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Insulation industry news from Global Insulation
Ireland: Kingspan’s revenue rose by 12% year-on-year to Euro2.24bn in the first half of 2019 from Euro2.01bn in the same period in 2018. Its profit grew by 18% to Euro173m from Euro147m. Sales of its panel and boards products increased but panel sales growth was faster, supported by most territories with the exception of the Middle East.
“We have delivered a record first half with revenue growth in all our business units and a strong trading profit performance. We continue to expand our global production footprint with new facilities under construction in the US, Brazil and Sweden. The near-term outlook is solid although the political uncertainty in the UK, weakness in Serling, and weaker German economy are amongst risks we are monitoring closely,” said Gene Murtagh, the chief executive of Kingspan.
The building materials company is close to completing a new insulation panel plant at Modesto, California in the US. A new panel plant is also being considered in Pennsylvania, US and a new panel plant in Cambuí, Brazil is expected to be operational by the fourth quarter of 2019. A new board plant in Sweden is scheduled to start production in mid-2020.
US: Mohawk Industries says that its insulation business is performing ‘well’ as its polyurethane product takes share from other product types. The flooring manufacturer’s net sales grew slightly to US$4.99bn in the first half of 2019.
US: Owens Corning’s insulation business earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) fell by 30% year-on-year to US$57m in the first half of 2019 from US$81m in the same period in 2018. Its net sales dropped by 2% to US$1.25bn from US$1.28bn. Overall sales and EBIT, across all business lines, grew slightly driving by the roofing business.
UK: SIG’s sales for the first half of 2019 have fallen by 3.8% year-on-year due to a ‘marked deterioration’ in the level of UK construction. Its UK and Ireland like-for-like sales dropped by 12.7% while sales elsewhere in Europe grew by 3.3%.
Superglass sales up by 24% to Euro37.9m in 2018
15 May 2019UK: Superglass’ revenue grew by 34% year-on-year to Euro37.9m in 2018 from Euro27.2m in 2017. Its profit rose by 37% to Euro0.65m. The subsidiary of Russia’s TechnoNicol Group said that it benefitted from increased sales, higher selling prices and operational cost efficiencies.
“Demand for glass wool insulation continues to be very strong both domestically and in export markets, and with the major manufacturing investment we’re making in the Stirling site, Superglass is set to double its production output capabilities and capitalise on the opportunity,” said Theresa McLean, Chief Financial Officer for TechnoNicol UK and Ireland.
SIG focuses on profit building in 2018
10 May 2019UK: SIG’s revenue fell by 1.2% year-on-year to Euro3.11bn in 2018 from Euro3.15bn in 2017. Its profit before tax increased by 8.5% to Euro87.2m from Euro80.4m. The building materials producer blamed ‘challenging’ market conditions but it highlighted its focus on prices and profitability.
Kingspan Group reports strong start to 2019
09 May 2019Ireland: Kingspan Group sales rose by 18% year-on-year to Euro1.06bn for the first quarter of 2019. It attributed this to ‘strong’ volumes across its key markets. Its insulated panel sales grew by 22% driven by growth in Europe. Its insulation board sales increased by 12% due to growth in Europe.
Belgium: Recticel’s insulation division’s sales rose by 4% year-on-year to Euro62.5m in the first quarter of 2019 from Euro60.1m in the same period in 2018. It said that volume growth had overcome falling sales prices due to falling methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) costs. Polyurethane (PUR) and polyisocyanurate (PIR) have continued to gain market share following MDI shortages in mid-2017.
US: Lower sales and production volumes reduced Owens Corning’s earnings in the first quarter of 2019 although it said higher prices partially compensated for this. The net sales for its insulation business fell by 1% year-on-year to US$591m in the first quarter of 2019 from US$596m in the same period in 2018. Its earnings before interest and taxation dropped by 53% to US$15m from US$32m. The company’s overall sales grew slightly but earnings fell.
Va-Q-Tec’s insulation products sales rise in 2018
12 March 2019Germany: Va-Q-Tec’s revenue grew by 8% year-on-year to Euro50.7m in 2018 from Euro46.9m in 2017. Sales from its Products business, including vacuum insulation panels (VIP) and phase change materials (PCM), increased by 12% to Euro20.1m from Euro18m. However, its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 58% to Euro3m from Euro7.2m. It blamed the fall in earnings on a rise in sales from its lower-margin Products business and investment costs in the company generally.
“Even though business trends in 2018 fell short of our expectations, the outlook at the end of the year brightened considerably. We have completed all of our major growth investments, we have achieved important progress with projects for major customers,” said Stefan Döhmen, the chief financial officer (CFO) of Va-Q-Tec.