Kingspan nervy over inflation

28th Feb 2011 13:41

Building insulation specialist Kingspan saw its first year-on-year sales growth since 2007 last year, but is worried about inflation."All regions are likely to confront industry-wide cost inflation in 2011 which must be passed through to end markets," it said.Turnover in 2010 rose 6% to €1.19bn from €1.13bn, with pre-tax profits coming in at €55.7m against €56.7m. Operating profits rose to €67.4m from €62.7m.Volumes of Insulated Panels were up by 19% in the second half over the first six months and by 5% over the comparable period last year. "Low rise commercial construction in the UK can be expected to be flat in 2011, as can the housing sector. The backdrop is likely to be similar in North America, however Germany and Central Europe should show modest growth, with Australia likely to remain strong. Refurbishment across many markets could reasonably be expected to grow, " Kingspan said The dividend for the year is 10c (nil).