Kingspan has paused a €650 million share buyback programme as it looks to “appraise potential opportunities” in its acquisition pipeline, the insulation giant said in its half-year report this morning.
Kingspan, which has seen its share price drift in recent weeks despite a modest recovery so far this year, also raised its profit guidance and reported a trading profit of €487.2 million for the first six months of the year, up 10 per cent and ahead of analysts’ expectations.
The group expects to break €10 billion in revenues for the first time this year, it said in a statement.
Kingspan said the performance is being partially driven its Advnsys advanced building unit, which services the fast-growing data centres sector. The division’s sales increased by 34 per cent, “buoyed by tech sector activity”.
READ MORE
Chief executive Gene Murtagh said that across the group, momentum picked up considerably in the second quarter, despite a challenging start to 2026.
“Advnsys, our data infrastructure business, is growing extremely well, whilst our insulated building envelope business, despite market headwinds, also delivered a very strong performance, with sales, profit and order intake all growing,” he said in a statement.
Kingspan also incurred €4.5 million in “exploration costs” related to its plan to offer a 25 per cent stake to investors on the Euronext Amsterdam. The group shelved the plan late last year.
Murtagh told investors on Friday morning that the initial public offering (IPO) “conversation is over”. Advnsys is “very much a central part of Kingspan”, he said, adding that the group always intended to retain a 75 per cent stake in the business even if the IPO had proceeded.
“There’s one Kingspan. It’s all together. It’s all very tight, and we’re blasting forward,” Murtagh said.
Meanwhile, Kingspan said it was pausing the €650 million share buyback scheme it unveiled last year, to “preserve dry powder” for deals.
Responding to a question from an analyst, Murtagh said that the group, which spent some €750 million on acquisitions last year, has “no intention” of using equity to fund future deals but would not rule it out in the future.
He said the group has headroom of around €1 billion to pursue deals. “We have lots of opportunities that would fit that scope,” Murtagh said.
