Kingspan, the Irish building materials group, today reported that revenues fell by 35% to €552m in the first half of 2009, while pre-tax profits dipped 70%, from €83.9m to €25m.

The company said it will not be paying an interim dividend.

Kingspan said volume output suffered hefty reductions in the six months, as did order intake, which would point towards a pattern of ongoing weak volume levels for the latter part of 2009. Operating performance in the second half is, however, likely to be more stable than in the earlier part of the year, and further significant declines in its larger businesses are not expected. Annualised fixed cost reductions from peak now stand at €60m. "This operational leanness, combined with a sharpened focus on cash management resulted in a €68.8mn reduction in net debt. This was achieved despite investing a further €28mn in capex, a figure that will reduce further in the second half and into the next year," the firm said.

Gene Murtagh, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “A combination of global recession and unprecedented credit restrictions delivered a general market contraction in the first half of 2009 not experienced in the lifetime of this business. Throughout the period and beforehand, Kingspan has responded quickly and decisively to reorder its cost base appropriately. Nevertheless, our strategy has remained unchanged – to be at the forefront globally of efforts to drive deeper market penetration of sustainable, low energy building solutions.

The focus for now continues to be on cash generation and making further progress on debt reduction ensuring the Group has the balance sheet strength to consider opportunities which will present themselves beyond the global contraction.”

Results detail