LONDON (Alliance News) - Kingspan Group PLC Monday reported higher earnings for 2014 as it managed to raise margins in its insulated panels businesses in the UK, North America, and Australasia as well as in its solar panels business.
The Irish insulation and building envelope products business reported a pretax profit of EUR127.5 million for 2014, up from GBP101.9 million in 2013, as revenue rose to EUR1.89 billion, from EUR1.78 billion, and its group trading margin rose 100 percentage points to 7.9%.
It raised its total dividend for 2014 by 16% to 16.25 euro cents after saying it will pay a final dividend of 10 cents.
"We are very pleased to report another strong year of profit growth at Kingspan, helped particularly by double-digit growth in our UK and North American businesses. Conditions in our core markets are improving, and our activity pipeline starting the new year is encouraging. We are delivering on our strategic goal of broadening our geographic base through acquisitions, and will focus intensively this year on the integration of the companies acquired in 2014 and the Joris Ide and Vicwest businesses when those deals are completed," Chief Executive Gene Murtagh said in a statement.
Kingspan bought three companies in 2014: Dri-Design, a high end architectural façade business in the US, Pactiv Insulation, a rigid foam board producer in the US, and PAL Insulation, a Dubai based supplier of ducting insulation. The combined consideration for these was EUR114.4 million.
The company said sales rose 7% in its insulated panels business, while margin improvements meant trading profit was up 18%. Sales of insulation boards rose 8%, while trading profit was up 35%. Trading profit in its UK business was up 12%, helped by improving office volumes. Trading margins were up in all business units.
Kingspan said it continued to prioritise stability in its environmental business during the year, and "the many new initiatives underway should lead to profit growth in 2015".
By Steve McGrath; stevemcgrath@alliancenews.com; @stevemcgrath1
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