Kingspan Group shares jumped 7% Friday after the Irish building materials maker reported record annual profit that exceeded both its own guidance and analyst expectations. The Dublin-listed company posted full-year trading profit of €955.1 million, beating its November guidance of €950 million and analyst consensus of €952 million, according to Jefferies.

The result was driven by Kingspan's Advnsys data centre infrastructure unit, where trading profit rose 17% to €184.5 million on 12% higher revenue of €1.66 billion. The unit's order backlog grew 24% year-end, with order intake in 2026 already double the same period last year. Chief executive Gene Murtagh said Advnsys performance had been "exceptionally strong" and the company was rapidly expanding manufacturing capacity in the US, Middle East and Asia.

Despite the strong headline figures, underlying metrics showed some weakness. Free cash flow fell to €429.3 million from €509.4 million in 2024 as working capital consumed €151 million. Net debt widened to €1.88 billion, lifting the net debt-to-EBITDA ratio to 1.65 times. The company also confirmed it would not pursue a stock market listing of Advnsys, though it gave no explanation for abandoning the potential listing of a unit whose backlog has continued to build.