Gypsum industry news

Bosnia & Herzegovina: China-based BNBM plans to build a 40Mm²/yr gypsum wallboard plant in a joint venture with Rudnik i Termoelektrana Ugljevik (RiTE Ugljevik). The new company will be called BNBM Eastern Europe and based at Ugljevik, where RiTE Ugljevik operates the coal-fired Ugljevik Power Plant. The project has an investment of Euro50m with BNBM contributing Euro45m towards the total. Construction is expected to take 18 months, although a start date is subject to the joint-venture meeting certain conditions to the satisfaction of its parent companies. RiTE Ugljevik is a subsidiary of the state-owned power company Elektroprivreda.

Thailand: BNBM plans to launch a joint venture with Sinoma International Engineering and its subsidiary Sinoma (Thailand). The new company will build and operate a 40Mm²/yr gypsum wallboard plant in the country. BNBM says that the plant will additionally be equipped with a 4Mm²/yr decorative gypsum line.

China: Sales revenue from China National Building Materials’ (CNBM) new materials business grew by 28% year-on-year to US$3.36bn in the first half of 2021 from US$2.63bn in the first half of 2020. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) from the segment, which includes gypsum producers BNBM and Taishan Gypsum, rose by 66% to US$873m from US527m. The gypsum wallboard producers reported a combined sales volume increase of 41% to 1.12Bnm² from 0.79Bnm_². The group said that BNBM had also been working on the development of the first domestic automatic edge keel packaging machine for a ‘super large’ production line of gypsum wallboard with an output of 120Mm²/yr.

Overall across all business lines the group’s revenue grew by 14% to US$18.9bn from US$16.5bn in the same period in 2020. Adjusted EBITDA rose by 13% to US$3.98bn from US$3.51bn. Total revenue benefitted from particular gains from its New Materials and Engineering businesses.

China: Beijing National Building Materials (BNBM) recorded a net profit of US$62.3m in 2019, down by 82% year-on-year from US$348m, ‘mainly caused by settlement fees.’ Its profit after deduction of non-recurring profit and loss was US$335m, down by 7.0% from US$359m in 2018. Its revenue rose by 6.0% to US1.88bn from US$1.77bn.

BNBM’s gypsum wallboard sales volumes were 1.97Bnm², up by 5.2% year-on-year from 1.87Bnm². This corresponds to a 2019 Chinese market share by volume of 59%.

US: Beijing New Building Material (BNBM), Taishan Gypsum and Taian Taishan Plasterboard have reached a settlement agreement of up to US$27.7m in one of its on-going legal cases related to alleged defective gypsum wallboard. This agreement is with not more than 498 plantiffs connected to the Amorin case via the Southern District Court of Florida. Following receipt of the payment the plantiffs have agreed to waive all liabilities with respect to Taishan Gypsum.

China: Beijing New Building Materials’ (BNBM) operating revenue rose by 17% year-on-year to US$1.37bn in the first nine months of 2018. Its net profit grew by 31% to US$293m. However, both revenue and profit fell in the third quarter of 2018.

China: China National Building Material’s (CNBM) gypsum wallboard sales rose by 1.5% year-on-year to 866Mm² in the first half of 2018 from 853Mm² in the same period in 2017. Its wallboard production remained stable at 874Mm². Average wallboard prices at both of its New Materials division subsidiaries also increased.

The group’s sales revenue from its New Materials division rose by 10.3% to US$1.66bn from US$1.5bn. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 30% to US$452m from US$346m. Overall, group sales revenue rose by 22% to US$14bn from US$11.5bn.

The company said that its BNBM subsidiary set up a company, Tanzanian Company Limited, in Tanzania and that BNBM refocused Wanjia Building Materials for the global market

CNBM’s subsidiaries that produce gypsum wallboard include BNBM and Taishan Gypsum.

US: Taishan Gypsum and its owner China National Building Material Company (CNBM) have reached a US$1.38m settlement with Meritage Homes of Florida. According to the terms of the agreement Taishan and its fellow subsidiary Beijing New Building Material (BNBM) have agreed to pay Meritage in instalments by the end of March 2018. In return Meritage has agreed to withdraw all claims and allegations against Taishan Gypsum and BNBM following full receipt of the payment.

China: China National Building Material Company's (CNDM) gypsum wallboard sales volumes rose by 13.1% year-on-year to 1.64Bnm² in 2016. Sales revenue from the group's lightweight building materials section, that produces wallboard, rose by 8% to US$1.12bn in 2016 from US$1.03bn in 2015. The building materials producer said that improved marketing had helped it maintain its lead as the largest wallboard producer in China. The group runs BNBM and Taishan Gypsum.

China: China National Building Materials' (CNBM) 45.2%-owned subsidiary Beijing New Building Material Public Limited Company (BNBM) has agreed to acquire a 35% equity interest in Taishan Gypsum Company through a private issuance of 369 million BNBM shares to Taishan Gypsum minority shareholders at US$1.79/share for a total of US$661m.

Upon completion, BNBM will directly and indirectly hold the entire equity interest in Taishan Gypsum. Taishan Gypsum minority shareholders will hold 20.7% of the enlarged issued share capital of BNBM after the private issuance. The equity interest held by CNBM in BNBM will reduce from about 45.2% to 35.84%.

Upon completion of the transaction, Taishan Gypsum will be wholly-owned by BNBM, enabling CNBM to further integrate its internal resources, allowing BNBM to improve its operating results and further consolidate the group's market position.