UPDATE 2-CRH says global economic chill to hit 2008 profit

(Adds CEO quotes, analyst comment, share price)

By Jonathan Saul

DUBLIN, July 2 (Reuters) - CRH Plc (CRH.I: Quote, Profile, Research) warned of an end to years of uninterrupted profit growth as flagging economies in the United States, Britain and Ireland and a weak dollar take their toll on the building materials group.

Shares in Ireland's CRH (CRH.L: Quote, Profile, Research), one of the world's biggest suppliers to builders, fell over 10 percent.

"The ongoing negative economic developments and financial market pressures of recent months are having an impact on business sentiment leading to weaker demand," CRH said in a trading statement on Wednesday.

CRH, which last year made almost half of its 2.1 billion euro ($3.3 billion) operating profit in the Americas, also said that at current levels the weak dollar would knock over 80 million euros ($126 million) off the value of profits this year.

"CRH anticipates that full-year 2008 reported profit before tax may show a high single digit percentage decline compared with the record 2007 outturn of 1.904 billion euros," it said.

The drop in earnings per share would be less due to an share buyback programme and an expected lower tax charge, CRH said.

The Dublin-based group, which has more than doubled profits since 2003, had in May indicated it would be difficult to meet its goal of growing profits for the 16th consecutive year, but had not at that stage given up on the possibility.