The Quinn Group, owned by businessman Seán Quinn, has said it expects to make profits of between €400m and €500m this year, in line with a forecast it made in January.
In a trading update on its website, the group said the first quarter of 2009 had been a 'challenging period', and trading levels were down.
The group said it had 'resisted the temptation to reduce prices to below economically sustainable levels'.
Quinn said sales of cement and related products had fallen by 40% for the first quarter, but sales of insulation products, glass and packaging products had been better than expected.
The update said its health insurance arm Quinn Healthcare now had 500,000 customers, while the hotels and leisure division 'has continued to trade positively'.
