Kingspan revenues down as orders go flat

Kingspan, the construction products manufacturer based in Dublin, points to various hiccups that will stop it from repeating last year’s record growth and pre-tax profit.

The full effect of the downturn has not fully kicked in as yet, however, as 2008 turnover thus far has been “at a similar level to that achieved in 2007”.

Details listed by Kingspan show:

• Insulated panels. Demand is flat overall. A 17% decline in the UK and Ireland being offset by strong growth in central & Eastern Europe.
• Insulation boards. A modest increase. A drop in the Irish market of 8% offset by continuing growth in Britain.
  structural products - flat year on year.
• Offsite. Weak, down 15%.
• Environmental sales. Up 13% due to acquisitions last year but are broadly flat on a like-for-like basis
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  access floors - up 20% and remains strong.

Raw material costs, primarily steel, are escalating. Kingspan anticipates recovering these higher input charges but only after a time lag, which means there will be pressure on profit margins “over the remainder of the year”. 

Kingspan's order intake and pipeline activity tend to serve as a reasonable barometer of anticipated demand for up to six months forward and the group says that orders for insulated panels in the UK and Ireland are down around 16% year to date.