Irish building materials group Kingspan announced today that is to buy back up to 10 per cent of the company's shares at a cost of up to €101.4 million.

The maker of materials ranging from insulation board to timber frames, announced its intention to buy back a maximum of 17.1 million shares following a significant decline in its market value.

Kingspan said it continues to identify and pursue acquisitions and is currently actively engaged in reviewing opportunities which would require a total spend of c.€100 million. However, it said that there can be no certainty that any of these opportunities will translate to transactions.  

Kingspan has seen its share price on the Irish Stock Exchange fall by 71 per cent in the past year. In Dublin today, the share price rose by 1.695 this morning.

At its AGM in May, Kingspan said that trading in the first four months of this year had been "more challenging than in recent times". 

It also warned of an "appreciable" fall in profit this year, as growth slows in the UK and Ireland, raw material costs rise and the strong euro reduces overseas earnings.