Kingspan posts record rise in trading profit

Reporting its strongest trading period on record, building envelope specialist Kingspan has reported a 50% rise in its trading profit for the first six months of the year to £142M.

The company said a 19% rise in revenue between January and June 2016 to £1.25bn was caused by improved activity across the UK, Europe and North America.

Kingspan said acquisitions made a notable contribution to its growth during the period, while there was a 26% rise in sales of its insulated panels worldwide.

The group’s trading margin of 11.4% was higher than at the same time last year.

Kingspan CEO Gene Murtagh said the strong results were underpinned by solid organic growth and a robust contribution from businesses acquired last year.

“The expansion in profit margin has helped deliver a 50% increase in trading profit, and with good order intake momentum in the second quarter continuing into the current trading period, we expect a solid performance in the second half.

“We continue to acquire complementary businesses, with a total of £70M invested in two businesses in the first half and £107M paid for two further businesses after the period end,” he concluded.