Insulation and building materials manufacturer Kingspan has reported a record high revenue for the first half of the year, but its trading profit and profit after tax fell.
The Co Cavan-based company reported revenue of €4.2bn for the six month period to the end of June, up 2% on the same time last year.
Its profits after tax dropped to €310.2m from €324m in the first half of 2023, while trading profit was down 3% to €422m.
The company said sales volumes in the early months of the year were sluggish, but picked up as the months progressed.
It said order intake in its largest business segment, insulated panels, was well ahead compared to the first half of 2023, adding that this should support better trading in the second half.
In the first half of the year, sales of insulated panels dropped 4%.
Kingspan said with positive volumes overall were offset by lower year-on-year pricing reflecting raw material pass through.
"Kingspan was pleased to deliver a resilient first half performance, with revenues reaching an all-time high despite some tough end markets," said Gene Murtagh, Chief Executive of Kingspan.
"A sluggish but improving start to the year has given way to strong order intake at mid-year and we expect full year growth to be more heavily weighted to H2.'’ he added.
The company invested €714.4m of capital during the first six months of the year on several capacity expansions around the world and nine acquisitions.
The largest single investment was €412.2m for a 51% stake in Steico.
Breaking down its divisions, Kingspan said Insulation sales were up by 16%, while its Data + Flooring sales increased by 19% to €226m.
It said significant progress was made in its Roofing + Waterproofing division, with sakes of €257m, up from €239m during the same period last year.
Sales in its Light, Air + Water division were down slightly to €457m.
"We continue to deliver on our Planet Passionate agenda by offering compelling new solutions to decarbonise the built environment, whilst internally achieving a 75% reduction in emissions in our underlying business since 2020," Mr Murtagh said.
"We are also very pleased to be the first in our industry worldwide to adopt and rollout ISO 37301, the leading global compliance management system and we expect to have 85 of our sites fully certified by current year end.'
"Given our strong order book, continuing advances in our US and emerging markets, growing contributions from acquisitions like Steico and from our rich innovation pipeline, we expect to deliver a better performance in the second half with trading profit growth anticipated for the full year," he added.
