Kingspan stock took a hammering as a trading update warned that “the mood in most end markets deteriorate[d] over the last two months".Kingspan, the world-leading maker of chemical foam-packed insulated panels used to make buildings snug, appeared to have been wrapped up in even tougher resin in the eyes of investors in recent years — Teflon.
Nor were investors put off when Kingspan, led by chief executive Gene Murtagh, made an ill-conceived move late last year to sponsor the Mercedes Formula 1 racing team, only to be forced to reverse course within days amid an outcry from Grenfell survivors and accusations of “sportswashing”. While there was money to be made and Kingspan’s green credentials kept many environmental, social and governance investors happy — even as question marks hung over the S and G parts of the acronym — little stood in the way of its stock.Shares in the group started to decline in January in line with other building materials companies and the wider equity markets as investors became increasingly concerned about inflation and the global economy.
Wall Street investment banking giant Morgan Stanley said it was the first large company it could think of that has highlighted a notable slowdown in demand in European building materials. “[The] key risk now is whether non-residential weakness spills into other end-markets,” they said. “Kingspan believes there has also been a negative sentiment shift in its second-largest division, [insulation] boards , which sells into both residential and non-residential markets. However, with order books less prevalent here, trends will not be apparent until [the second half of 2022].
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