Americas Distribution Interior Products (25% EBITDA) Outlook Exterior Products (75% of EBITDA) Americas Distribution, trading as Allied Building Products (‘Allied’), saw  contrasting patterns across its main trading activities in 2012. Our Exterior  Products business had a strong first half due to an unusually warm winter  and momentum from prior year, but experienced a more challenging second  half as re-roofing demand weakened and competition for work intensified. In  contrast, the Interior Products business showed continuing improvements in  both volumes and pricing throughout the year. With total like-for-like sales up  by 2%, and incremental contributions from acquisitions completed in 2011,  overall US Dollar sales and operating profit were ahead of last year. The ongoing evolution of Allied’s organisational structure provided further  consolidation and efficiency opportunities. Management maintained its focus  on logistics, pricing initiatives and administrative rationalisation to enable  greater control and scalability. As we continued to simplify our branch operating  structure, smaller regions were merged in order to improve acquisition  integration and enhance operating synergies. The result of the ongoing efforts  in these areas is evident in the improvement in both EBITDA and operating  profit margins. Development activity in 2012 was quiet following a busy year in 2011. Two  greenfield locations were added to strengthen existing market positions and  provide scope for further growth. The acquisition impact shown above primarily  reflects the 15-branch Minnesota-headquartered Exterior Products distributor  that was acquired in December 2011. TriBuilt, Allied’s proprietary private label brand (5% of sales), continued to  show strong growth in 2012. In addition, new customer service initiatives were  implemented to further differentiate Allied in the marketplace. Overall, progress  was made in 2012 to increase brand recognition and build strong customer  loyalty.  Allied is the third largest roofing and siding distributor in the United States.  Demand is influenced by residential and commercial replacement activity (75%  of sales volume is RMI-related) with key products having an average life span  of 25 years. All regions within the Exterior Products business were profitable  in 2012 and the full-year impact of 2011 acquisitions added to the sales and  operating profit of the northern plains/upper midwest markets. However,  competitive pressures across the industry in the second half of 2012 impacted  margins in both acquired and heritage businesses. In late-October 2012,  our operations in the New York/New Jersey area were severely impacted by  Hurricane Sandy but December saw some benefit as post-hurricane repair and  refurbishment work commenced.  Allied is also the third largest Interior Products distributor in the United States.  This business sells wallboard, steel studs and acoustical ceiling systems to  specialised contractors, and has low exposure to weather-driven replacement  activity. It is heavily dependent on the new commercial construction market  which has been at historically low levels in recent years. Activity in this business  finished the year on a strong note. Wallboard volumes and prices increased  in 2012 which resulted in higher sales across all regions and, combined with  the benefits of cost reduction programmes undertaken in previous years,  contributed to an improvement in operating profit.  The overall outlook for 2013 is encouraging as commercial and residential  construction is expected to show improvement. While the full effect of Hurricane  Sandy on our business in New York/New Jersey is not yet known, we do  expect it to give rise to increased activity in 2013 as repairs to the extensively  damaged residential areas in coastal New Jersey, New York and Long Island  gather momentum. Another year of growth is expected in the Interior Products  business, as wallboard volumes and pricing are expected to increase. From a  development perspective, our deal pipeline remains robust in both segments  of the business. Overall, with the continued benefit of consolidation and cost  reduction measures, we are looking to a year of further progress in 2013. CRH 35 Results Analysis of change € million % Change 2012 2011 Total Change Organic Acquisitions  Divestments Restructuring Exchange Sales revenue  +18% 1,576 1,335 +241 +29 +100 - - +112 EBITDA +28% 83 65 +18 +9 +4 - - +5 Operating profit +31% 59 45 +14 +9 +1 - - +4 EBITDA/sales 5.3% 4.9% Op.profit/sales 3.7% 3.4% EBITDA and operating profit exclude profit on disposals Restructuring costs amounted to €1 million (2011: €1 million)  No impairment charges were incurred (2011: nil)