DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish insulation company Kingspan expects UK construction activity to settle at a relatively low level this year until there is some clarity on Britain's departure from the European Union.
Reporting an 18 percent increase in full-year trading profit to 445.2 million euros (387.2 million pounds) on Friday, the company said that the increasingly negative economic rhetoric could hit construction investment later in 2019.
"Investors are going to hang-back from making decisions right now. I think the level of construction in the UK will be governed by what’s absolutely necessary," Kingspan Chief Executive Gene Murtagh told Reuters.
"Having said that, if the clarity (around Brexit) is positive clarity, my sense is there will be very considerable pent-up demand for construction."
(Reporting by Graham Fahy; Editing by David Goodman)
