Insulation specialist Kingspan has reported revenues of €1.14 billion for the nine months to the end of September, a 30 per cent year on year increase.

Kingspan said it expected full year profits of between €82 million and €85 million, up on the €67.4 million achieved in 2010, but the group also warned that “the threat of markets retreating” in 2012 remained a real possibility.

Sales in the first nine months were up by 14 per cent when acquisitions were excluded and improved by 24 per cent on the same quarter in 2010 – developments Kingspan attributed to penetration, geographic expansion and conversion rather than economic growth in its markets.

Kingspan said margins had gradually improved over the year with earlier spikes in material increases recovered and some easing of costs occurring in the third quarter.

The group said that construction markets remained very weak with activity levels in the US and UK markets down by some 50 per cent on a 20 year average.

“This context is not likely to alter materially in the foreseeable future,” it said.

Kingspan said UK activity levels had remained “resilient overall” and that activity in Germany has remained strong, albeit with lower levels of growth than experienced in the earlier part of the year.

However, it said operations in eastern Europe had been challenging due to a combination of over-capacity and general economic weakness and that activity in the US building market remained at low levels. Activity in Ireland was “subdued at exceptionally low levels”, Kingspan said.

The group said that sales in the insulated panels division increased by 19 per cent in the nine months to September, with an 80 per cent rise recorded in the insulation boards area and a 21 per cent jump in environmental and renewables.

Net debt was largely unchanged at €215 million at the end of September and Kingspan said this was expected to fall to €195 million by the end of the year.

Kingspan was trading at €6.30 at 11am, having added 5 per cent or 30 cent this morning.