Shares in building materials group Kingspan jumped today after it said it continues to expect to deliver a full year trading profit in the region of €950m for the current year.
In a trading update for the nine months to the end of September, the Co Cavan-based company said its sales rose by 8% to €6.8 billion.
Kingspan said its sales rose by 6% in the third quarter mainly due to the positive impact of acquisitions.
The company said its Insulated Building Envelopes sales increased by 7% in the first nine months and by 6% in the third quarter. But it noted that, as ever, activity is very different in individual territories with a vast array of applications around the world.
It said its key non-residential end-market is relatively stable with residential markets remaining subdued for the most part.
"Activity in the Americas is slightly behind against a strong comparator, Latin America is particularly positive partially offsetting softness in the US. France is holding up well and Germany and Central & Eastern Europe are solid overall," the company said in today's trading statement.
"The UK has seen more activity in the third quarter than in the earlier part of the year. The Middle East saw strong activity in the third quarter and similarly so in India," it added.
Meanwhile, Kingspan said its ADVNSYS sales in the first nine months were up 10% and up by 6% in the third quarter with very strong data activity more than offsetting softer non data activity.
It noted that order intake has been very strong with the overall backlog ahead by 23% at the end of September which it anticipates will deliver a strong fourth quarter.
Kingspan said it was seeing an ever-increasing wave of inbound inquiries and continue to rollout capacity as rapidly as possible to meet demand.
"Having commissioned a new plant in Virginia, USA in late 2024 production is now also underway in our new site in Arkansas, USA. Plans are afoot for a mega-site in Kentucky which we expect to be operational in 2026," it said.
Further developments are also underway in Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Looking ahead, Kingspan said that while end-markets have their obvious challenges the global backlog is ahead year on year.
"There is still some way to go in the current year with much of the seasonally important fourth quarter remaining. We continue to expect to deliver a full year trading profit in the region of €950m for the current year," it said.
"Assuming our end-markets remain relatively stable, initiatives both executed and currently underway ought to support stronger overall trading profit growth in 2026," he added.
Shares in Kingspan moved higher in Dublin trade today.
