Ireland: Kingspan recorded full-year consolidated sales of Euro4.58bn in 2020, down by 2% year-on-year from Euro4.66bn in 2019. Profit for the year from continuing operations was Euro385m, up by 2% from Euro378bn. Earnings before finance costs, income taxes, depreciation, amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 3% to Euro597m from Euro580m. Insulation boards sales fell by 10% to Euro787m from Euro877m. Kingspan’s trading profit from insulation boards fell by 6% to Euro117m from Euro110m.
The group said, “2020 was a tumultuous year for Kingspan, as it was for many. After a relatively strong start, April and May saw a deep reduction in activity in many markets, followed by a rebound towards mid-year and ultimately a strong finish in the fourth quarter.” It added, “Globally, governments reacted in varying ways to the crisis which resulted in an economic experience which was equally variable. All markets suffered interruption to some degree, although in our case it was particularly acute in the UK, Spain, Canada and Ireland. Most other markets recovered to, and in some cases exceeded, the performance of 2019.”
In late 2020, the company made changes following the Grenfell Tower fire inquiry’s ‘highlighting’ of ‘historical behaviours’ affecting the company’s role as indirect supplier of some of the building’s insulation. Chief Executive Officer Gene Murtagh said, “The unacceptable conduct and historical process shortcomings, involving a small number of employees in our UK insulation boards business, do not reflect the high standards of integrity and safety that are core Kingspan values, deeply held by our people. We have already implemented several important changes that demonstrate our commitment to product compliance and good governance. Our aims are clear: to reassure that safety takes precedence over all other considerations and to ensure this can never happen again.” The changes include the launch of a new code of conduct, new testing protocols and the publication of all test reports.
