News
5
Insulation Products Provider Kingspan
Forecasts Nearly 70% Annual Profit Growth
S
pecialist building materials provider
Kingspan has delivered a significantly
better-than-expected full-year forecast,
suggesting its 2015 profits should increase by
nearly 70%, despite global economic confidence
wavering.
The Co Cavan-based insulation products
provider reported a 44% year-on-year rise in sales
for the first nine months of 2015, to €2bn. The
third quarter was particularly strong, with a 54%
annualised sales rise noted, which was boosted by
the contribution of recent acquisitions.
This has been a busy year, acquisition-wise, for
Kingspan and big purchases have boosted its net
debt to almost €414m, more than €300m up on
the same period last year. However, management
expects debt to end the year at around €380m.
The big line from Kingspan, however, was the
forecast of around €250m in trading profit for 2015.
This result would be a 68% improvement on last
year and 8% ahead of analyst expectations, many
of whom said they would be upgrading their own
forecasts as a result.
It also coincided with new
economic forecasts. The
OECD marginally lowered
its global growth outlook
while the Confederation
of British Industry slightly
rowed back on its UK growth
expectations. Both, however,
see the UK, Kingspan’s main
market, growing by 2.4%
this year and managing to
remain “robust” and “steady”. Britain, mainland
Europe, and the Americas ar H