Kingspan repeats gloomy outlook
Insulation board maker Kingspan shares held steady as it reiterated things are tough and earnings will be well down in 2008, but did not says things had got worse.
"Kingspan's order intake and pipeline activity tend to serve as a reasonable barometer of anticipated demand for up to six months forward. Orders for Insulated Panels in the UK and Ireland are down around 16% year to date, but are well up in Central & Eastern Europe," it said.
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Offsite residential sector order intake is down considerably, by and in large reflecting the drop in new housing starts in Ireland, and Access Floors is up marginally on 2007, it added.
Raw material costs, primarily steel, are also escalating at present, it said, and while the group anticipates recovering these inputs, there is likely to be a lag, the impact of which is expected to result in continued margin pressure over the remainder of the year.
