Kingspan reports 44% increase in sales to €4.7bn

Insulation maker Kingspan saw sales increase by 44 per cent to €4.7 billion for the nine months to the end of September despite what it described as "extraordinary" raw material inflation.

In a trading update, the company said insulated panels sales rose 47 per cent, albeit the order intake had plateaued in recent weeks.

Nonetheless it said “the activity pipeline” was generally encouraging, particularly in large-scale logistics, data, technology and the EV automotive sectors. “These applications demand high-energy, efficient solutions, not just on day one but over the lifetime of the building, with Kingspan technology well placed in that environment,” it said.

While the fourth quarter still had to play out, the company said it expected to deliver a full-year trading profit in the region of €750 million, significantly ahead of the €508.2 million recorded in 2020.

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“Twenty-twenty-one so far has been unusual and characterised by order placement earlier in the year than is typical as customers sought to get ahead of ongoing inflation and availability pressures,” it said.

“ It is likely what we are experiencing now is a fallow period in order placement following that,” it said.

“Raw material prices have been somewhat stable in more recent weeks, albeit at record high levels and following a period of unparalleled increases,” the company said.

“There are no signs yet of any meaningful raw materials deflation, although should that come the impact would be negative. We are acutely conscious of that,” it added.

The company’s net debt at the end of September 2021 was €636 million, with a cumulative acquisition spend year-to-date of €485 million and organic capital investment of €119 million.