CRH, the building materials giant which is one of Ireland’s largest companies, has decided to exit the Russian market, following the invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of economic sanctions on Russia.
“CRH management, together with its board of directors, made the decision this weekend to cease operations in Russia and withdraw from the market,” she said Wednesday evening, in response to questions. of the Irish Times on the future of his Russian business. operations.
CRH, which is also one of the largest cement producers in Ukraine, has a stake in six ready-mix concrete plants in Russia. They are located in the region of Saint Petersburg, the country’s second largest city after Moscow, through a joint venture owned by its Finnish unit, Rudus.
Rudus is co-owner of LujaBetomix, which is a joint venture that its subsidiary Betomix holds with another Finnish cement producer, Luyabeton.
According to LujaBetomix’s Russian website, the joint venture ultimately backed by CRH was created in 2014 specifically to target the Russian market. Rudus had been selling separately in the St. Petersburg market across the border from Finland since the late 1990s.
CRH is now insisting that it will end all business activities in the Russian market, suggesting that its Rudus unit and the joint venture will stop selling cement products in St. Petersburg.
CRH, which announced its annual results on Thursday, should face questions about its exit from the Russian market.
Last week, before the invasion, the HRC had prepared contingency plans for its Ukrainian operation, which is mainly located in the west of the country.
He said his Ukrainian operation, which employs around 800 people, is responsible for less than 1% of the group’s annual sales, which amount to nearly 27 billion euros. It is understood that the Russian operation is smaller than the Ukrainian operation.
The company said the safety of its staff in the region was “our number one priority”.
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