished products to satisfy customer demands and meet contractual requirements. Our ability to balance maintaining resilient supply chains with optimizing our working capital and inventory levels is critical to the continuity and strong financial returns of our operations. Any failure to manage any material disruption in our supply chains, including where we do not hold adequate buffer stocks and/or are unable to source adequate alternatives within acceptable timelines and at reasonable cost, could adversely impact our ability to service our customers and result in a deterioration in operational and/or financial performance, and reputational damage.

Some of the raw materials, equipment, transport and other inputs that the Company requires are limited to a small number of suppliers from which the Company can economically and/or practically source, which often have long lead times. Any of our suppliers may experience temporary, prolonged or even permanent operational disruption and/or capacity in the market may fall below required levels (e.g. for haulage capacity), which could have an adverse impact on the Company’s operations, financial performance and reputation. In addition, in certain markets in which the Company operates, including markets for steel, cement, bitumen and supplementary cementitious materials, contracted market demand can far outstrip supply, which may restrict the Company’s ability to obtain alternative suppliers or additional volumes where necessary. Our focus on responsible sourcing practices and other Environmental & Social Governance (ESG) considerations may also limit the pool of acceptable suppliers from which we may choose to source.

Construction Contracts

A number of our projects/contracts are complex, spanning multiple parties, years and/or products, and our future financial results may be adversely affected if we incorrectly forecast project budgets, deliver projects that do not meet contracted standards, or fail to deliver on time.

Across the Company’s business lines, we enter into contracts for complex, multi-year projects that comprise multiple product lines and as such are exposed to inherent risks related to forecasting and budgeting, project management and delivery, and quality control.

Any failure to manage these risks may reduce the Company’s profitability and/or damage its reputation, with associated impacts on our ability to bid for and/or win future contracts.

Risks Related To Financial, Regulatory And Reporting Environment

Laws, Regulations and Business Conduct

CRH is subject to a wide variety of local and international laws and regulations. CRH may face adverse operational and financial effects and reputational damage, including significant fines, debarment or other sanctions, due to litigation or investigations in connection with breaches or perceived breaches of such laws and regulations or otherwise. In addition, we are governed by the Irish Companies Act, which differs from laws generally applicable to U.S. companies.

As an Irish incorporated company, with a primary listing on the NYSE and an international secondary listing on the LSE, CRH must comply with a wide variety of local and international laws and regulations, including the Irish Companies Act, U.S. securities laws and regulations, NYSE listing requirements, the Market Abuse Regulation, the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, and other relevant legislation and regulation. The Company is also subject to various statutes, regulations and laws affecting land usage, zoning, labor and employment practices, competition/anti-trust, financial reporting, taxation, anti-fraud and theft, anti-bribery, anti-corruption, governance, data protection and data privacy and security, environmental, health and safety, and international trade and sanctions laws, among other matters.

There can be no assurance that the Company’s policies and procedures will afford adequate protection against compliance failures or other fraudulent and/or corrupt activities. Any failure to comply with the requirements of any of these laws and/or regulations could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations, financial condition, prospects and/or reputation, with resultant litigation or investigations, the imposition of significant fines, sanctions, debarment from operating in key markets, and/or reputational damage. Where subject to litigation, we establish reserves in line with the requirements of the relevant accounting standards, where there is a clearly defined past event, when the loss is assessed as probable and we can reasonably estimate the amount. These estimated reserves are based on the facts and circumstances known to the Company at the time of estimation and subsequent reporting and subsequent developments related to these matters may affect our assessment and estimates.

In addition, we are incorporated under Irish law, which treats interested director and officer transactions and shareholder lawsuits differently than the laws generally applicable to U.S.-incorporated corporations and our shareholders may thus have more difficulty protecting their interests than would shareholders of a corporation incorporated in a jurisdiction of the United States. As we are an Irish company, the duties of our directors and officers are generally owed to CRH plc. Our shareholders will generally not have a personal right of action against our directors or officers and in limited circumstances only may exercise rights of action on behalf of the Company.

Financial Instruments

CRH uses financial instruments throughout its businesses giving rise to interest rate and leverage, foreign currency, counterparty, credit rating and liquidity risks. A downgrade of the Company’s credit ratings may give rise to increases in future funding costs and may impair the Company’s ability to raise funds on acceptable terms. In addition, insolvency of the financial institutions with which the Company conducts business may adversely impact the Company’s financial position.

Risks related to Company financing that could affect its operations and/or financial performance are discussed as follows:

Interest rate and leverage risks

As at December 31, 2024, the Company had outstanding gross indebtedness, including overdrafts, finance lease liabilities and the impact of derivatives, of approximately $14.3 billion, compared to $11.8 billion in 2023, and cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash of approximately $3.8 billion, compared to $6.4 billion in 2023. The Company uses interest rate swaps to manage its interest rate profile. While current leverage is low, acquisition activity could adversely impact operating and financial flexibility as well as financial position. There can be no assurance that the Company will not be adversely impacted by increases in borrowing costs in the future.

CRH Form 10-K 17

Foreign currency risks

If the Company’s reporting currency weakens relative to the basket of foreign currencies in which Net Debt5is denominated (including the euro, Pound Sterling, Canadian Dollar, Australian Dollar, Philippine Peso, Polish Zloty, and Swiss Franc), the Net Debt balance would increase; the converse would apply if the Company’s reporting currency was to strengthen. Where economically feasible, Net Debt* is maintained in the same relative ratio as capital employed to act as an economic hedge of the underlying currency assets.

Counterparty risks

Insolvency of the financial institutions with which the Company conducts business or a downgrade in their credit ratings may lead to losses in the cash balances that the Company holds with such financial institutions or losses in derivative transactions that the Company has entered into with these parties and may render it more difficult for the Company to utilize existing debt capacity or otherwise obtain financing for operations. The Company holds significant cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash on deposit and derivative transactions with a variety of highly rated financial institutions which at December 31, 2024, totaled $3.8 billion and $27 million, compared to $6.4 billion and $37 million, respectively, in 2023. In addition, certain of the Company’s activities give rise to significant amounts receivable from counterparties at the balance sheet date; at December 31, 2024, this balance was $4.4 billion and in 2023 this balance was $4.1 billion.

Credit rating risks

A downgrade of the Company’s credit ratings may give rise to increases in funding costs in respect of future debt and may, among other matters, impair its ability to access debt markets or otherwise raise funds or enter into lines of credit, for example, on acceptable terms. Such a downgrade may result from factors specific to the Company, including increased indebtedness stemming from acquisition activity, or from other factors such as general economic or sector specific weakness, Central Bank monetary policy, governmental fiscal policy or sovereign credit rating ceilings. In addition, any downgrade, suspension or withdrawal of one or more of our ratings could result in the market price, yield or marketability of our securities being adversely affected.

Liquidity risks

The principal liquidity risks stem from the maturation of debt obligations and derivative transactions. The Company aims to achieve flexibility in funding sources through a variety of means including; (i) maintaining cash and cash equivalents with a number of highly rated counterparties; (ii) meeting the bulk of debt requirements through debt capital markets or other term financing; (iii) limiting the annual maturity of such balances; and (iv) having surplus committed bank lines of credit. However, market or economic conditions may make it difficult at times to realize this objective. In addition, continued focus on climate change by investors and lenders may affect their preferences and sentiments, potentially impacting the Company’s access to and cost of capital, and investment attractiveness.

Taxation Charge and Balance Sheet Provisioning

CRH is exposed to uncertainties stemming from governmental actions in respect of taxes paid or payable in the future in all jurisdictions of operation. In addition, various assumptions are made in the computation of the overall tax charge and in balance sheet provisions which may need to be adjusted over time. Changes in tax regimes or assessment of additional tax liabilities in future tax audits could result in incremental tax liabilities which could have a material adverse effect on cash flows and the financial results of operations.

The Company’s income tax charge is based on reported profits and statutory tax rates, which reflect various allowances and reliefs and tax efficiencies available to the Company in the multiple tax jurisdictions in which it operates. The determination of the Company’s provision for income tax requires certain judgments and estimates in relation to matters where the ultimate tax outcome may not be certain. The recognition of deferred tax assets also requires judgment as it involves an assessment of the future recoverability of those assets. In addition, the Company is subject to tax audits which can involve complex issues that could require extended periods to conclude, the resolution of which is often not within its control. Although management believes that the estimates included in the Consolidated Financial Statements and the Company’s tax return positions are reasonable, there can be no assurance that the final outcome of these matters will equal the estimates reflected in the Company’s historical income tax provisions and accruals.

As a multinational corporation, the Company is subject to various taxes in all jurisdictions in which it operates. Economic and political conditions, tax rates and the interpretation of tax rules in these jurisdictions may be subject to significant change, particularly during periods of administrative change or fiscal deficit. In addition, the Company’s future effective income tax rate could be affected (positively or negatively) by changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets or changes in tax laws or their interpretation.

Finally, changes to international tax principles, for example at an EU level, could adversely affect the Company’s effective tax rate or result in higher cash tax liabilities. If the Company’s effective income tax rate was to increase, its cash flows and the financial results of operations could be adversely affected.

Foreign Currency Translation

A proportion of CRH’s revenues are in currencies other than its reporting currency, and adverse changes in exchange rates could negatively affect retained earnings.

The principal foreign exchange risks to which the Consolidated Financial Statements are exposed pertain to (i) adverse movements in reported results when translated into the reporting currency; and (ii) declines in the reporting currency value of net investments which are denominated in a wide basket of currencies other than the reporting currency.

Given the geographic spread of the Company, a significant proportion of its revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities are denominated in currencies other than the Company’s reporting currency, including the euro, Pound Sterling, Canadian Dollar, Australian Dollar, Philippine Peso, Polish Zloty, and Swiss Franc. From year to year, adverse changes in the exchange rates used to translate these and other foreign currencies into the reporting currency have impacted and will continue to impact consolidated results.

5** Represents a non-GAAP measure. See the discussion within 'Non-GAAP Reconciliation and Supplementary Information' on pages 40 to 42.

CRH Form 10-K 18

Goodwill Impairment

CRH may be required to write-down its goodwill, which could have an adverse impact on the Company’s retained earnings.

Significant underperformance in any of the Company’s major reporting units or the divestiture of businesses in the future may give rise to a material write-down of goodwill. While a non-cash item, a material write-down of goodwill could have a substantial impact on the Company’s retained earnings.

Under U.S. GAAP, goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are subject to annual impairment testing, or more frequently if events or circumstances change in a manner that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value. A detailed discussion of the impairment testing process, the key assumptions used, the results of that testing and the related sensitivity analysis is contained in section “Critical Accounting Estimates” of Item 7. “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” on page 46.

Accounting Estimates

CRH’s financial reporting requires the use of accounting estimates for a number of significant items.

The accounting standards used in preparation of our audited Consolidated Financial Statements are complex and involve the making of significant estimates and assumptions in their interpretation and application that are inherently uncertain and/or require subjective judgments. In the event these assumptions and/or judgments prove incorrect or different values were to be applied (e.g. through the adoption of different methods of calculation), our reported financial results could be materially higher or lower. We make accounting estimates in relation to a wide range of matters that are relevant to our business, such as impairment of long-lived assets, business combinations, impairment of goodwill, pension and other postretirement benefits, tax matters and litigation, including self-insurance and environmental compliance costs.

Any changes to accounting standards previously applied in the preparation of our audited Consolidated Financial Statements could affect future reported results compared with prior years, and/or see the revision of prior reporting where any retrospective application is required.

Self-Insurance

CRH may elect or be required to self-insure specific risk exposures, and failure or inability to obtain appropriate insurance coverage could result in increased insurance and claims costs that adversely affects our financial results.

CRH elects to self-insure up to certain limits through one or more of its wholly-owned captive insurance companies (captives). The Company’s captives provide coverage in respect of multiple lines of insurance to the Company’s operating and non-operating entities up to certain designated limits, both each-and-every and in the annual aggregate. Where insurable losses exceed those limits, CRH would need to rely on external insurance and/or reinsurance from global institutions of appropriate credit standing, and such external insurance and/or reinsurance may not be available at an appropriate cost or at all.

Risks Related To Our Common Stock

Payment of Dividends/Share Repurchase Program

CRH may not pay dividends or make other returns of capital to shareholders in the future, and our current share repurchase program may not enhance long-term shareholder value.

We cannot guarantee that we will pay or maintain dividends at their current level, or effect other future returns of capital (including, without limitation, share repurchases). Our ability to pay dividends or effect other returns of capital depends on factors such as our financial performance, cash flow requirements, business outlook, working capital requirements, interest expenses, economic climate, regulatory considerations, and any other factors deemed significant by the Board in exercising its discretion to return capital. In addition, under Irish law dividends may only be paid, and share repurchases and redemptions must generally be funded only, out of distributable reserves.

In addition, we cannot guarantee that our share repurchase program of our ordinary shares will be fully consummated or that it will enhance long-term shareholder value. The timing and actual number of shares repurchased/redeemed will depend on a variety of factors including the price, cash availability and other market conditions; the share repurchase program does not oblige us to repurchase/redeem any specific dollar amount or to acquire/redeem any specific number of shares, and may be suspended or terminated at any time, which may adversely affect the trading price of our ordinary shares. The existence of our share repurchase program could also cause increased volatility in the price of our ordinary shares or increase the price of our ordinary shares and thus reduce their liquidity. Additionally, repurchases and redemptions under our share repurchase program will diminish our cash reserves, which may adversely affect our financial position.

Relocation of Primary Listing

CRH faces risks associated with the relocation of our primary listing.

On September 25, 2023, CRH relocated the primary listing of its ordinary shares from the LSE to the NYSE. The Company has an international secondary listing on the LSE and accordingly our ordinary shares are now listed on both exchanges. As a result of the relocation of the primary listing CRH has ceased to be eligible for inclusion in certain UK and European equity indices.

Following the transition to the NYSE, CRH has been added to the MSCI USA Equity Index, the S&P TMI Index and the Russell 1000 Equity Index. The Company aims to be included in other relevant equity indices for which it believes it is eligible, including the S&P 500 Index. Inclusion is however at the discretion of the respective index providers. There is a risk that the Company may not be admitted, which may adversely affect the price and liquidity of the ordinary shares.

None.

CRH Form 10-K 19

Cybersecurity Risk Management and Strategy

CRH leverages its Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework, which accords with internationally recognized standards, to identify, assess, respond, monitor and report material cybersecurity risks facing the Company. CRH manages cybersecurity risk at multiple levels within the Company. Given CRH’s wide geographic spread, the frequency and possible scale of acquisition activity, the diversity of the types of IT systems operated by CRH companies and the decentralized nature of its operations, CRH implements an amalgam of centralized and decentralized processes for IT management. Under this model, Company-level management and the management of CRH’s operating companies and business units share responsibility for cybersecurity management and collaborate on assessing, identifying, and managing material risks.

CRH’s operating companies and business units use a variety of tools and processes to identify and manage material cybersecurity risks. CRH utilizes multiple monitoring tools and practices to identify and detect unusual activities and/or potential cybersecurity incidents, including potential system breaches, and to verify the effectiveness of protective measures. CRH’s operating companies and business units implement various risk mitigation strategies, including continuously strengthening security measures, improving incident response plans through post-incident evaluations and assessments, investing in security technologies, providing regular and focused employee training, and transferring risk through cybersecurity insurance.

At the Group level, CRH conducts a semi-annual bottom-up risk assessment focused on CRH’s operating companies and business units, including cybersecurity-related risks, which evaluates the impact and likelihood of the identified cyber risks and the effectiveness of existing security measures, policies, and procedures. CRH also requires that each operating company completes a self-assessment regarding its cyber controls and risk, including user awareness training, email security protection, multi-factor authentication, system patch management, identity management, network segregation, antivirus and web protections, asset inventory, privileged access management, logging, monitoring, and incident response capabilities.

As described further below under “Cybersecurity Governance”, CRH’s Board and senior management receive regular briefings on cybersecurity risks facing CRH and are closely involved in identifying cybersecurity risks, developing CRH’s plan for managing such risks, and continuously refining CRH’s cyber defenses in response to the information gathered through the above-mentioned risk assessments.

To manage the risk of a material impact on CRH’s operations or financial performance due to a cybersecurity incident, CRH has implemented a mandatory Cybersecurity Incident Escalation Standard as part of its Company-wide Information Security Policy. This Standard, which is supported by relevant guidelines and procedural documentation, provides a structured approach adapted to the systems of each CRH operating company and business unit to manage the incident response process through a series of pre-defined phases, including triage, containment, eradication, recovery, and post-incident analysis.

CRH also provides regular and focused training to aid employees in understanding and complying with relevant Company policies and applicable regulations, including those related to cybersecurity.

Assessment and management of cybersecurity risks is a key component of CRH’s broader risk governance processes as cybersecurity is a core risk facing the Company. Identification of cybersecurity risks is integrated into CRH’s overall ERM framework, with a focus on risks related to information systems, data security, operational technology and technology infrastructure.

CRH works closely with multiple external advisors specializing in cybersecurity to improve its ability to identify and detect, protect against, and recover from, cybersecurity incidents. In addition, CRH leverages certain managed service providers to aid in triaging and monitoring potentially malicious activities. CRH is dependent upon third-party service providers for certain IT-related services, and has systems of oversight to evaluate potential risks in certain critical third-parties on whom CRH has a material dependency. These systems would include the use of vendor security questionnaires, vulnerability assessments and annual audits.

CRH has not been subject to a cyber-attack that has had a material impact on our operations or financial results. For additional information, please refer to Item 1A. “Risk Factors”.

Cybersecurity Governance

Our Board is responsible for strategy, risk and governance, including oversight of risks from cybersecurity threats. The Board has delegated to the Audit Committee primary responsibility for oversight of cybersecurity risk management and the associated internal control systems. The Audit Committee is currently made up of six independent directors with a range of relevant cybersecurity, information technology and operational technology experience.

The Audit Committee receives updates at least annually from the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) on the design and progress of key information security initiatives in addition to regular briefings on cybersecurity and management of cybersecurity-related risks from relevant members of management, including the Head of ERM and our CISO. Recent updates from the CISO have focused on the Company’s information security strategy, ongoing security assessments and ongoing projects. The Audit Committee is responsible for updating the Board on identified risks related to cybersecurity.

Our Global Leadership Team is responsible for the execution of CRH’s strategy and governance, including implementation and review of our ERM framework, which has identified cybersecurity as a core risk for CRH. CRH has established the role of CISO to provide technical leadership on a day-to-day basis in assessing and managing the Company’s material cybersecurity risks and liaising with the chief information officers of CRH’s Divisions. Our CISO has 25 years of experience working in IT, including more than a decade spent in prior technical and senior management roles related to cybersecurity. The divisional chief information officers have in excess of 20 years of experience, on average, in IT-related and cybersecurity-related roles and, together with the CISO, hold a variety of recognized and specialized credentials related to cybersecurity and IT.

CRH also maintains a Company-wide incident response function centered in our Group Information Security (GIS) team, led by the CISO. GIS responds to potential incidents across CRH in accordance with predetermined severity classifications. In line with CRH’s Cybersecurity Incident Escalation Standard and supporting guidelines and procedural documentation, incidents that are deemed potentially material to the Company and/or which may lead to the exposure of confidential or sensitive data are immediately escalated to GIS for review and, as necessary, mitigation and remediation actions are taken. GIS and the CISO also review regular attestation reports that are required to be prepared by CRH’s operating companies and business units regarding cybersecurity incidents that did not meet the threshold for immediate escalation.

Following cybersecurity incidents, GIS, in conjunction with members of management of CRH’s operating companies and business units as necessary, conduct post-incident analysis and exercises designed to strengthen CRH’s cybersecurity practices. The Risk Committee and Global Leadership Team are briefed on the occurrence, mitigation and remediation of cybersecurity incidents on a regular basis, including ad-hoc briefings covering significant or potentially material incidents.

CRH Form 10-K 20

The Risk Committee, which is made up of our Chief Financial Officer, Group General Counsel, Chief Operating Officer and the Divisional Presidents of CRH Americas and CRH International, is the executive oversight body for risk management, including cybersecurity risks and the work of the CISO, GIS and related teams. The Risk Committee meets quarterly with the Head of ERM to assess risks facing CRH, and, on an as-needed basis, meets with other members of CRH management regarding cybersecurity risks and developments. The Risk Committee also reviews the half-yearly risk updates that are provided to the Audit Committee prior to dissemination.

As of February 13, 2025, we had a total of 3,816 operating locations:

Our building materials operating locations include product production facilities, mobile plants and retail facilities. Some of these operating locations are located on the same sites as our mining properties described below under the heading “Mineral Reserves and Resources: Background”. Significant building materials operating locations for CRH’s subsidiaries, as of December 31, 2024, are the cement facilities in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Slovakia, Australia and the Philippines. These facilities include plant and equipment such as kilns, crushers, calciners, coolers, and silos used to process limestone and other raw materials into cement as well as equipment used to extract and transport limestone from CRH quarries. The clinker (the key intermediate product in the manufacture of cement) capacity for our significant building material locations is set out in the table below:

During 2024, CRH’s material cement kilns operated on average at 73% utilization.

Our building solutions businesses have many types of manufacturing facilities including paver, masonry, precast, pipe, dry-mix, fencing and railing and lawn and garden plants. These facilities include plant and equipment such as automated presses, batching systems, packaging equipment, kilns, coolers and silos which are used to turn raw materials into finished goods for our cementitious products as well as equipment such as presses, extruders and molds which are used in the fencing, railing, plastic pipe, trench and metals and enclosure businesses.

Other Properties

In addition to the properties described above and those disclosed under the heading “Mineral Reserves and Resources: Background”, CRH has corporate offices in New York, New York (leased) and Dublin, Ireland (owned). The Company also leases administrative offices for each of its two Divisions, including a CRH Americas divisional headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia and a CRH International divisional headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

CRH also owns and leases, directly or indirectly through third-parties, heavy mobile equipment, trucks and vehicles for production and transportation purposes.

Condition

CRH believes that all the facilities are in good condition, adequate for their purpose and suitably utilized according to the individual nature and requirements of the relevant operations. CRH has a continuing program of improvements and replacements of properties when considered appropriate to meet the needs of the individual operations.

CRH Form 10-K 21

Mineral Reserves And Resources

Background

CRH’s mineral reserves (reserves) and mineral resources (resources) for the production of primary building materials (which encompasses aggregates (crushed stone, sand and gravel), cement and lime, asphalt, readymixed concrete and concrete products) fall into a variety of categories spanning a wide number of rock types and geological classifications. These reserves and resources are found within our extensive network of quarry locations in attractive local markets globally. This disclosure of the Company’s mining properties has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of Subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K (Subpart 1300). As of December 31, 2024, the Company has 1,296 mining properties with 246,058 acres of owned and 129,818 acres of leased land, respectively, as disclosed in the table on page 25 the locations of which are presented by geographic location in the maps on page 26.

None of CRH’s mineral-bearing properties are individually material to the Company as of December 31, 2024. A summary disclosure of CRH’s mining operations is provided on pages 23 to 26.

As of December 31, 2024, the Company’s reserves and resources estimations of 26,685 million tons and 11,573 million tons, respectively, as disclosed on pages 23 to 24, are calculated in accordance with Subpart 1300. The Company’s reserves and resources disclosures may not be comparable to similar disclosures disclosed in accordance with the requirements of other countries and should be read in conjunction with the disclosures that follow on pages 23 to 26.

CRH operates predominantly production stage properties, with a limited number of development and exploration stage properties, as such terms are defined in Subpart 1300. Predominantly, CRH’s production stage properties provide raw materials for on-site modern cement and aggregates producing facilities. Almost exclusively, CRH utilizes surface mining and, with a very limited number of exceptions, CRH and its subsidiaries are the only operators of the properties.

Reserves

Reserves are defined in Subpart 1300 as “an estimate of tonnage and grade or quality of indicated and measured mineral resources that, in the opinion of the qualified person, can be the basis of an economically viable project. More specifically, it is the economically mineable part of a measured or indicated mineral resource, which includes diluting materials and allowances for losses that may occur when the material is mined or extracted”. Reserves are classified into two categories, probable and proven reserves, in order of increasing geological confidence.

The Company’s estimate of 26,685 million tons of reserves, as disclosed on page 23 analyzed by rock type (Hard rock, Sand & Gravel and Other), are of recoverable stone, sand, and gravel of suitable quality for economic extraction, based on drilling and studies by the Company’s geologists and engineers. These estimates also consider reasonable economic and operating constraints as to maximum depth of overburden and stone excavation and are subject to permitting or other restrictions.

The disclosed reserves and resources estimations which include diluting materials and allowances for losses that may occur when the mineral is mined, extracted or processed have been estimated by qualified persons, as such term is defined within Subpart 1300.

Not all minerals that may be on CRH’s mineral-bearing properties have been assessed and such properties may be assessed for mineral reserves or resources in future years, as required by operational needs.

CRH’s properties are subject to a wide variety of permitting procedures and conditions, which vary between jurisdictions. Many of CRH’s properties require separate permits from multiple authorities, including but not limited to environmental, mining, regional and national administrative authorities. The periods of validity and the conditions of these permits may be different.

Resources

A mineral resource is defined in Subpart 1300 as “a concentration or occurrence of material of economic interest in or on the Earth’s crust in such form, grade or quality, and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for economic extraction. A mineral resource is a reasonable estimate of mineralization, taking into account relevant factors such as cut-off grade, likely mining dimensions, location or continuity, that, with the assumed and justifiable technical and economic conditions, is likely to, in whole or in part, become economically extractable”. Resources are classified into three categories, inferred, indicated or measured resources, in order of increasing geological confidence. Indicated or measured resources can be converted to reserves by the application of certain modifying factors which include, but are not limited to, consideration of mining, processing, metallurgical, infrastructure, economic, marketing, legal, environmental compliance, plans, negotiations, or agreements with local individuals or groups, and governmental factors. There is no certainty that any of the resources disclosed on page 24 will be converted into reserves. Resources have not been fully assessed using modifying factors, however, an initial assessment has been completed in accordance with Subpart 1300.

Internal Controls

CRH has established appropriate governance processes to support the publication of our 2024 reserves and resources disclosures. Reserve and resource estimates are subject to annual review by each of the relevant operating companies across the Company in conjunction with the relevant qualified persons. CRH has established and maintains a number of internal controls to address the risks inherent in the mineral reserves and resources reporting process. These internal controls have been embedded into the local control environments and operate across the business, including controls at an operating company, divisional and Group level.

As CRH’s reserves and resources are predominantly in production stage properties, features of the internal controls relating to quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) include:

• Databases and data repositories for exploration and/or production data that contain accurate and precise data from which reserves and resources can be evaluated, and operational plans can be developed;

• Verification sampling and testing of known mineralization. This is generally required to establish compliance with regulations on product qualities. Verification testing confirms geological maps prepared during earlier exploration programs; and

• In the case of cement raw materials, facility laboratories participate in an externally managed annual review process with ISO 17025 accredited independent laboratories.

CRH Form 10-K 22

When exploration programs are conducted, QA/QC measures include:

• Ensuring that surface or drill sampling results in the highest quality sample possible. This would include down-hole surveying of drill holes as necessary;

• Obtaining pictures of drill sample (e.g. core) for future reference;

• Geological core logging, where the geological description of each sample interval is recorded prior to laboratory analysis;

• Ensuring the integrity of samples from point of origin to analytical laboratory; and

• Using nationally or regionally accredited laboratories for all analyses and tests for exploration programs in properties containing aggregates.

In addition, to provide further assurance over the Company’s mineral reserves and resources reporting process, the Company’s Internal Audit function completed a limited scope review across a sample of material reporting entities on the operation of these internal controls as of December 31, 2024.

The table below presents, by segment and geographic location, the tons of proven and probable aggregates, cement and lime mineral reserves at December 31, 2024, and the related percentages by rock type.

(i) CRH has no individually material mineral-bearing properties requiring individual property disclosure under Subpart 1300.

(ii) CRH’s point of reference for the estimation of the Company’s mineral reserves is “in-situ” reserves.

(iii) All reserves quantities are quoted in millions of short tons.

(iv) The country and their respective codes are Denmark: DK, Finland: FI, France: FR, Germany: DE, Hungary: HU, Ireland: IE, Poland: PL, Romania: RO, Serbia: RS, Slovakia: SK, Spain: ES, Switzerland: CH, Ukraine: UA, United Kingdom: UK.

CRH’s mineral reserves and resources are used predominantly for the production and sale of aggregates, cement and lime. The average sales price for the period January 1, 2024, to October 31, 2024, for aggregates and cement was $18.5 and $135.4 per ton, respectively, for our Americas Materials Solutions’ businesses and $12.0 and $119.3 per ton, respectively, for our International Solutions’ businesses. The average sales price for lime within our International Solutions' businesses over this time period was $165.6 per ton. These prices, which are used for estimation of both mineral reserves and resources, are impacted by product mix, geographic location and foreign currency.

CRH Form 10-K 23

The table below presents, by segment and geographic location, the tons of measured, indicated and inferred aggregates, cement and lime resources as of December 31, 2024, and the related percentage of these resources by rock type. CRH’s mineral resources in the table below are disclosed exclusive of mineral reserves.

(i) CRH has no individually material mineral-bearing properties requiring individual property disclosure under Subpart 1300.

(ii) CRH’s point of reference for the estimation of the Company’s mineral resources is “in-situ” resources.

(iii) All resources quantities are quoted in millions of short tons.

(iv) The country and their respective codes are Denmark: DK, Finland: FI, France: FR, Germany: DE, Hungary: HU, Ireland: IE, Poland: PL, Romania: RO, Slovakia: SK, Spain: ES, Switzerland: CH, Ukraine: UA, United Kingdom: UK.

CRH Form 10-K 24

The table below outlines the number of facilities by segment and geographic location along with the annualized extraction (in millions of tons) for each of the three years ending December 31, 2024.

(i) The disclosures in the table above include the surface area of infrastructure, process plants, waste piles, water storage, water treatment plants and boundary areas of CRH’s mineral-bearing properties. Remote properties such as offices, distribution facilities and readymixed concrete plants are not included.

(ii) Years to depletion is based on the average of the three years’ 2022 to 2024 annualized extraction.

(iii) The country and their respective codes are Denmark: DK, Finland: FI, France: FR, Germany: DE, Hungary: HU, Ireland: IE, Poland: PL, Romania: RO, Serbia: RS, Slovakia: SK, Spain: ES, Switzerland: CH, Ukraine: UA, United Kingdom: UK.

CRH Form 10-K 25

CRH Mineral-Bearing Locations

CRH Form 10-K 26

The Company is from time to time a party to various legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business. We do not believe any pending legal proceeding to which the Company is a party will have a material effect on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

CRH has elected to use a $1 million threshold for disclosing certain proceedings under environmental laws to which a governmental authority is a party. Applying this threshold, there were no relevant legal proceedings to disclose for this period.

The information concerning mine safety violations or other regulatory matters required by Section 1503(a) of the Dodd‐Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and Item 104 of Regulation S‐K (17 CFR 229.104) is included in Exhibit 95 to this Annual Report on Form 10‐K.

CRH Form 10-K 27

PART II

Market Information

CRH has a primary listing on the NYSE and an international secondary listing on the LSE of its ordinary shares, each represented by the ticker symbol ‘CRH’. As of February 13, 2025, there were approximately 15,000 holders of record of our ordinary shares.

Irish Taxation of U.S. Holders

The following is a general summary of the main Irish tax considerations applicable to the purchase, ownership and disposition of our ordinary shares by U.S. holders. This description is based on Irish law and practices as of the latest practicable date, and administrative or judicial changes may modify the tax consequences described below. The statements do not constitute tax advice and are intended only as a general guide.

Withholding Tax on Dividends: Dividends on our ordinary shares would generally be subject to Irish DWT at the rate of 25%, unless an exemption applies. Dividends on our ordinary shares that are owned by residents of the United States and held beneficially through the Depositary Trust Company (DTC), will not be subject to DWT provided that the address of the beneficial owner of the ordinary shares in the records of the broker is in the United States. Dividends on our ordinary shares that are owned by residents of the United States and held directly (outside of DTC) will not be subject to DWT provided that the shareholder has completed the appropriate Irish DWT form and this form remains valid. Such shareholders must provide the appropriate Irish DWT form to our Transfer Agent, Computershare Trust Company N.A., before the record date for the first dividend payment to which they are entitled. If any shareholder who is resident in the United States receives a dividend subject to DWT, he or she should generally be able to apply for a refund from the Irish Revenue Commissioners. The Double Taxation Treaty between Ireland and the United States contains provisions regarding withholding tax, but it is generally not necessary for U.S. resident shareholders to rely on the treaty due to the wide scope of DWT exemptions under Irish law.

Income Tax on Dividends: A shareholder who is neither resident nor ordinarily resident in Ireland and who is entitled to an exemption from DWT generally has no liability for Irish income tax or for the Irish universal social charge on CRH dividends, unless he or she holds his or her ordinary shares through a branch or agency in Ireland which carries out a trade on his or her behalf.

Capital Gains Tax: A shareholder who is neither resident nor ordinarily resident in Ireland and does not hold our ordinary shares in connection with a trade or business carried on by such shareholder in Ireland through a branch or agency should not be subject to Irish tax on capital gains on a disposal of our ordinary shares.

Capital Acquisitions Tax: Irish capital acquisitions tax (CAT) is comprised principally of gift tax and inheritance tax. CAT could apply to a gift or inheritance of our ordinary shares irrespective of the place of residence, ordinary residence or domicile of the parties. The person who receives the gift or inheritance has primary liability for CAT. CAT is levied at a rate of 33% above certain tax-free thresholds. Shareholders in the United States should consult their own tax advisers as to whether CAT is creditable or deductible in computing U.S. tax liabilities.

Stamp Duty: Transfer of our ordinary shares other than via transfer of book-entry interests in the DTC may be subject to Irish stamp duty. Transfers of our ordinary shares via transfer of book entry interests in the DTC will not be subject to Irish stamp duty. However, if a shareholder holds our ordinary shares directly rather than beneficially through DTC, any transfer of shares could be subject to Irish stamp duty (currently at the rate of 1% of the higher of the price paid or the market value of the shares acquired). Payment of Irish stamp duty is generally a legal obligation of the transferee. The potential for stamp duty could adversely affect the price of our ordinary shares.

Other Shareholder Matters

There are no legislative or other legal provisions currently in force in Ireland or arising under our Articles that restrict the payment of dividends or distributions to holders of our ordinary shares not resident in Ireland, except for Irish laws and regulations that restrict the remittance of dividends, distributions and other payments in compliance with the sanctions laws of the Security Council of the United Nations, the European Union (and any of its members), the United Kingdom and the United States.

Dividend Policy

CRH has paid dividends on its ordinary shares each fiscal year since the formation of the Company in 1970. Dividends are paid to shareholders on the Register of Members on the record date for the dividend. The Board continues to believe that a policy of consistent long-term dividend growth is appropriate for the Company. In line with this dividend growth strategy, and our strong financial position, the Board approved dividends totaling $1.40 per share in respect of 2024, a 5% increase on the prior year (2023: $1.33), broken into quarterly dividends of $0.35 per share being paid on April 17, 2024, June 26, 2024, September 25, 2024, and December 18, 2024, respectively. It is proposed to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share on April 16, 2025 to shareholders registered at the close of business on March 14, 2025 in respect of the first quarter of 2025.

Dividends are paid wholly in cash. The default payment currency is U.S. Dollar for shareholders who hold their ordinary shares through a DTC participant. It is also U.S. Dollar for shareholders holding their ordinary shares in registered form, unless a currency election is registered with CRH’s Transfer Agent, Computershare Trust Company N.A. in advance of the applicable record date. The default payment currency for shareholders holding their ordinary shares in the form of Depository Interests is euro. Such shareholders can elect to receive dividends in U.S. Dollar or Pound Sterling by providing their instructions to the Company’s Depositary Interest provider, Computershare Investor Services plc, in advance of the applicable record date.

Securities Authorized For Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

Our equity compensation plan information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the information in Part III, Item 12. “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

CRH Form 10-K 28

Share Performance Graph

The performance graph below compares the five-year cumulative total shareholder return of our ordinary shares from December 31, 2019, to December 31, 2024, with the cumulative total return for the same period of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Materials Index. The graph assumes that the initial investment in our ordinary shares and each index was $100, with reinvestment of dividends.

Performance data for the Company is provided as of the last trading day of each relevant fiscal year. The share price performance graph is not indicative of future share price performance.

The performance graph above is being furnished solely to accompany this Annual Report on Form 10-K pursuant to Item 201(e) of Regulation S-K. It is not being filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, and is not to be incorporated by reference into any filing of the Company, whether made before or after the date hereof, regardless of any general incorporation language in such filing.

Recent Sales Of Unregistered Securities

None.

CRH Form 10-K 29

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

(i) In May 2018, CRH announced its intention to introduce a share repurchase program to repurchase ordinary shares (the ‘Program’). In the fourth quarter of 2024, the Company returned a further $0.3 billion of cash to shareholders through the repurchase of 2,672,603 ordinary shares (equivalent to 0.4% of the Company’s issued share capital). This brought total cash returned to shareholders under the Program to $8.4 billion since its commencement in May 2018. The purchases in the fourth quarter of 2024 were completed under the following tranches:

CRH Form 10-K 30

Our Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A) is intended to convey management’s perspective regarding operational and financial performance for fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022. This MD&A should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The following discussion contains trend information and forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements, as well as from our historical performance, due to various factors, including, but not limited to, those discussed in Item 1A “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements – Safe Harbor Provisions Under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act Of 1995” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our operating results depend upon economic cycles, seasonal and other weather‐related conditions, and trends in government expenditures, among other factors. Accordingly, financial results for any year presented, or year‐to‐year comparisons of reported results, may not be indicative of future operating results.

Overview

CRH is a leading provider of building materials that build, connect and improve our world. Since formation in 1970, CRH has evolved from being a supplier of base materials to solving complex construction challenges for our customers. CRH’s differentiated solutions strategy uniquely integrates materials, products and services across the construction value chain, better serving our customers’ needs and driving repeat business. This customer-connected approach is making construction simpler, safer and more sustainable.

CRH integrates essential materials (aggregates and cement), value-added building products as well as construction services, to provide our customers with complete solutions. CRH’s capabilities, innovation and technical expertise enable it to be a valuable partner for transportation and critical infrastructure projects, complex non-residential construction and outdoor living solutions.

Financial performance highlights:

CRH delivered another record performance in 2024 resulting in the following performance highlights (compared to 2023 and 2022):

• Total revenues increased to $35.6 billion, compared with $34.9 billion in 2023 and $32.7 billion in 2022;

• Net income increased to $3.5 billion compared with $3.1 billion in 2023, primarily due to higher gross profit along with higher gains on disposal of long-lived assets and divestitures. Net income was $3.9 billion in 2022. Adjusted EBITDA* increased to $6.9 billion in 2024 from $6.2 billion in 2023. In 2022 Adjusted EBITDA* was $5.4 billion;

• Net income margin was 9.9% in 2024, 8.8% in 2023 and 11.9% in 2022. Adjusted EBITDA margin* was 19.5% in 2024, an increase of 180 basis points (bps) compared with an Adjusted EBITDA margin* of 17.7% in 2023. In 2022, the Adjusted EBITDA margin* was 16.5%;

• Operating cash flow5 of $5.0 billion was in line with 2023 operating cash flow of $5.0 billion and ahead of 2022 operating cash flow of $3.8 billion; 6

• Return on Net Segment Assets was 15.3% in 2024, 14.4% in 2023 and 13.1% in 2022. Return on Net Assets (RONA)* increased by 20bps to 15.5% in 2024, from 15.3% in 2023. RONA* was 13.3% in 2022; and

• Basic Earnings Per Share (EPS) from continuing operations in 2024 was $5.06 compared with $4.36 in 2023 and $3.58 in 2022. Basic EPS pre-impairment* from continuing operations was $5.48 in 2024, $4.65 in 2023 and $3.58 in 2022.

Capital allocation highlights:

• Cash paid to shareholders in 2024 through dividends was $1.7 billion and through share buybacks was $1.3 billion, compared with $0.9 billion and $3.0 billion, respectively, in 2023, and $0.9 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively, in 2022;

• Full year dividend per share increase of 5% resulting in a dividend per share of $1.40 in 2024, from $1.33 in 2023 and $1.27 in 2022;

• Ongoing share buyback program in 2024 repurchased approximately 15.9 million ordinary shares for a total consideration of $1.3 billion, compared with $3.0 billion in 2023 and $1.2 billion in 2022; and

• 40 acquisitions completed for a total consideration of $5.0 billion in 2024, compared with $0.7 billion in 2023 and $3.3 billion in 2022. A further $2.6 billion was invested in development and replacement capital expenditure projects in 2024, compared with $1.8 billion and $1.5 billion in 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Delivering On Our Vision

CRH continues to evolve its business to improve performance, deliver for its stakeholders and respond to the ever-changing needs of its customers. Our strategy enables CRH to realize our vision to develop sustainable solutions that build, connect and improve our world. CRH has a specific set of capabilities in the markets in which it operates along with decades of experience and deep customer relationships. CRH leverages its scale and best practices across the Company to provide value-added materials, products and services as construction solutions that solve complex problems for its customers.

These solutions allow us to create further value for our customers by combining our products, materials and services which drive commercial and operational benefits. This connected portfolio allows us to leverage production and logistics efficiencies to drive increased profitability and asset utilization. We can reduce waste and advance the sustainability of construction. We believe it also makes our business less capital intensive and drives a higher rate of return delivering superior long-term value and higher growth for shareholders.

• Represents a non-GAAP measure. See the discussion within 'Non-GAAP Reconciliation and Supplementary Information' on pages 40 to 42.

5 Operating cash flow refers to net cash provided by operating activities as reported in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows on pages 56 to 57.6

CRH Form 10-K 31

A business optimized for industry-leading performance

Through the successful execution of its strategy, CRH has shaped its business to capitalize on the attractive fundamentals driving demand in higher-growth construction markets in North America, Europe and Australia.

Customer-connected solutions strategy: Our differentiated strategy is focused on uniquely integrating materials, products and services across the construction value chain. We leverage our scale, expertise and best practices to provide sustainable solutions that solve complex problems for our customers. We utilize specific expertise in areas such as materials science, design and engineering to innovate and create new products. This allows us to do more for our customers and help deliver a higher performing and more sustainable built environment.

Performance-focused operator: CRH has the ability to leverage its connected portfolio of assets in the most attractive markets and this has resulted in our record 2024 results with 12% increase in Adjusted EBITDA*, 180 bps increase in Adjusted EBITDA margin* and 16% higher basic EPS from continuing operations, with basic EPS from continuing operations on a pre-impairment*7basis 18% higher. These results are underpinned by a differentiated strategy delivered by an experienced management team with deep industry knowledge and a proven track record of consistent financial and operational delivery.

Strong and flexible balance sheet: At December 31, 2024, total short-term and long-term debt was $14.0 billion, cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash were $3.8 billion and Net Debt* was $10.5 billion. We believe our strong and flexible balance sheet provides CRH with significant financial capacity for long-term value creation through accretive acquisitions, expansionary capital expenditure and cash returns to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks.

Focused growth

Our customers have an increasing need for mo

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CRH is exposed to market risks relating to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, interest rates, and commodity prices. Changes in those factors could impact the Company’s results of operations and financial condition. Financial risk management at the Company seeks to minimize the negative impact of foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity price fluctuations on the Company’s earnings, cash flows and equity. Management provides oversight for risk management and derivative activities, determines certain of the Company’s financial risk policies and objectives, and provides guidelines for derivative instrument utilization.

To manage these risks, CRH uses various derivative financial instruments, including interest rate swaps, foreign exchange forwards and swaps, and commodity contracts. CRH only uses commonly traded and non-leveraged instruments. These contracts are entered into primarily with major banking institutions and utility companies, while CRH actively monitors its exposure to counterparty risk through the use of counterparty approvals and credit limits, thereby minimizing the risk of counterparty loss.

The following discussion presents the sensitivity of the market value, earnings and cash flows of the Company’s financial instruments to hypothetical changes in interest and exchange rates assuming these changes occurred at December 31, 2024.

Interest Rate Risk

CRH may be impacted by interest rate volatility with respect to existing debt and future debt issuances as well as cash balances. For fixed rate debt instruments, interest rate changes affect the fair market value but do not impact earnings or cash flows. Conversely, for floating rate debt instruments, interest rate changes generally do not affect the fair market value of the instrument but impact future earnings and cash flows, assuming that other factors are held constant. Cash balances are held on short-term deposits and changing interest rates will impact deposit interest income earned. The Company uses interest rate swaps to convert a portion of its fixed rate debt to floating rate and these may be designated and qualify as fair value hedges. Under these arrangements, the Company agrees to exchange, at specified intervals, the difference between fixed and benchmark floating interest rates calculated by reference to an agreed-upon notional principal amount.

At December 31, 2024, the Company had fixed rate debt of $10.8 billion and floating rate debt of $3.5 billion, representing 76% and 24%, respectively, of total debt, including overdrafts, finance leases and the impact of derivatives. At December 31, 2023, the Company had fixed rate debt of $9.1 billion and floating rate debt of $2.7 billion, representing 77% and 23%, respectively, of total debt, including overdrafts, finance leases and the impact of derivatives. The Company’s interest rate swaps at December 31, 2024, whereby the Company swaps from fixed interest rates to floating interest rates, were $1.4 billion, compared to $1.4 billion as of December 31, 2023. The Company’s interest rate swaps at December 31, 2024, whereby the Company swaps from floating interest rates to fixed interest rates, were $0.2 billion, compared to $nil billion as at December 2023. Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash at December 31, 2024, were $3.8 billion, compared to $6.4 billion at December 31, 2023, which was all held on short-term deposits and investments.

Sensitivity to interest rate moves

At December 31, 2024, the before-tax earnings and cash flows impact of a 100 bps increase in interest rates, including the offsetting impact of derivatives, on the variable rate cash and debt portfolio would be approximately $2 million favorable ($37 million favorable in 2023).

Foreign Exchange Rates Risk18

CRH’s exchange rate exposures result primarily from its investments and ongoing operations in countries outside of the United States and other business transactions such as the procurement of products and equipment from foreign sources. Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates may affect (i) the carrying value of the Company’s net investment in foreign subsidiaries; (ii) the translation of foreign currency earnings and (iii) the cash flows related to foreign currency denominated transactions.

Where economically feasible, the Company maintains Net Debt* in the same relative currency ratio as capital employed to act as an economic hedge of the underlying currency assets. Where it is not feasible to do so, the Company may enter into foreign exchange forward contracts to hedge a portion of the net investment against the effect of exchange rate fluctuations. These transactions are designated as net investment hedges.

The Company also enters into foreign exchange forward contracts to hedge against the effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash flows denominated in foreign currencies. These transactions are designated as cash flow hedges. In addition, the Company may enter into foreign currency contracts that are not designated in hedging relationships to offset, in part, the impacts of changes in value of various non-functional currency denominated items including certain intercompany financing balances. The U.S. Dollar equivalent gross notional amount of the Company’s foreign exchange forward contracts was $4.6 billion at December 31, 2024, compared to $1.6 billion at December 31, 2023.

Holding all other variables constant, if there were a 10% weakening in foreign currency exchange rates versus U.S. Dollar for the portfolio, the fair market value of foreign currency contracts outstanding at December 31, 2024, would decrease by approximately $86 million (at December 31, 2023, would increase by approximately $2 million), which would be largely offset by a loss on the foreign currency fluctuation of the underlying exposure being hedged.

Commodity Price Risk

Some of the Company’s products use significant amounts of commodity-priced materials, predominantly fuel and principal energy-related raw materials such as oil, electricity, coal and carbon credits, which are subject to price changes based upon fluctuations in the commodities market. This price volatility could potentially have a material impact on our financial condition and/or our results of operations. When feasible, the Company manages commodity price risks through negotiated supply contracts and forward contracts to manage operating costs. The Company monitors commodity trends and where possible has alternative sourcing plans in place to mitigate the risk of supplier concentration and passing commodity-related inflation to customers or suppliers.

Where appropriate, the Company also has a number of derivative hedging programs in place to hedge commodity risks, with the aim of the programs being to neutralize variability in the Consolidated Statements of Income arising from changes in associated commodity indices. The timeframe for such programs can be up to four years.

• Represents a non-GAAP measure. See the discussion within 'Non-GAAP Reconciliation and Supplementary Information' on pages 40 to 42.18

CRH Form 10-K 50

Independent Auditor’s Report

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the shareholders and the Board of Directors of CRH public limited company (CRH plc)

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of CRH plc and subsidiaries (the Company) as of December 31, 2024, and 2023, the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, changes in equity and cash flows, for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2024, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the financial statements). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2024, and 2023, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2024, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated February 26, 2025, expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current-period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the Audit Committee and that (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.

Acquisitions - Valuation of Property, plant and equipment related to the Hunter and Adbri acquisitions - Refer to Notes 1 and 4 to the financial statements

Critical Audit Matter Description

On February 9, 2024, the Company wholly acquired a portfolio of cement and readymixed concrete operations and assets in Texas, United States for a total cash consideration, net of cash acquired, of $2,106 million (the ‘Hunter’ acquisition), and on July 1, 2024, it acquired 57% of the issued share capital of Adbri, a materials business in Australia, for a total cash consideration, net of cash acquired, of $787 million (the ‘Adbri’ acquisition). The Company accounted for these acquisitions as business combinations. Accordingly, the purchase price was allocated to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values at the date of acquisition. These acquisitions included Property, plant and equipment of $1,069 million and $1,364 million respectively.

We identified the valuation of Property, plant and equipment as a critical audit matter because of the estimates made by management to determine the fair value of these assets for purposes of recording the acquisitions. This required a high degree of auditor judgment and an increased extent of effort, including the need to involve our valuation specialists when performing audit procedures to determine the fair value of acquired Property, plant and equipment under the replacement cost approach. This included estimating the useful lives based on management’s historical experience and expectations as to the period of time over which the assets will be used and estimating the cost to replace or reproduce comparable assets adjusted for the remaining useful lives.

How the Critical Audit Matter was Addressed in the Audit

Our audit procedures related to the fair value of Property, plant and equipment acquired as part of the acquisitions included the following, among others:

• We tested the effectiveness of controls over the purchase price allocation, including management's controls over the assumptions used in the replacement cost approach for Property, plant and equipment and the review of the work of management's third-party specialists.

• We evaluated the underlying terms of the purchase agreements, in order to corroborate our understanding of the substance of the acquisition obtained through inquiry with the Company's management, as well as to assess the completeness of the assets acquired.

• We evaluated the competency, capabilities and objectivity of the third-party specialists engaged by management to perform the valuations.

• We read the third-party valuation reports and, with the assistance of our valuation specialists, we evaluated the appropriateness of the Company's methodology used to estimate the cost to replace or reproduce comparable assets adjusted for the remaining useful lives.

CRH Form 10-K 51

Service revenues - Revenue recognition for certain long-term contracts - Refer to Notes 1 and 2 to the financial statements

Critical Audit Matter Description

The Company recognizes long-term contract revenue over the contract term as the work progresses because transfer of control and the fulfillment of performance obligations to the customer is continuous. Revenue derived from long-term contracts, measured on a percentage of completion basis and in-progress at the balance sheet date involves judgment, particularly as it relates to the process of estimating total forecasted costs of the contracts.

We identified revenue recognition for certain long-term contracts, measured on a percentage of completion basis and in-progress at the balance sheet date as a critical audit matter because of the judgments made by management in estimating total forecasted costs of the contracts. This required extensive audit effort due to the complexity of certain long-term contracts and required a high degree of auditor judgment when performing audit procedures to audit management’s estimates and evaluating the results of those procedures.

How the Critical Audit Matter was Addressed in the Audit

Our audit procedures related to management’s recognition of revenue for certain long-term contracts, measured on a percentage of completion basis and in-progress at the balance sheet date included the following, among others:

• We tested the effectiveness of controls over long-term contract revenue, including managemen

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None.

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

In accordance with the requirements of Rule 13a-15 of the Securities Exchange Act 1934, the following report is provided by management in respect of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. As defined by the SEC, internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, the Company’s principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, and effected by the Board, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements for external purposes in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles and includes those policies and procedures that:

• pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company;

• provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Company; and

• provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act. Our internal control system was designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of our Company’s published Consolidated Financial Statements for external purposes under generally accepted accounting principles. In connection with the preparation of the Company’s annual Consolidated Financial Statements, management has undertaken an assessment of the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in the Internal Control Integrated Framework (2013), issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.

As permitted by the SEC, the Company has elected following a qualitative and quantitative review to exclude an assessment of the internal controls of Adbri, one of the substantial acquisitions made during the year. The acquisition of Adbri represented 4.7% and 4.1% of net and total assets, respectively, and 1.7% of revenues. Its profit increased Company profit by less than 1.0% for the financial year ended December 31, 2024.

Management’s assessment included an evaluation of the design of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and testing of the operational effectiveness of those controls. Based on this assessment, management has concluded and hereby reports that as of December 31, 2024, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting is effective. Our auditor, Deloitte Ireland LLP (PCAOB ID No. 1193), a registered public accounting firm, who have audited the Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2024, have audited the effectiveness of the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting. Their report, on which an unqualified opinion is expressed thereon, is included below.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2024, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Management has evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of the disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Securities Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(e) as of December 31, 2024. Based on that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and the Interim Chief Financial Officer have concluded that these disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of such date at the level of providing reasonable assurance.

In designing and evaluating our disclosure controls and procedures, management, including the Chief Executive Officer and the Interim Chief Financial Officer, recognized that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and management necessarily was required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.

Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the Company have been detected.

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the shareholders and the Board of Directors of CRH public limited company (CRH plc).

Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of CRH plc and subsidiaries (the Company) as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2024, of the Company and our report dated February 26, 2025, expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements.

CRH Form 10-K 99

As described in Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting, management excluded from its assessment the internal control over financial reporting at Adbri Limited, which was acquired on July 1, 2024, and whose financial statements constitute 4.7% and 4.1% of net and total assets, respectively, 1.7% of revenues, and its profit increased Company profit by less than 1.0% in the consolidated financial statement amounts as of and for the year ended December 31, 2024. Accordingly, our audit did not include the internal control over financial reporting at Adbri Limited.

Basis for Opinion

The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying management’s report on internal control over financial reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

/s/ Deloitte Ireland LLP

Dublin, Ireland

February 26, 2025

During the three months ended December 31, 2024, no director or officer of the Company adopted or terminated a “Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement” or “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement,” as each term is defined in Item 408(a) of Regulation S-K.

Not applicable.

CRH Form 10-K 100

PART III

The information required by this Item 10 will be included in the Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

The information required by this Item 11 will be included in the Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

The information required by this Item 12 will be included in the Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

The information required by this Item 13 will be included in the Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

The information required by this Item 14 will be included in the Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

CRH Form 10-K 101

PART IV

1. Consolidated Financial Statements

The consolidated financial statements required to be filed in this Form 10-K are included in Part II, Item 8 hereof.

2. Exhibits

CRH Form 10-K 102

The total amount of long-term debt of the registrant and its subsidiaries authorized under any one instrument does not exceed 10% of the total assets of CRH plc and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis. The Company agrees to furnish copies of any such instrument to the SEC upon request.

We have chosen not to include an optional summary of the information required by this Annual Report on Form 10‐K.

CRH Form 10-K 103

Signatures

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

CRH public limited company

By /s/ Alan Connolly Alan Connolly Interim Chief Financial Officer

February 26, 2025

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Alan Connolly and Jim Mintern, and each of them singly, as their true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for them and in their name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorney-in-fact and agent, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as they might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact and agent, or his substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

CRH Form 10-K 104