Irish firm, CRH has raised over €300 million to help fund its ongoing acquisitions programme.

Despite the UK credit crunch, the building materials giant was able to sell the equivalent of €316 million in bonds on the UK market, immediately exchanging from sterling into euros.

CRH's last bond sale in September 2006, raised €1.1 billion.

But the company had to postpone a placement in Europe in July due to the credit-crunch brought on by the US sub-prime crisis.

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CRH said its recent success is a sign of returning confidence in the bond market.

Last week, the weakening US dollar/euro exchange rate prompted broker Davy Research to reduce its earnings forecasts for the group.

The broker changed its full-year US dollar/euro exchange rate assumption to 1.58 from 1.52. Thus reducing full-year 2008 EPS forecast to 272.2c from 276.6c, a decline of 1.6%.

It also cut its full-year 2009 earnings per share forecast by 3%.

It said the 2008 forecast represents year-on-year growth of 2%. But, does not include the impact of 2008 acquisition spend or the full impact of the ongoing share buyback programme.

(VB/JM)