Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

France: Saint-Gobain’s net profit in 2019 was Euro1.45bn, up by 207% year-on-year from Euro474m in 2018. Its net sales were Euro42.6bn, up by 1.9% from Euro41.8bn in 2018. Saint-Gobain chairman CEO Pierre-André de Chalendar praised the year’s performance in spite of a ‘less supportive market environment in the second half.’ He said, “For 2020, in a more uncertain market environment, Saint-Gobain should continue to benefit from its attractive positioning and from the results of its ‘Transform & Grow’ initiative, and is targeting a further like-for-like increase in operating income with an uncertainty about the impact of the coronavirus.”

Denmark: Rockwool’s post-tax profit for 2019 was Euro285m, up by 7.5% from Euro265m in 2018. Sales rose by 3.2% to Euro2.8bn from Euro2.7bn. The company’s insulation section saw ‘mixed market conditions’ but ‘showed modest growth’ over the period, thanks in particular to state-supported energy efficiency improvement in construction practices generating increased demand in the South-West Europe region.

Rockwool said that it invested in long-term growth, having opened a plant in Romania in late-2019, with a capacity expansion to a German plant due to come online in mid-2020 and a further plant in the US to follow in early 2021. Rockwool Group chairman Henrik Brandt and CEO Jens Birgersson said, “For the fifth year in a row, our customer satisfaction scores increased.” Satisfaction rose by 14% year-on-year.

Switzerland: Sika’s 2019 sales rose by 14% year-on-year to Euro7.50bn from Euro6.56bn in 2018. The year saw seven new plants open and the acquisition of UK-based Parex, China-based Crevo-Hengxin and Canada-based King Packaged Materials. “By consistently pursuing this strategic path we will be able to further exploit the business potential of our markets and generate sustainable, profitable growth,” said Sika CEO Paul Schuler.

UK: SIG has reported a fall in 2019 sales of 6.1% year-on-year to Euro2.95bn from Euro3.13bn in 2018. Total UK and Ireland sales fell by 16%, with a drop of 21% by its distribution division and of 8.6% by SIG Exteriors. Sales in Germany and the Benelux fell by 2.6% and 3.3% respectively, while in France they grew by 2.2% and in Poland by 2.1%. The largest proportional growth came from SIG Air Handling, whose sales grew by 5.6%.

Denmark: Rockwool’s sales for the nine months to 30 September 2019 were Euro2.0bn, up by 3.2% from Euro1.9bn in the corresponding period of 2018. Its earnings before interest and taxes over the period were up by 7.8% year-on-year at Euro278m in the first nine months of 2019 from Euro258m. The company forecast annual sales growth of 2% - 5% and no change in EBIT margin from 12.8% in 2018. Rockwool vice president Michael Zarin noted positively Rockwool’s stonewool insulation’s versality in tackling many of today’s biggest sustainability and development challenges.

Ireland: Kingspan’s sales for the first nine months of 2019 rose by 8% year-on-year to Euro3.43bn. However, its sales in the third quarter fell by 2% year-on-year due to slowing sales in the UK. Sales of insulated panels saw a ‘substantial’ reduction in order intake in the UK in the third quarter reducing by more than 15% in volume versus the same period in 2018. European and American markets were stable with the exception of Germany. Insulation board sales were affected by slowing sales in the UK, Ireland and Germany. The group expects these market trends to continue into the first quarter of 2020 at least.

Netherlands: Nine-month restated sales for Recitel fell by 7.3% year-on-year to Euro924m in September 2019 compared to Euro997m in the corresponding period of 2018. Despite ‘double-digit’ volume growth, insulation sales over the period fell by 4.5% to Euro193m from Euro202m due to pricing issues stemming from the loss of market share to fibre insulation as a lingering after-effect of the isocyanate shortage of 2017. The company noted the ‘ramping-up’ of production at its new plant in Finland, with all products now certified for sale in the Nordic countries. Recticel CEO Olivier Chapelle noted the continued substantial decrease in debt as a positive in the period.

US: Huntsman has published its third quarter results showing a 30% fall in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to US$215m from US$308m. Sales volumes and prices fell in the polyurethanes and advanced materials sections, with a strong US Dollar pushing down the latter’s profit margin in the European region, where customer destocking also occurred.

US: In the third quarter of 2019, Dow experienced a price decline of 12% on its volumes which fell 2%, yielding net sales of US$9.4bn, down by 15% compared to US$10.8bn in the three months to 30 September 2018. Its operating earnings before interest and taxes declined by 18% year-on-year to US$1.1bn from US$1.3bn.

US: Owens Corning’s net earnings in the third quarter of 2019 took a dive to US$333m from US$376m, down by 11% year-on-year. Its insulation section reported earnings before interest and taxes of US$84m, down year-on-year by 11%. The section’s sales in the quarter amounted to US$693m, down by 2% year-on-year from US$710.