Building insulation firm SIG sees rise in Irish sales

Business 'saw a strong rebound in the second half' of 2021

UK building insulation and construction services company SIG said like-for-like sales in its Ireland division amounted to £88m (€105m) last year. 

UK building insulation and construction services company SIG has reported an annual increase in its sales in Ireland.

The company — a direct competitor to Cavan-based building services and materials giant Kingspan — said like-for-like sales in its Ireland division amounted to £88m (€105m) last year. That was up 14% on 2020 levels, but down 5% on pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

On a group-wide basis, SIG reported a 22.4% increase in revenue to just under £2.3m and returned to profit on an underlying basis. It made an underlying group profit, last year, of £19.3m, compared to a loss of £76.1m in 2020.

SIG’s core market is the UK, but it also operates in Ireland, Germany, France, Poland, and the Benelux countries.

'Rebound'

“The business was affected by further Covid-19 related Government restrictions in the Republic of Ireland from January until early May 2021, but saw a strong rebound in the second half,” said SIG in its results.

Its Irish division saw a £2m increase in underlying operating profit, which amounted to £2.8m for the year, “as the business saw a shift in sales mix towards its higher margin offerings”.

In Ireland, SIG acts as a specialist distributor of interior and exterior building parts as well as a specialist contractor for office furnishing, industrial coatings, and kitchen and bathroom fit-outs.

"In uncertain times, SIG demonstrated in 2021, as it has in previous decades, its ability to manage successfully through inflationary and volatile market conditions," said group CEO Steve Francis.