Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Huntsman’s polyurethane business has contributed to its growing revenue and earnings so far in 2018. Its revenue grew by 18% year-on-year to US$4.7bn in the first half of 2018 from US$3.99bn in the same period in 2017. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 47% to US$820m from US$559m.

“Our polyurethanes business continues its growth in variants and systems and enjoys the back drop of good supply and demand fundamentals, foreseeable for the long term,” said Peter R Huntsman, chairman, president and chief executive officer (CEO). Prices and sales volumes rose year-on-year in the second quarter of 2018.

In late July 2018 the chemicals producer announced that its Polyurethane division was setting up a new subsidiary in Chile based in Santiago. The new company, Huntsman (Chile), will operate from a local warehouse and a customer service centre. It joins existing operations in Cartagena and Bogotá in Colombia, São Paulo and Taboão da Serra in Brazil and Buenos Aires in Argentina.

Germany: BASF’s Performance Products division’s sales fell by 5% year-on-year to Euro7.94bn in the first half of 2018 from Euro8.4bn in the same period in 2017. Its earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) fell by 41% to Euro879m from Euro920m. The company blamed the falling sales and earnings on negative currency effects as well as reduced sales volumes from its Nutrition & Health division. The chemical producer manufactures polyurethane-based insulation foams as part of its Performance Products division. Overall, BASF’s sales and its EBIT grew in the reporting period.

US: Owens Corning’s insulation business sales rose by 53% year-on-year to US$1.28bn in the first half of 2018 from US$838m in the same period in 2017. Overall, the company’s net sales rose by 14% to US$3.52bn from US$3.08bn. However, its earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) fell by 6.4% to US$360m from US$337m.

“Owens Corning grew revenue by 14% on the contribution of Insulation acquisitions and successful pricing actions in both Roofing and Insulation. The company made significant commercial progress in the first-half of the year, partially offset by operational headwinds,” said chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Mike Thaman. He added that the company expects continued commercial execution and improved operational performance with ‘strong’ financial results in 2018 and into 2019.

UK: SIG’s sales revenue for the first half of 2018 has remained stagnant due to poor weather earlier in 2018. Revenue in the UK and Ireland fell by 3.1% year-on-year in the period whilst in Mainland Europe grew by 2.9%.

The Sheffield headquartered building materials producer also said in a trading update that it had appointed Ernst & Young as its external auditor. Shareholders previously voted against a bid to reappoint of Deloitte following an overstatement of the company’s profits in 2016. The company has also appointed Alan Lovell and Cyrille Ragoucy as non-executive directors with effect from 1 August 2018.

Denmark: Rockwool’s sales have been driven by its insulation markets in Europe and North America. Its sales revenue grew by 17.3% year-on-year to Euro468m in the first quarter of 2018 from Euro399m in the same period in 2017. Earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) for its insulation business rose by 98% to Euro55m from Euro28m. Overall sales and earnings for the company across all business lines rose at a slower rate.

“The strong first quarter performance is primarily driven by growing demand for our non-combustible insulation as well as our focus on productivity improvements and pricing. Owing to our broad-based manufacturing footprint, particularly in Europe, we are able to flexibly service growing customer demand, even if this results in somewhat increased logistics costs,” the company said in a statement.

UK: The shareholders of SIG have voted against the reappointment of Deloitte as auditor for the insulation materials producer. The board said that it took its shareholders’ views ‘extremely seriously’ and that it will find a new auditor as soon as practically possible. The shareholder discontent follows the discovery that the company’s profits were overstated in 2016.

In a trading statement covering the first four months of 2018, the company revealed that its sales fell slightly by 0.3%. Sales revenue fell by 4.4% year-on-year in the UK and Ireland due to poor weather in February and March. European sales rose by 3.8% due to good performance in Germany, the Benelux region and Poland.

Belgium: Recticel’s insulation sales fell by 2% year-on-year to Euro60.1m in the first quarter of 2018 from Euro61.3m in the same period in 2017. Although it raised its prices due to increased raw materials costs it blamed a fall in volumes on poor weather and an industry-wide polyisocyanurate P(IR) insulation board unavailability in mid-2017 due to a methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) supply shortage. The company added that a new insulation plant it is building in Finland is due to start up in the fourth quarter of 2018.

US: Owens Corning’s insulation sales for the first quarter of 2018 has risen significantly followings its acquisition of Finland’s Paroc. Its net sales for its insulation business rose by 49% year-on-year to US$596m in 2018 from US$399m in the same period in 2017. Earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) rose to US$32m from US$5m. It completed its acquisition of Paroc Group, and its range of European mineral wool insulation production plants, on 5 February 2018.

Ireland: Kingspan Group’s revenue grew in 2017 due to strong European sales despite a ‘weakening’ UK market. Its revenue rose by 18% year-on-year to 3.67bn in 2017 from Euro3.12bn in 2016. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 9.3% to Euro442m from Euro404m. Sales of both insulation boards and panels grew.

“We have continued our globalisation strategy with several significant acquisitions, including establishing a market leading presence in Latin America. Our new Light & Air division is performing ahead of expectations and expanding the range of product solutions the business offers. The challenge of increased input costs has been effectively managed to minimise the impact on profit margins. Notwithstanding the weakening UK market our well diversified business is well placed for the longer term,” said Gene M Murtagh, the chief executive of Kingspan.

US: Owens Corning’s net sales rose by 12.5% year-on-year to US$6.38bn in 2017 from US$5.68bn in 2016. Its earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) rose by 5.4% to US$737m from US$699m. The building materials producer’s sales from its insulation division rose by 14.5% to US$2.00bn from US$1.75bn and its EBIT rose by 40.5% to US$177m from US$126m.

“Owens Corning had another great year. We were pleased by the continued momentum in our three businesses and the addition of Paroc and Foamglas to our portfolio,” said chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Mike Thaman.