Irish building materials giant sees 34-pct growth in post-tax profit

Ireland's building materials giant Kingspan on Friday announced a 34-percent increase in post-tax profit to 255.5 million euros (271 million U.S. dollars) last year despite the impact of currency fluctuations.

In its 2016 financial report, Kingspan said its trading profits rose 33 percent to 340.9 million euros on the back of a 12 percent rise in revenues to 3.1 billion euros.

It said acquisitions contributed 11 percent to sales growth and 7 percent to trading profit growth in the year.

Kingspan manufactures insulation and building envelope solutions for the construction industry. It is based in Ireland but has operations in western and eastern Europe, the United States, India, Australia and the Middle East.

Kingspan said it had strong performance in the British market, a clear recovery evident in much of Western Europe with the United States more subdued in the second half.

The Irish transnational firm said its insulated panels in Britain had a strong year and that the North American market cooled off somewhat towards year end.

It added that European sales were strong in the Netherlands and France, whilst more flat in Germany.

Insulation boards had another strong year in the UK with the U.S. and European businesses making good gains, according to Kingspan.

Kingspan's chief executive Gene Murtagh said that the year 2016 was another record year for the company.

"Through our organic initiatives and acquisition strategy we are developing a truly global business well placed to capitalise on the transition towards a lower energy future," he said.

"We are encouraged about the outlook for the first half of 2017, with the current order book solidly ahead of the same point last year. With low debt levels and strong cash generation we retain the flexibility to invest in new opportunities as they present themselves," he added. Endit