Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Luxembourg: Armacell recorded sales worth Euro288.4m in the first half of 2020, down by 10% year-on-year from Euro320m in the first half of 2020. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 17% to Euro52.5m from Euro63.3m. The company said that the effects of lower sales volumes “were not entirely offset by immediate cost control measures.”

President and chief executive officer (CEO) Patrick Mathieu said, “Strategically, we are well on track. Armacell has shown a steady performance in the first half of 2020, and our immediate measures to mitigate the risks arising from the pandemic are proving beneficial. Our good performance over the past months underlines the resilience of our business, which we continue to grow.”

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."

Netherlands: Recticel reported earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of Euro17.4m in the first half of 2020, down by 43% year-on-year from Euro30.4m in the first half of 2019. Net sales fell by 18% to Euro374m from Euro454m. Insulation sales during the period were Euro113m, down by 13% from Euro130m.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Olivier Chapelle said that, “volumes were heavily affected by the Covid-19 lockdown measures from mid-March until May 2020. Accelerating activity levels in the building markets led to June volumes exceeding the level of 2019. Selling prices remained under pressure as a consequence of lower raw material costs.”

US: Stepan has recorded a first-half income before tax of US$63.4m, up by 15% year-on-year from US$55.2m in the first half of 2020. Net sales were US$910m, down by 5.4% year-on-year from US$962m. Polymer sales, which includes sales of Stepan’s rigid foam insulation polyols, fell by 20% to US$112m from US$141m due to lower North American and European demand, “reflecting Covid-19 construction project delays,” according to the company. This was partly offset by increased sales volumes of 41% from its China division.

UK: Recticel Insulation says that its production plant in Stoke-on-Trent is ‘Covid-19 Secure Certified.’ This confirmation is defined by the UK government and is designed to enhance safety and provide our staff with confidence in their workplace. Measures taken to meet this standard include conducting a risk assessment, implementing cleaning, handwashing and hygiene procedures in line with national guidance, encouraging remote working, maintaining social distancing in the workplace and minimising transmission risks where distancing is not possible.

The company also contracted an independent business risk management company to carry out an independent validation audit of its COVID-19 secure risk assessment. The insulation producer says it will, “continue to monitor the government’s advice, and will update measures as required to ensure safety is maintained for staff and visitors alike.”

UK: SIG’s group revenue fell by 37% year-on-year to Euro154m during March and April 2020 due to disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak. In its annual report for 2019 the insulation producer said that trading had returned to pre Covid-19 levels in most of its companies as it adapted social distancing measures. It also reported cash reserves of around Euro150m following the sale of its Air Handling division.

In 2019 the group‘s statutory revenue fell by 13% year-on-year to Euro2.4bn in 2019 from Euro2.7bn in 2018. It made an operating loss of Euro97m. This was blamed on loss of market share in the UK and Germany. In response the company’s board says it taken ‘decisive’ action including appointing a new leadership team and developing a new customer-centric strategy that reprioritises sales.

US: Johns Manville says that it has begun production of a new specially-developed coated polyester spunbond nonwoven fabric for use in Level 3 medical gowns for healthcare professionals fighting the coronavirus outbreak. It is producing the material, called Evalith, at its Spartanburg special applications building materials plant in South Carolina.

Johns Mansville engineered products president John Vasuta said, “Given the urgent need for action, we quickly decided to build on our own capabilities and develop a coated product to supply the domestic medical gown manufacturing industry. The fabric offers superior liquid barrier performance compared to materials used for Level 1 and Level 2 medical gowns, while also providing comfort and stitch-strength.”

France: Switzerland-based Sika has entered production of facemasks at its Dexel building materials plant in Les Salles du Gardon, Gard department. Sika says that the plant produces 15,000 masks/day ‘almost entirely from Sika products.’ It will distribute the masks around customers and employees and has received an order for 165,000 masks.

Sika Europe, Middle East and Africa regional manager Ivo Schädler said, “We find ourselves in an exceptional situation that confronts us with new challenges on an almost daily basis, especially in those countries worst hit by coronavirus. Our top priority is to protect our employees, their families, and our customers – which also includes finding unconventional ways of helping them.”

Denmark: Rockwool’s insulation sales declined by 0.6% year-on-year to Euro483m in the first quarter of 2020 from Euro486m due to slowdowns in Asia, in technical insulation sales and in its sandwich panel business. Despite this its earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) rose slightly to Euro56m. Overall the group’s net sales and EBIT rose slightly to Euro649m and Euro80m respectively.

“Despite turbulence from the COVID-19 pandemic whose impact we began to feel late in the quarter, we achieved solid first quarter results. Climate change isn’t going away, however. Energy renovation is a high-impact economic recovery measure that creates local jobs, a more resilient and healthy society while at the same time contributing to reaching long-term global climate ambitions,” said chief executive (CEO) officer Jens Birgersson.

The group reported that, due to coronavirus, its sales were affected in Asia and started to decrease during the last weeks of March 2020 in southern Europe. In China, production lines were temporarily closed early in the quarter and re-opened four weeks later. Factories in Malaysia, India, France and Spain were closed at different times in March 2020. It said that all these factories had now partly resumed production. The company is planning to adjust operations based on reduced demand and a decline in construction spending in future quarters. It also intends to seek, “market opportunities resulting from political and fiscal responses to drive economic recovery.”

Germany: Knauf Insulation has launched its ‘As Safe As Home’ marketing campaign to promote health and safety issues in relation to new working environments created by the coronavirus pandemic. Chief executive officer (CEO) Jean-Claude Carlin said, “Safety has always been our first priority but when the crisis hit our business, it inspired the best in us. We learnt to create places that are safer than ever. Safety had to be everywhere for everyone. At home. At work. 24/7. Having achieved so much, this approach can now never be compromised.”