CRH CHIEF executive Myles Lee was paid a total of €2.455 million in salary, retirement and other benefits in 2009, his first year in the job.

The group’s annual report shows that Mr Lee received €1.15 million in basic salary and fees last year. Further payments, the largest of which was €980,000 in retirement benefits, brought the total to €2.455 million.

Mr Lee succeeded Liam O’Mahony as chief executive at the beginning of last year. Mr O’Mahony was paid a total of €1.746 million during 2008, his final year at CRH’s helm.

Profits at CRH fell by more than half to €732 million in 2009 as the construction industry in the US and Europe fell into a slump brought on by the recession and a squeeze on credit.

However, the company doubled its cash flows to €1.1 billion, and intends increasing its dividend payments to shareholders by around 1.6 per cent to 62.5 cent a share.

Since 2007, CRH has cut €1.65 billion a year off its cost base, and it intends reducing outgoings by a further €265 million in 2010.

Its finance director, Glenn Culpepper, was paid a total of €1.087 million last year. It was his first year in the post. He succeeded Mr Lee, who was paid €1.114 million in 2008. Mr Culpepper’s basic salary came to €609,000, his retirement benefits came to €122,000.

CRH paid chief operating officer Albert Manifold €1.236 million, of which €800,000 was basic salary and fees, and retirement benefits came to €195,000. The group paid its Americas chief executive, Mark Towe, €1.43 million, of which €825,000 was basic salary and fees. His retirement benefits came to €165,000.

The total bill for executive salaries and benefits came to €6.2 million in 2009, a near 30 per cent increase on the €4.58 million that it paid in 2008.

CRH is Ireland’s biggest company. It is headquartered in Dublin and is quoted on the Dublin and New York stock exchanges. It accounts for around one-third of the Iseq index of Irish shares.

Around half the group’s business is in the US, where it is one of the leading suppliers of asphalt, while the balance is in Europe.

It has a foothold in China. Ireland accounts for about 5 per cent of total sales.

The group is one of the three largest players in its sector in the world and is the biggest in its business in the US. It employs almost 8,000 full-time and seasonal staff around the world.