Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Ireland/US: Ireland-based Kingspan has pulled out of bidding for Firestone Building Products. Bloomberg News has reported that both Kingspan and Standard Industries have dropped out of the auction. The roofing and building materials company was expected to reach a value of Euro2bn. The deadline for submitting offers is 28 December 2020.

Earlier in December 2020, Kingspan’s chief executive officer (CEO) Gene Murtagh apologised for ‘process shortcomings’ that have been highlighted by the ongoing Grenfell Tower Inquiry in the UK.

US: The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has named Owens Corning on its Climate Change A List of companies that took actions to cut emissions, reduce climate impacts and help build the low-carbon economy in 2020. 270 companies won the top status from a pool of 5800 applicants. The CDP also named the company amongst 106 companies on the 2020 Water Security A List.

US: Stepan has appointed Scott Behrens to the roles of president and chief operating officer (COO) with effect from January 2021.

Behrens began working for Stepan in 1995 as a senior product development chemist. He has held managerial roles since 1998 and gained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Northwestern University in 2003. He also holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree from Illinois State University.

Ireland: Kingspan has reported a sales fall of 5% year-on-year in its 2020 nine-month trading update, to Euro3.27bn from Euro3.44bn in the first nine months of 2019. Its sales of insulation boards fell by 14% and by 5% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2020.

The group said that insulation board sales “performed well” in Ireland, the UK and parts of Continental Europe in the third quarter of 2020, while volumes “improved, with raw material-related price deflation in the earlier part of the period partially offsetting this” in total sales. The Asia Pacific region “consolidated the progress seen in the first half,” while activity in the US was “positive through the third quarter.” Only the Middle East proved “a more challenging environment.”

The company said, “Overall, our end markets are in reasonable shape bearing in mind the uncertain and evolving backdrop. In this environment it is difficult to see too far ahead and trading patterns can evolve quickly. Our raw material costs are on the rise at present and, with the customary lag anticipated, a challenging recovery effort is underway. Trading in the fourth quarter to date has been strong, helped to an extent by accelerated demand in the expectation of inflation-led price increases in the coming months. Whilst conscious that much of the seasonally variable fourth quarter is still at play, in what is an untypical year, we expect to deliver a full year trading profit marginally ahead of 2019.”

US: Huntsman’s net income in the first nine months of 2020 was US$691m, more than doubled from US$259m in the corresponding period of 2019. This was in spite of a fall in sales of 15% to US$4.35bn from US$5.14bn. Its polyurethanes (PU) segment recorded sales of US$2.55bn, down by 13% from US$2.93bn, and earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$271m, down by 36% from US$426m. The company attributed the sector’s sales fall in the third quarter of 2020 to “lower methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) average selling prices,” which “decreased across most major markets in relation to the global economic slowdown resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.” It added, “Overall polyurethanes sales volumes were roughly flat when including sales volumes in connection with the Icynene-Lapolla Acquisition. The increase in segment adjusted EBITDA was primarily due to lower raw material costs and lower fixed costs, as well as additional sales volumes in connection with the Icynene-Lapolla Acquisition, partially offset by lower MDI pricing.”

President, chair and chief executive officer (CEO) Peter Huntsman said, “The third quarter proved to be better than we had anticipated with improving conditions in almost all of our businesses. Although the global community continues to face significant challenges around Covid-19, we see positive momentum entering the fourth quarter. We remain fully on track in integrating our two downstream acquisitions completed earlier this year and in delivering in excess of US$100m of annualised synergies and savings from our previously announced cost optimization initiative by the end of 2021.”

US: Owens Corning’s net sales in the first nine months of 2020 were US$5.13bn, down by 6.6% year-on-year from US$5.47bn in the first nine months of 2019. Loss before interest and tax (LBIT) was US$399m, compared to earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of US$625m. Insulation sales fell by 3% to US$1.88bn from US$1.95bn. However, the company’s sales and earnings picked up in the third quarter of 2020, supported by its roofing division.

US: Huntsman recorded an income of US$649m in the first half of 2020, up by 161% year-on-year from US$249m in the first half of 2019. Sales fell by 18% to US$2.84bn from US$3.45bn. Polyurethane volumes and prices fell globally during the period due to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak, according to the company, however second-quarter growth in China partly offset this.

Chair, chief executive officer (CEO) and president Peter Huntsman said, “We were fortunate to have been more prepared than ever as we entered the second quarter in an unprecedented global economic crisis, with little to no visibility. With our transformed balance sheet, there was no need to access capital markets and we completed the quarter with US$2.6bn of overall liquidity and generated positive free cash flow. We remain focused on what we can control and have accelerated and improved integration plans for our recent acquisitions, CVC Thermoset Specialties and Icynene-Lapolla.” He continued, “While the on-going related global effects of Covid-19 remain uncertain and visibility continues to be poor, we see improving trends within most of our major markets and are optimistic that the worst of this economic slowdown is behind us."

US: Installed Building Products (IBP) recorded a net income of US$41.3m in the first half of 2020, up by 49% year-on-year from US$27.8m in the first half of 2019. Sales were US$791m, up by 11% from US$714m. Chair and chief executive officer (CEO) Jeff Edwards said, “These record results demonstrate the success of our on-going geographic, end-market, and end-product diversification strategies, the benefits of our pricing strategies, and the hard work and dedication of our employees.”

The installer of insulation and complementary building products has also recently acquired Charleston Insulation and Foam and Savannah Insulation and Foam from Energy One America. Both companies provide foam, glass fibre and air barrier insulation installation services. Edwards said, “With total annual revenue of approximately US$22m, these branches expand our presence in two attractive markets. In addition, each branch provides multiple installation services, and end market diversification that fits extremely well within our overall growth strategy.”

US: Owens Corning has announced a new line of extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam insulation products called Foamular NGX. It is set to go on sale in the US and Canada in January 2021. It says that the proprietary blowing agent in the products deliver a 90% reduction in global warming potential (GWP) without sacrificing product performance. It is Underwriters Laboratory (UL) listed, Factory Mutual (FM) approved and compliant with regulations set to take effect in Canada and some US states in January 2021. The environmental benefits of the products will be reflected in a new Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). The new product line will retain the signature Owens Corning pink colour.

US: Net sales from Owens Corning’s insulation division fell by 4% year-on-year to US$1.2bn in the first half of 2020 from US$1.25bn in the same period in 2019. Earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) rose by 6% to US$71m from US$57m. Overall, across all business lines, sales fell at the company. The company said that the key economic factors that continue to impact its performance were, “global industrial production, US housing starts, and global commercial and industrial construction activity.”