Insulation giant Kingspan, which owns a major operation in Co Armagh, reported a profit after tax of €310.2m (£264m) in the first six months of the year.
This was down from €324m (£276m) recorded in the same period in 2023 as the group pointed to a “resilient performance in tough end markets”.
In a trading update published today, Kingspan also reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) rose 2% to €536m (£456m) in the first half of 2024.
The group owns Kingspan Water and Energy in Craigavon.
Revenues at the group were also up 2% to a record €4.2bn (£3.58bn) in the period.
Read more
Insulated panels sales declined by 4%, with positive sales volumes in the first half offset by lower pricing as a result of a decrease in raw materials costs.
However, the Cavan-headquartered company pointed to strong order intake in this business division, which is set to boost trading in the second half of 2024.
Insulation sales jumped by 16% in the first half. This was driven by the acquisition of a controlling stake in timber insulation firm Steico, as well as the company’s entry into the stone wool category.
Sales in the group’s data and flooring division rose 19% to €226m (£193m), with Kingspan recording a record sales pipeline for data centre solutions.
Overall, Kingspan invested a total of €714m (£608m) in acquisitions and capital expenditure in the first half of 2024, a sharp rise from €271m (£231m) reported a year earlier.
“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,” chief executive Gene Murtagh said.
“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.