Davy Morning Equity Briefing
May 14, 2026
Buzzi Spa
FY26 guidance retained amidst uncertainties
Positive performances in the US and Brazil have more than compensated for a poor Q1 in Europe, which saw unfavourable weather conditions. FY26 expectations are unchanged, although detailed guidance has been reserved until the full impacts from geopolitical uncertainties can be better understood.
CRH
Aylwyn Bryan appointed CFO
The appointment of Aylwyn Bryan as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), succeeding Nancy Buese, further demonstrates strong internal leadership capabilities within the CRH Group. Bryan assumes the role with CRH on track for another year of record earnings in 2026. There is no change to the company’s guidance, and there will not be any impact on our earnings forecast from the announcement. We reiterate our ‘Outperform’ rating on the stock.
Food and beverage manufacturers
Private label: structurally growing, cyclically supported
Cranswick and Greencore will release their FY26 and H1-26 results on May 19th and 27th respectively. We believe both companies are particularly well positioned, with the themes outlined in “Private label growth: a detailed study” compounded by the cost implications of the recent geopolitical instability rather than disrupted by them. In our view, the prospect of renewed cost pressure should further support private label adoption and strengthen the position of scaled own-label suppliers with embedded retail relationships, surplus capacity and established pass-through mechanisms. We maintain our price targets of £66 for Cranswick and £3.60 for Greencore.
UK economy
UK growth picked up in Q1 after Budget-driven weakness in Q4
The UK economy was stronger than expected in March, and after some downward revision to February’s result, Q1 growth was in line with consensus. This resilience is encouraging despite war in the Middle East impacting March activity, although it also partly reflects a recovery from weaker activity in Q4 last year, when Budget concerns were a factor. Looking ahead, the UK’s fragile fiscal position is likely to continue to weaken H2 activity; in any case, UK economic growth remains below its potential. We therefore still expect the next change to Bank Rate will be a cut.
Irish economy
First-time buyer activity grew strongly again in March
One takeaway from yesterday’s residential property price data for March is the continued strong growth in first-time buyer (FTB) transactions in March. This aligns with a key message from our Banks Monthly report, also published yesterday. Some moderation in housing prices is likely to continue this year as supply increases. However, while we had expected 6.4% annual growth in Q1 – down from 7% in Q4 – this was exceeded with an actual increase of 6.8%. This suggests upside risk to our 5.5% forecast for the full year.
