Insulation specialist says prolonged wintry weather hit sites

Kingspan

Bad weather across Europe hit insulation specialist Kingspan at the start of 2018 including its operation in the UK, where the ‘Beast from the East’ wrought havoc on the construction sector.

The Ireland-based firm said it had seen a sluggish start to the year, “reflecting markets which were slow to get moving largely due to a prolonged winter season in many regions”.

Kingspan, which has operations in 60 countries around the world and 11,000 staff, said overall sales for the three months to the end of March came in at €895m (£781m), up 8% year-on-year.

The group’s insulation panel business in the UK had seen tough trading but activity had picked up in recent weeks, while revenue in its UK insulation boards operation had been strong, driven by inflation and mix, although with volumes down on prior year.

UK sales of access floors were behind the same period last year, and “broadly flat” in the US, year-on-year.

Kingspan splashed out €620m (£541m) on acquisitions last year, when the group posted pre-tax profit of €346.5m (£302m) on turnover of €3.7bn (£3.2bn).

It will announce its results for the six months to 30 June in August.