Building materials maker Kingspan has said earnings this year should beat market forecasts.
Kingspan chairman Eugene Murtagh
"The board is pleased to report that year-to-date performance throughout the group has been strong. In general, the group's core markets are quite robust and are anticipated to remain so for the foreseeable future," chairman Eugene Murtagh said.
The upbeat outlook from the company, which is benefiting from a drive to make buildings more energy-efficient, sent its shares 2.7 per cent higher in early trading on the Iseq to €13.20.
They were up 1.9 per cent at €13.09 by 7.20am, outperforming a 0.3 per cent rise in the broader index.
"Kingspan's AGM statement was, as expected, very positive," said Davy Stockbrokers analyst Robert Gardiner in a research note. "We will be revising our forecasts upward following the conference call this morning."
In March, Kingspan posted a 41 per cent rise in annual earnings but forecast growth of just 10 to 12 per cent this year.
Changes to building regulations and other company initiatives are expected to provide a platform for Kingspan's growth in 2006 and beyond. These include measures to make buildings more energy efficient and save on carbon emissions, which came into effect in Britain last month.
Although Kingspan expects to benefit from the new laws - forecasting 80 per cent volume growth in its insulation business in the next four to five years -
it forecasts a nine- to 12-month lag between the introduction of the laws and new buildings being built.