Kingspan Insulated Panels Sales Grow 8%, Below Market Expectations in Third Quarter

Key Facts

Sales growth in Kingspan’s insulated building envelopes division fell short of market expectations in the third quarter, reaching 8% year on year against estimates ranging from 11% to 12%, according to a trading update published by the company on November 9. The group’s shares fell 3% on Monday, according to Investing.com, as investors focused on the performance of its core division and unchanged profit targets. Meanwhile, total quarterly sales reached €2.75 billion, in line with market expectations. Sales in constant currency, however, rose 15% year on year, below the market consensus of 18% and UBS estimates ranging from 16% to 17%. The divergence between total sales and the insulated panels division’s performance puts weaker-than-expected growth at the center of the update, despite continued growth across the group.

For the nine months ended in September, Kingspan sales rose 10% to €7.6 billion, according to The Irish Times. In the third quarter alone, sales increased 16% year on year, driven mainly by underlying growth of 12%. These figures show the widening gap between growth across the group as a whole and that recorded in the insulated building envelopes division, which fell short of market estimates. Local-currency sales in the quarter also missed analysts’ consensus, growing 15% against an expected 18%. The comparison between overall sales growth and the division’s growth points to uneven performance across the group’s businesses during the period.

By contrast, the advanced building systems division, known as Advnsys, posted strong growth, with sales rising 54% in the third quarter, above the market forecast of 50%. Investing.com attributed the performance to strong activity in data centers, while The Irish Times said the division’s sales increased 41% in the first nine months. Advnsys orders from the start of the year through the end of September totaled €2.7 billion, more than double the level in the corresponding period. Investing.com also reported that the division’s orders more than doubled year on year. These figures provided a bright spot in the group’s performance, but coincided with weaker-than-expected growth in the insulated panels division.

Chief Executive Gene Murtagh and Chief Financial Officer Geoff Doherty reaffirmed trading profit guidance of about €1.15 billion for 2026 and a target of about €1.47 billion for 2027. The update did not attribute the unchanged targets solely to weaker sales in the insulated panels division. UBS analysts said the steady outlook disappointed some market participants, who had expected an upgrade after positive revisions among data center suppliers. The market reaction therefore reflected a mix of slower growth in the core division and no increase to targets, despite strong data center activity in Advnsys results. Kingspan had published a consensus estimate for 2026 trading profit of €1.131 billion, based on 17 estimates as of October 9.

Across end markets, Kingspan said residential markets remained weak for the most part, while activity in non-residential markets was relatively stable. It added that activity in the Americas had improved since midyear and that performance in continental Europe was positive overall, with more recent weakness in France. The report described the Middle East market as resilient. This geographic picture provides context for the uneven performance across divisions, without changing the profit target the company confirmed for the current year. In its first-half results update, Kingspan said its order book was significantly above the level in the corresponding period and that it expected annual revenue to exceed €10 billion for the first time in 2026.

Kingspan said the strength of its order book and project pipeline could support trading profit of about €1.47 billion in 2027, “assuming our end markets remain relatively stable.” This follows the company’s first-half update, in which it forecast 2026 trading profit of €1.125 billion, an increase of about 18% from 2025. In the current update, management confirmed higher guidance of about €1.15 billion for this year, while keeping its 2027 target at about €1.47 billion. Stable end markets remain an explicit condition in the company’s 2027 forecast. Kingspan’s financial calendar lists the trading update for November 9, 2026.