Irish building materials group Kingspan said it had enjoyed a 'strong start to the year' thanks to a recovering Europe and a buoyant UK market.

It said group sales of €561m in the first four months were 8% ahead of prior year, or 9% ahead at constant exchange rates.

Continental Europe was "showing tentative signs of recovery", while the UK was "relatively buoyant across all key sectors" as the pick-up in activity witnessed in the final quarter of 2013 continued.

The Benelux market has shown early signs of recovery although industry activity is at relatively low levels, while Germany remains solid.

In North America, there was "limited evidence of a wider market recovery", although its Insulated Panel business continues to grow market share.

The Middle East continues to be "quite active", and Australia started the year well as penetration continues to grow.

Broker Investec said although the first four months of the year are seasonally less significant for Kingspan, it was encouraged by the improving trends being reported in the group's core markets.

Analysts continue to believe that a premium rating is justified by the group's structural growth profile and given the strength of its balance sheet and an improving outlook, upgraded its recommendation from 'hold' to 'add'.

OH

Related share prices
Kingspan Group (KGP) share price