Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Ireland: Kingspan reported sales of Euro6.14bn during the first nine months of 2023, down by 1.8% year-on-year. During the period, its insulation sales fell by 7%, while its insulated panels sales rose by 10%. Insulated panels recorded single-digit volumes growth across all regions during the third quarter of the year. Kingspan expects to deliver a full-year trading profit greater than in 2022.

Hungary: Masterplast reported sales worth Euro114m during the first nine months of 2023. This represents a year-on-year decline of 31% from Euro164m in the corresponding period in 2022. The producer’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) losses were Euro2.93m, compared to a positive figure of Euro19.3m. During the third quarter of 2023, sales declined in Hungary by 45% and across its export markets by 26%. They rose by 21% in Poland, by 8% in Croatia and by 2% in Ukraine.

Masterplast attributed its sales decline to low demand due to global inflation and rising interest rates amid on-going lockdowns, energy crises and war in Ukraine, while energy-saving renovation initiatives have also been subject to delays. The company set a savings target of Euro2m/yr and laid off 250 employees, including 210 from its plants in Serbia. It completed the construction of new expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene (XPS) capacity in Italy and Serbia, which it expects to bring online later in 2023.

US: Owens Corning’s net sales fell by 1% year-on-year to US$7.37bn in the first nine months of 2023 from US$7.48bn in the same period in 2023. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) decreased slightly to US$1.80bn. Its net sales from its insulation division fell year-on-year in the third quarter of 2023 due to lower volumes in both the North American residential insulation and technical and global insulation businesses. However, the company said that price rises partially offset this.

Ireland: Kingspan recorded a decline in its consolidated sales of 2% year-on-year, to Euro4.1bn. Its insulation sales volumes also declined during the half. In an earnings call, CEO Gene Murtagh said that the company’s net profit was ‘broadly in line’ with the first half of 2022, at Euro436m. Murtagh praised the producer’s progress towards achieving its CO2 emissions reduction goals, with a 51% reduction from its historical baseline.

Kingspan’s chief financial officer Geoff Doherty noted the exposure of insulation sales to global economic effects. Doherty forecast an ‘improving order intake’ for both insulation boards and insulated panels during the second half of 2022. Nonetheless, he said that he expects sales volumes of insulation boards to ‘remain quite negative’ during the half, and therefore to be ‘softer’ than those of insulated panels.

UK: SIG recorded US$1.81bn in sales in the first half of 2023, up by 5% year-on-year from US$1.73bn in the first half of 2022. The group noted a decline in its sales volumes, partly offset by positive tailwinds from cost inflation in the comparison period. Its profit after tax declined by 70% to US$5.98m from US$20.2m.

CEO Gavin Slark said “Our performance in the first half of 2023 reflects the challenging market conditions we are currently facing, with the group’s like-for-like revenue growth flat year-on-year. Despite these conditions, I’m very pleased with the progress we are making on many fronts to improve the business notably with the initiatives across our operating companies to improve our ability to drive higher levels of profitable growth when market conditions recover." Slark continued “Looking ahead, while we expect market conditions in the second half of 2023 to remain difficult, we remain confident the business will grasp the opportunities it has to continue to improve its underlying operational performance. This will, in turn, deliver higher levels of profitability as we drive towards our medium-term margin target of 5%. The group is financially and commercially well placed to drive meaningful shareholder value in the medium and long term.”

US: Sales revenue from Huntsman’s polyurethane division fell by 27% year-on-year to US$2.00bn in the first half of 2023 from US$2.74bn in the same period in 2022. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 66% to US$154m from US$453m. For the second quarter of 2023 the company attributed falling revenue to lower sales volumes, decreased average methyl diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) prices and negative currency exchange effects. This trend was partially offset by higher equity earnings from a minority-owned joint venture in China and cost savings achieved from a cost saving plan.

Overall the group’s sales and earnings fell in the first half of 2023 with declines in sales and earnings reported across all main divisions. However, the company noted that it saw, “demand fundamentals in many of our core markets stabilise” in the second quarter of 2023.
Huntsman produces a range of chemicals including polyisocyanurate (PIR) and polyurethane (PUR) building insulation products.

US: Installed Building Products’ revenue grew by 7% year-on-year to US$1.35bn in the first half of 2023 from US$1.26bn in the same period in 2022. Its net income rose by 18% to US$111m from US$93.7m. Jeff Edwards, chair and chief executive officer, said that company “focused on prioritising profitability over volume.” He added “Despite softer volume trends in our single-family end market, the effort of our employees in the field across end markets translated into record second-quarter revenue, net income and earnings per share.”

US: Owens Corning’s sales of insulation grew by 2% year-on-year to US$1.82bn in the first half of 2023 from US$1.79bn in the same period in 2022. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 9.5% to US$427m from US$390m. The group noted that insulation sales fell year-on-year in the second quarter of 2023 due to lower volumes, although this was partially offset by price rises and changes to its product mix. Overall, the company’s composites sales fell in the first half of 2023, leading to a slight drop in sales to US$4.89bn and a decline of 4% in adjusted EBITDA to US$1.15bn.

Ireland: Kingspan recorded sales of US$2.21bn during the first quarter of 2023, up by 4% year-on-year from first-quarter 2022 levels, Reuters has reported. The producer said that group insulation sales remained in line year-on-year. Insulated panel sales remained ‘sluggish,’ but constituted 25% of all orders. By region, sales were ‘strong’ in the Americas and ‘solid for the most part’ in Western Europe, while conditions ‘remained tough’ in Central and Eastern Europe. Kingspan forecast first-half earnings of US$441m in 2023.

The company proposed its future delisting from the UK-based London Stock Exchange, where it says current share trading is ‘negligible as percentage of total trading.’

Belgium: Etex's sales were Euro3.74bn in 2022, up by 25% year-on-year from 2021 levels. The group's insulation sales were Euro312m, 8.3% of the group total for the year. Its recurring earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (REBITDA) totalled Euro645m, up by 13%. During 2022, Etex reduced its absolute CO₂ emissions by 20% compared with 2018 levels.

Regarding insulation sales, the producer said "The early months of 2022 saw very strong volumes, followed by modest drops. Insulation’s results were impacted by issues surrounding inflation, gas, power and raw materials but the energy savings aspect of insulation made glass wool and extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation even more attractive than previous years."

Etex expanded its insulation business during the year through its acquisition of Spain-based URSA.