The success of CRH’s (LSE: CRH) bold acquisition strategy has enabled the firm to deliver double-digit earnings growth for some time now.
And naturally I am convinced the construction play’s insatiable appetite in this area should keep powering the bottom line — CRH completed eight takeovers during last year alone.
CRH saw total revenues motoring 15% higher during 2016, to €27.1bn, a result that propelled profit before tax 69% higher to €1.7bn. The company saw margins and revenues rising in each of its divisions, witnessing strong momentum across Europe and the Americas as well as a positive performance from its recently-created Asian division.
And promisingly, CRH expects conditions to remain robust in 2017, particularly as US construction activity improves.
The City expects earnings to blast 24% higher in 2017, and by an additional 15% next year. And these forecasts result in very-reasonable P/E ratios of 15.3 times and 13.3 times respectively.
A pretty picture
For those seeking reliable earnings growth in the face of Brexit pressures on the population’s collective wallet, I reckon Cineworld (LSE: CINE) is a stock you cannot afford to overlook.
Cineworld group revenues leapt to £797.8m in 2016, up 13% year-on-year, and they drove adjusted pre-tax profits 12.5% higher to £111.4m.
The chain continues to be boosted by Hollywood’s conveyor belt of blockbusters, and a stream of new releases scheduled through the next few years from the likes of Marvel and Disney promises to keep film lovers flocking through its doors.
Furthermore, the relatively-inexpensive nature of Cineworld’s operations means the business should be able to keep generating solid sales growth regardless of broader economic woes.
The number crunchers expect Cineworld to generate earnings growth of 7% and 8% in 2017 and 2018 alone, figures that create P/E ratios of 16.7 times and 15.5 times.
I reckon this is great value given the screen star’s strong defensive qualities, not to mention the great earnings potential thrown out by ongoing site expansion across the UK, Central and Eastern Europe and Israel.
Book beauty
The huge potential of WH Smith’s (LSE: SMWH) rail and airport outlets convinces me that the stock remains a great growth selection for ISA investors.
A combination of rising passenger numbers and a steady stream of store openings in the UK and abroad helped drive underlying sales at its Travel division up 5% during the 21 weeks to January 21. As a result of ongoing strength here, chief executive Stephen Clarke commented that “we expect group profit growth for the year to be slightly ahead of plan.”
Square Mile analysts expect the stationer to keep its long-running growth story rolling with advances of 6% in each of the years to August 2017 and 2018. Consequently WH Smith’s P/E multiple drops to 16 times next year from 17.2 times in the present period. I reckon this is great value given the company’s improving sales outlook.
