Kingspan, up 13 per cent in 2012

Kingspan records double-figure rise in profits

Kingscourt building-supplies company Kingspan has recorded a 13 per cent rise in trading profit for 2012. The impressive figures were posted this week despite a slowdown in activity in the second half of last year because of the weak demand in European construction markets. The company has now posted its third consecutive year of growth and strongly performed in Germany and central Europe in the first half of last year. The full-year trading profit of €107.7 million in the 12 months to the end of December was up from €95.7 million on the previous year. Yearly revenue rose five per cent to €1.63 billion while debt came in at €165.5 million, down from €170.1 million a year earlier even though the company made two acquisitions. The purchase of the insulation panels arm of ThyssenKrupp for €65 million and Dubai's Rigidal Industries boosted the company's global presence but the benefit to earnings will not show until 2013's figures are published. Kingspan has weathered the downturn by taking advantage of a shift towards energy-efficient building standards, particularly in its largest market, the UK. Kingspan employs in the region of 6,000 people worldwide and was founded by the Murtagh family in the late 1960s.