Building materials group Kingspan has reported a 10% rise in sales to €520m over the first four months of the year.
In an interim management statement to the stock exchange, Kingspan said there are some signs of improvement in commercial construction in Ireland, albeit off a very low base.
The company specialises in environmentally friendly and low energy building products such as insulation panels.
It said that conditions in mainland Europe were quite ''mixed'' as was the case for much of last year.
It said that the Benelux market continues to be weak - especially the Netherlands - while Germany started sluggishly. However, Germany continues to grow in importance for Kingspan as a market after its purchase of ThyssenKrupp Construction last year.
The Co Cavan-based company said that the UK market continues to be ''relatively weak'', especially in non-office commercial construction with some improvement in residential and office activity.
Kingspan said that its US operations has had a good start to the year, while Australasia has slowed from last year's level, particularly in commercial construction.
But it struck a cautious tone on its first-half performance after a slow start to the year and said forecasting market conditions from July onwards was also difficult.
Kingspan said that a comparison of the first half this year against the first half of 2012 would be tough due to the slow start and the more seasonal nature of a business it bought in 2012.
See how Kingspan shares performed in Dublin
