Kingspan sales up by 33%

Kingspan plc, whose operations include various engineered timber systems businesses, recorded a 33% growth in sales to €439.3m in the first four months of 2011, the company said in an interim statement.

The group said the UK market had been solid overall with a gradual improvement in residential construction, plus an increase in RMI activity, while mainland European markets were showing tentative signs of recovery.

The insulation board division, which includes Potton, Kingspan TEK and the former Century and Pace Timber Systems operations, saw sales growth of 74% due to a combination of good weather and some recovery in new build and refurbishment work.

Kingspan said the near-term outlook was for further raw material pricing pressure for the remainder of the second quarter, while steel costs were likely to flatten.

“Looking ahead, the second quarter’s pipeline would indicate the continuation of the delicate economic recovery, particularly in the UK and North America,” it said.