Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Ireland: Kingspan’s sales rose by 33% year-on-year to Euro6.25bn in the first nine months of 2022. It said that insulated panel sales grew by 29% and insulation board sales grew by 48%. Panel sales were reported as holding up ‘reasonably well’ in the Americas, Germany and the UK but as being weaker elsewhere in Europe. Board sales increases were led by a rise in price.

France: Saint-Gobain says it has been preparing continuity plans for its gas-consuming insulation plants in Europe to ensure the flexibility of production to operate using less energy or that from alternative sources. Over half of its 25 insulation plants in Europe have an electricity-powered furnace and additional investments are being undertaken to use alternative power sources. The group noted that raw materials, freight and energy costs were growing, especially in Europe. It said that it had hedged around 80% of its natural gas and electricity purchasing needs for 2022 and around 60% for 2023.

The group’s sales grow by 14.5% on a like-for-like basis to Euro38.4bn in the first nine months of 2022 compared to Euro32.9bn in the same period in 2021. Strong sales growth was reported in all business lines although sales were driven in particular by the group’s High Performance Solutions business and its Asia-Pacific and North America regions.

By business segment the group said that businesses serving global construction customers in its High Performance Solutions division reported record sales. It added that they continued to benefit from strong trends in textile solutions for external thermal insulation systems (ETICS) due to demand for sustainable construction.

US: Owens Corning recorded sales of US$7.48bn during the first nine months of 2022, up by 17% year-on-year from US$6.37bn in the first nine months of 2021. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 24% to US$1.8bn from US$1.45bn. The group's insulation sales rose by 19% to US$2.76bn from US$2.32bn. The segment's higher selling prices reportedly offset accelerating energy, material and transport inflation.

During the year, the company transferred or sold all Russian assets, which had previously contributed US$100m in sales in 2021. Elsewhere, Owens Corning launched three new products during the third quarter of 2022 alone.

Belgium: Recticel’s sales revenue grew by 19% year-on-year to Euro274m in the first half of 2022 from Euro230m in the same period in 2021. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 11% to Euro24.5m from Euro22.1m.

Olivier Chapelle, the company’s chief executive officer, said “We are satisfied with the sales and profitability development of our Insulation activities, in a highly challenging environment characterised by supply chain disruptions, by historical inflation on raw materials, labour, transportation and energy costs, and by economic uncertainties. Volumes have been slightly higher than in 2021, and our business teams have been able to compensate all inflationary pressures during the period. In parallel, our operations teams have displayed high flexibility to accommodate the supply chain challenges.”

US: Installed Building Products’ net revenue grew by 37% year-on-year to US$1.26bn in the first half of 2022 from US$925m in the same period in 2021. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 54% to US$204m from US$133m. The insulation installation company said that its sales increased in the second quarter of 2022 due to “strong growth” across its residential new construction, repair and remodel and commercial markets.

New Zealand: Fletcher Building Materials recorded consolidated sales of US$5.37bn during its 2022 financial year, up by 4.7% year-on-year from US$5.13bn in the previous year. Its net earnings also rose by 42%, to US$273m from US$193m.

The group's building materials division contributed US$1.02bn-worth (17%) of group sales. The division made capital expenditure investments of US$129m. During the financial year, its insulation subsidiaries Forman Building Systems and Tasman Insulation merged under its new Comfortech business. Comfortech will commission a new glasswool plant in mid-2023. Fletcher Building Materials says that, when operational, the new unit will help to serve increased ceiling insulation demand arising from changes to the New Zealand Building Code.

Fletcher Building Materials chief executive officer Ross Taylor said "The 2022 financial year has not been without its challenges. Global and national supply chain disruptions have continued into the third year of the Covid-19 pandemic." He added "The New Zealand Commerce Commission recently published its interim market study report into residential building supplies. The final report and recommendations will be published in December 2022 and in the meantime we will continue to work collaboratively with both the commission and the government."

France: Saint-Gobain’s sales were Euro25.5bn in the first half of 2022, up by 15% year-on-year from the same period in 2021. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 13% to Euro3.68bn. Sales rose by 15% in Northern Europe, by 14% in Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa, by 17% in the Americas and by 30% in Asia-Pacific. The producer ends the period with a net debt of Euro8.3bn, up by 9.2% from Euro7.6bn.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Benoit Bazin said, “Over the coming quarters, we are ready to adapt as needed to the consequences of rising interest rates and inflation along with the geopolitical and energy situation in Europe. Each country CEO has designed action plans, focusing especially on margins and cash flow. In this more uncertain environment, our target is to continue to outperform our markets and our deep transformation will enable us to demonstrate greater resilience. Over the past three years, our teams have successfully risen to the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, supply chain disruptions and a strong inflationary environment. With portfolio rotation of almost Euro10bn in sales since the end of 2018, and with a local organisation keenly aware of immediate realities on the ground, Saint-Gobain has significantly increased its value creation. Against this backdrop, I am confident in the group’s 2022 outlook, which targets a further increase in operating income compared to 2021 at constant exchange rates.”

US: Owens Corning’s first-half sales were US$4.95bn in 2022, up by 19% year-on-year from US$4.15m in 2021. It increased its insulation sales by 16% year-on-year to US$934m. The producer recorded adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of Euro1.2bn, up by 24% from US$929m.

Switzerland: Holcim increased its consolidated sales by 17% year-on-year to US$15.3bn in the first half of 2022 from US$13.1bn in the first half of 2021. Its recurring earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) were US$2.26bn, up by 9.6% from US$2.06bn. Solutions and products sales grew by 84% to US$2.72bn from US$1.48bn and accounted for 18% of group sales, compared to 8% of its full-year 2020 sales. The group’s operating profit rose by 15% to US$2.15bn from US$1.86bn, while its net debt rose by 7.5% to US$13.9bn from US$12.9bn.

Holcim called market conditions “volatile,” but forecast net sales growth of 10% year-on-year on in 2022, upgraded from 8%. The group forecast double-digit net sales growth in its Solutions and Products division to US$5.2bn for the year. It also expects to end the year with accelerated progress towards its 2025 sustainability targets, positive growth in its recurring EBIT and a free cash flow above US$3.12bn.

Chief executive officer Jan Jenisch said “Our record results, from net sales to recurring EBIT and earnings per share, are setting solid foundations to deliver our Strategy 2025 - Accelerating Green Growth. Our roofing and insulation businesses stood out as growth engines, on track to reach pro-forma net sales of US$3.64bn in 2022.”

Ireland: Kingspan says that it expects to record a profit of Euro415m in the first half of 2022, up by 26% year-on-year from Euro329m in the first half of 2021. The company noted that its global backlog of insulated panels orders fell by 2% year-on-year in volume on 31 May 2022, having previously been up by 19% year-on-year on 31 March 2022. It said that order volumes nonetheless remained above 2019 levels.