Gypsum industry news

Australia: Boral has reported a 59% fall in second-half profit, hit by weak housing construction in Australia and delays in big resource and road projects. Boral, which removed its chief executive in May 2012, declined to give a fiscal forecast for the year ahead in light of uncertain market conditions, but said it would update investors at its annual meeting in November 2012.

Boral's net profit for the six months to June 2012 fell to US$35.7m from US$87m a year earlier, as calculated from full year figures. The building products maker issued profit warnings in April 2012 and June 2012.

"Earnings from our Australian business in the six months to June were hit by very weak housing and non-residential building activity, combined with delays and disruption from sustained rainfall across the east coast. The positive impact of price increases was more than offset by much weaker sales volumes in these markets and by higher costs, including from the wet weather," said Boral's chief executive officer, Ross Batstone.

Overall for the year to 30 June 2012 profit, after tax dropped by 42% to US$106m from US$183m. Sales revenue grew by 5%, to US$5.24bn from US$4.94bn, but this excludes the impact of the acquisition of Lafarge's 50% of Boral's stake in their Asian plasterboard joint-venture.

Boral's Building Products division reported a 11% fall in revenue for wallboard, to US$368m from US$413m. Sales volumes declined year-on-year by 14%. Overall for the division earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 46% to US$74.2m from US$138m. The company attributed the decline to the fall in Australian housing which began in year to 30 June 2011 but fell rapidly again in the second half of the 2012 fiscal year, and wet weather. Price increases, which averaged around 2-3% were insufficient to offset the significant impact of lower volumes.

Plasterboard Asia reported a revenue of US$317m since 9 December 2011, when Boral acquired the rest of the joint-venture from Lafarge. Revenues in Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea grew whilst income was below expectations in China, due to a slow-down in construction activity there.

Wallboard capacity increased throughout the year in China with the acquisition of a 35MM² plant in Shandong and on-going upgrade work increasing capacity from 13MM² to 43MM² in Chongqing. In Indonesia a 30MM² capacity upgrade is currently scheduled in completion for early 2013 and in Vietnam, a 30MM² upgrade in Ho Chi Minh City plant is progessing in line with expectations but with no given completion date.

For its 2013 outlook Boral expects continued weak housing demand, particularly for the first half of the 2013 fiscal year, to prove challenging for its Building Products division. It added that further interest rate reductions and/or improved consumer 'sentiment' are required for demand to lift in the six months ending June 2013. In Asia, continued growth in construction activity is expected together with more penetration by wallboard. While the residential market remains subdued in China, Boral's plant in Shandong will see growth of sales volumes in new high-end markets in Beijing, Tianjing and Shandong.

Australia: Mining corporation Rio Tinto has blocked a bid by Australian billionaire Len Buckeridge to win control of its gypsum deposits near Carnarvon, Western Australia by announcing it is restarting its ancillary operations at its mine.

Buckeridge, who is worth an estimated US$2.5bn and runs an integrated industrial empire that is one of the biggest homebuilders in Australia, wrote to the State Government in March 2012, demanding that Rio Tinto either restart its operations in Lake MacLeod near Carnarvon or hand over the gypsum rights to him under state agreements, which demand that companies 'use or lose' their deposits. Buckeridge's company supplies about 7% of the subdued Eastern States plasterboard market and more than half of Western Australia's needs, with CSR the other big producer.

Managing director of Rio's Dampier Salt subsidiary, Denise Goldsworthy, said that it had shuttered its Lake MacLeod gypsum operation because it was not financially viable, but booming demand in Asia, and Buckeridge's approach, had caused a rethink.

"Based on the company's projections of medium-term trends for gypsum, primarily in South-East Asia and Australia, Dampier Salt has decided to commence working through the State Government approvals process to resume its own gypsum mining operation targeted at these markets," Goldsworthy said. Dampier Salt gave no deadline for when gypsum would be mined again at the site.

Australia: Boral has announced that it expects gross earnings from its Gypsum Asia unit to increase as it reported an upbeat longer term outlook for the business in the rapidly growing Asia market.

It is estimated that earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2012 will jump by 19% year-on-year to US$108m, according to Frederic de Rougemont, chief executive of Boral Gypsum Asia.

De Rougemont said that there is strong economic growth forecast across most major markets in Asia, where increases in public investment are driving growth in non-residential construction. Speaking to analysts in South Korea, he added that increasing urbanisation is driving growth in residential construction.

"Asia is expected to become the world's largest plasterboard market in 2014, while China will become the biggest plasterboard market globally by 2015," he said. "Among the global players, BGA has the leading market position throughout Asia" with a 15% estimated market share including China.

Australia: Lafarge has announced the sale of its Australian gypsum operations to Knauf for net proceeds of Euro120m.

Lafarge's Australian Gypsum business represents two manufacturing facilities for gypsum wallboard and other compounds along with a national network of distribution and retail centres. In 2010, Lafarge's Australian operations generated EBITDA of Euro13m. The completion of this deal is expected to happen in the third quarter of 2011.

This news follows Lafarge's decision to sell its gypsum interests in Europe and South America to the Belgian Etex Group (announced on 14 July 2011 – read full story here). Under this proposed agreement, Lafarge would receive net cash proceeds of approximately Euro850m and in addition would receive a 20% interest in the new partnership. The partnership would combine the European and South American Gypsum activities of both groups.

World: With Boral's recent acquisition of Sunshine Coast Quarries, the company has spent USD250m in Queensland since April 2011. Boral's head of strategy and mergers and acquisitions, Matt Coren, said this move did not necessarily reveal a special focus on the state (or indeed on cement and concrete), saying, "You'll see us continue to invest in other markets."

Boral's recent acquisition spree, along with Coren's comments, has raised speculation that the group may be eyeing up bigger and more lucrative offshore investments. Following the decision by France's Lafarge to sell 80% of its European gypsum assets to Etex Group (announced on 14 July 2011 – read full story here), the spotlight has again swung to the possibility that Boral may be considering the French gypsum and plaster company's Asia-Pacific and North American assets. Boral and Lafarge have an existing joint venture plasterboard business in Asia and it is thought the Australian building group would like to increase its 50% stake or even buy out its partner entirely.

Credit Suisse has indeed recently labeled Boral as the 'natural owner' of Lafarge's remaining gypsum assets. Rohan Gallagher, an analyst with Credit Suisse said that Boral would need to raise equity to do the deal, but expressed doubt that facilities in the United States and Mexico (including six wallboard plants with over 300Mm2/yr wallboard capacity), would not be a wise choice for Boral in the present climate.

Nomura analyst Simon Thackray said that if Boral could increase its stake in the Asian joint venture by a further 10% and purchase a 60% interest in Lafarge's US business the group would need to spend about USD300m, which could be heavily dilutive.