7th May 2015 08:02
LONDON (Alliance News) - Irish building materials company Kingspan Group PLC on Thursday said it has seen a strong start to 2015, continuing the good trading conditions seen in the second half of 2014, with good performances in the UK and North American markets.
Kingspan, which provides insulation, building fabric and solar building envelopes, said group sales in the first four months to the end of April were up 28%. Trading in the UK and North America has been good, the company said, with German trading solid and Eastern European activity still relatively subdued. Gulf region trading has been good, with Australia relatively flat year-on-year, Kingspan added.
Insulted panels sales revenue rose by 28% in the first four months, with growth in the majority of its key markets. Kingspan completed the acquisition of Joris Idis in March and said the integration of the business is proceeding to plan. Insulation board sales were up 40% in the period, boosted by a strong performance in the UK, solid trading in mainland Europe and an encouraging start to trading in the US and Gulf.
Access floors revenue rose by 19%, with a good start in the US business offsetting sluggish sales in the UK, which were mainly hit by project delays. Environmental sales revenue rose by 9%, with good progress made year-on-year in the division.
Kingspan said its order backlog points towards a strong first half for the company, primarily driven by good performances in the UK and US, though this will be offset somewhat by a flat European market and weakness in Canada and Australia. It also said its results have been boosted by the weak euro and the consequent positive translation effect on its reported revenue.
Shares in Kingspan were up 1.9% to EUR18.60 on Thursday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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