Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Ireland: Kingspan's sales were ‘close to €2bn’ in the first quarter of 2024, following a 1% year-on-year decline. The producer noted ‘positive’ volumes and ‘stable’ pricing, continuing trends from 2023. Raw material costs dropped, however Kingspan anticipates a new rise in its operating costs in the medium-term future.

Dow Jones Institutional Newswires has reported that Kingspan expects to record a first-half 2024 profit ‘roughly in line’ with the first-half 2023 figure of €436m.

Ireland: Kingspan’s sales declined by 3% to Euro8.09bn in 2023 from Euro8.34bn in 2022. Its insulation sales fell by 8% and its insulated panels sales by 9%. Meanwhile, roofing and waterproofing sales grew to reach Euro500m. The group’s profit after tax rose by 6% to Euro654m from Euro616m. It invested Euro248m in new acquisitions throughout the year. Kingspan plans to invest Euro750m up to 2028 in order to capture 15% of the flat roofing market in North America.

CEO Gene Murtagh "Beyond insulation, each of our climate-focussed business units across roofing and waterproofing, light, air and water and data and flooring are scaling at pace with every potential for each to exceed Euro1bn divisional revenue over the coming years.” Murtagh added “Given our robust balance sheet, strong development pipeline, strong structural demand for energy efficiency and the ever increasing and obvious impacts of climate change, we expect 2024 to be a year of continuing strategic and operational progress for Kingspan.”

UK: SIG says that its full-year sales dropped by 2% year-on-year in 2023. Reuters has reported that the company nonetheless expects to record an underlying operating profit in the upper half of its forecast for the year. It said that restructuring and productivity initiatives carried out in the second half of 2023 saved an anticipated Euro11.6m. SIG expects ‘soft’ market conditions to continue in 2024.

Ireland: Kingspan expects its trading profit to amount to Euro875m throughout 2023, up by 5% year-on-year from Euro833m. The group noted a stable global backlog of orders. Nonetheless, its visibility remains low, amid challenges in ‘a number of end markets.’

Ireland: Kingspan reported sales of Euro6.14bn during the first nine months of 2023, down by 1.8% year-on-year. During the period, its insulation sales fell by 7%, while its insulated panels sales rose by 10%. Insulated panels recorded single-digit volumes growth across all regions during the third quarter of the year. Kingspan expects to deliver a full-year trading profit greater than in 2022.

Ireland: Kingspan recorded a decline in its consolidated sales of 2% year-on-year, to Euro4.1bn. Its insulation sales volumes also declined during the half. In an earnings call, CEO Gene Murtagh said that the company’s net profit was ‘broadly in line’ with the first half of 2022, at Euro436m. Murtagh praised the producer’s progress towards achieving its CO2 emissions reduction goals, with a 51% reduction from its historical baseline.

Kingspan’s chief financial officer Geoff Doherty noted the exposure of insulation sales to global economic effects. Doherty forecast an ‘improving order intake’ for both insulation boards and insulated panels during the second half of 2022. Nonetheless, he said that he expects sales volumes of insulation boards to ‘remain quite negative’ during the half, and therefore to be ‘softer’ than those of insulated panels.

UK: SIG recorded US$1.81bn in sales in the first half of 2023, up by 5% year-on-year from US$1.73bn in the first half of 2022. The group noted a decline in its sales volumes, partly offset by positive tailwinds from cost inflation in the comparison period. Its profit after tax declined by 70% to US$5.98m from US$20.2m.

CEO Gavin Slark said “Our performance in the first half of 2023 reflects the challenging market conditions we are currently facing, with the group’s like-for-like revenue growth flat year-on-year. Despite these conditions, I’m very pleased with the progress we are making on many fronts to improve the business notably with the initiatives across our operating companies to improve our ability to drive higher levels of profitable growth when market conditions recover." Slark continued “Looking ahead, while we expect market conditions in the second half of 2023 to remain difficult, we remain confident the business will grasp the opportunities it has to continue to improve its underlying operational performance. This will, in turn, deliver higher levels of profitability as we drive towards our medium-term margin target of 5%. The group is financially and commercially well placed to drive meaningful shareholder value in the medium and long term.”