L1 Capital, an investment management firm, published its ‘L1 Capital International Fund’ fourth quarter 2021 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. A quarterly net return of 6.2 % was recorded by the fund for the fourth quarter of 2021, underperforming its benchmark by -0.9%. The benchmark meanwhile had a 7.1% gain for the same period. The Australian dollar appreciated 0.5% against the U.S. dollar and 2.4% against the Euro, detracting from reported Fund and benchmark returns. For the 2021 calendar year, the Fund returned 41.1% (net of fees), outperforming the benchmark by 11.9%. Spare some time to check the fund’s top 5 holdings to have a clue about their top bets for 2022.
L1 Capital International Fund, in its Q4 2021 investor letter, mentioned CRH plc (NYSE: CRH) and discussed its stance on the firm. CRH plc is a Dublin, Ireland-based building material company with a $39.0 billion market capitalization. CRH delivered a -4.41% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are up by 11.83%. The stock closed at $50.47 per share on February 11, 2022.
Here is what L1 Capital International Fund has to say about CRH plc in its Q4 2021 investor letter:
“Have you ever pondered which company:
-Made the telecommunications access cover (the object formerly known as a manhole cover) you stepped on as you walked your dog?
-Supplied the asphalt and paved the road as you had a rare smooth drive somewhere in the U.S.?
-Manufactured the telecommunications cable or water pipe precast concrete protection system to ensure the electricity or water we use in everyday life is safely delivered?
-Ensured the glass wall panels in your office building stayed in place?
-Supplied the pavers, decking and even the garden mulch at your European or North American holiday resort?All of these burning life questions can be answered with three letters… CRH.
CRH was formed in 1970 through the merger of two Irish companies, Cement Limited and Roadstone Limited, and has grown organically and through acquisitions to become the largest building materials business in North America and Europe. It also has a small presence in the Asia Pacific region, including Australia (next time you step on a CUBIS or BVCI branded access cover embedded in the pavement you can join us in having an inner glowing feeling about your investment in the L1 Capital International Fund).
Despite, our attempts to excite, you may be feeling CRH is a somewhat mundane business. The next sentence will change your perceptions. Over the past 50 years, CRH has delivered shareholders a compound annual total shareholder return of 15.1% – that equates to over 1,100 times your initial investment 50 years ago (the extra 0.1% p.a. adds over 50x your initial investment due to the magic of compounding over long time horizons).
Rarely will you see CRH mentioned by market commentators in their attention seeking investment highlights, or even in an investment manager’s attempted erudite quarterly report. However, we believe CRH is a genuinely under-appreciated, high-quality business trading at an attractive valuation, providing a compelling ‘get richer consistently over time’ investment opportunity…” (Click here to see the full text)
Our calculations show that CRH plc (NYSE: CRH) failed to obtain a mark on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. CRH was in 7 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2021, compared to 9 funds in the previous quarter. CRH plc (NYSE: CRH) delivered a -1.04% return in the past 3 months.
In June 2021, we also shared another hedge fund’s views on CRH in another article. You can find other letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2021 Q4 page.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
