DAVY VIEW

CRH has confirmed that Jim Mintern has succeeded Senan Murphy as Group Finance Director. That transition was well-flagged to allow for a smooth handover, and we see little change to the group’s capital allocation approach as a result. Meanwhile, infrastructure talks continue to drag in Washington with new proposals rebuffed and soft deadlines slipping. That is prompting calls for the President to go it alone and forego bipartisan support. Either way, a major increase in infrastructure spending is likely, especially when combined with the highway bill recently agreed by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.