Gypsum industry news

New Zealand: Fletcher Building, which holds a 94% share of the New Zealand wallboard market, may be hurt by a Budget decision to remove tariffs on imported wallboard and duties on other building products, according to analysts. Building products provide about 20% of Fletcher's earnings.

The government said that it hoped to reduce the cost of a standard new home by US$3500, by temporarily dropping duties on 90% of the building materials used. The cost of building materials in New Zealand is around 30% higher than in Australia.

The Building Industry Federation's chief executive Bruce Kohn doubted the Government's claim that the move would save new-home builders US$3500 and said that similar moves in Australia saw that market 'flooded' with low-quality building materials.

Finance Minister Bill English said that reducing the tariffs would build on the government's previous reforms to deliver more competition to the building materials industry. However, Labour leader David Cunliffe said, "Average prices in Auckland rose by US$6208 in April 2014. The Government's levy changes will save just two to three weeks of Auckland house-price inflation."

The Budget announced that anti-dumping tariffs on wallboard, reinforcing steel bar and wire nails would be immediately suspended for three years and tariffs on other materials such as roofing, cladding, insulation and paint would be dropped from 1 July 2014, to be reviewed in five years.

US: Eagle Materials Inc has reported financial results for fiscal year 2014, which ended on 31 March 2014. Company revenues were up by 40% year-on-year to US$898.4m and net earnings grew by 50% year-on-year to US$200m, reflecting improved sales volumes and stronger sales prices across all business lines. Annual revenue and earnings improvement also reflects the acquisition of assets, including cement plants in Missouri and Oklahoma on 30 November 2012.

Fiscal 2014 operating earnings from gypsum wallboard and paperboard grew by 46% year-on-year to US$138.5m. Revenues from gypsum wallboard and paperboard were up by 22% year-on-year at US$465.1m.

Gypsum wallboard and paperboard fourth quarter operating earnings were US$29.0m, up by 9% from the same quarter of fiscal 2013. The increase in operating earnings was due to higher wallboard sales prices and volumes, which were offset by US$1.5m maintenance costs, US$1.3m legal costs and US$0.9m natural gas costs, all of which grew compared with fiscal 2013. Gypsum wallboard and paperboard revenues for the fourth quarter grew by 11% year-on-year to US$106.3m. Wallboard sales volumes were up by 2% year-on-year to 442Mft² and paperboard sales volumes for the quarter grew by 4% year-on-year to 59,000t.

US: Continental Building Products, a manufacturer of gypsum wallboard and complementary finishing products, has announced its results for the first quarter of 2014, which ended on 31 March 2014.

Net sales increased by 4.2% to US$87.0m in the first quarter of 2014, up from US$83.5m for the same period of 2013. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were US$20.2m, unchanged from 2013, operating income was US$6.3m, down from US$10.0m in 2013 and adjusted net loss was US$0.6m, compared to a net income of US$9.8m in 2013. Wallboard sales volumes were flat at 438Mft² due to adverse weather conditions. Lower wallboard sales volumes in Canada offset a 2.2% increase in US sales volumes.

"We achieved strong price gains in the first quarter of 2014 amid flat volumes, which were unfavourably impacted by adverse weather conditions in many of our markets in the eastern US," said Ike Preston, Continental's CEO. "Our adjusted EBITDA was stable compared to a year ago as our improvement in sales was offset primarily by higher energy costs. As we move forward in 2014, we believe the long-term recovery in housing markets remains in place and that we are well positioned to grow our business and leverage our low cost as demand improves."

Germany/Austria: Austria based Prinzhorn Holding, a family-owned company with headquarters in Wiener Neudorf near Vienna, Austria has confirmed the takeover of the papermill Fritz Peters GmbH & Co KG. At the location in Gelsenkirchen, around 140 workers manufacture a total of 205,000t/yr of corrugated board and plasterboard liner. It has been agreed that the purchase price will remain confidential.

Located in the middle of the Ruhr region, the Peters papermill has developed into a local market leader over the past few years. The plant specialises in the production of packaging paper and technical specialty paper (such as white and brown testliner), as well as plasterboard liner. All paper products are manufactured using 100% recycled paper. The Peters papermill's annual tonnage has more than tripled since it was founded in 1972.

"We expect to see numerous synergies stemming from the integration of the plant in Gelsenkirchen with the group's other German production locations," Cord Prinzhorn, the CEO and owner's representative for Prinzhorn Holding, explained. "Our plans for Gelsenkirchen include extensive measures to increase efficiency and capacity. The new location in the heart of Germany will enable us to meaningfully optimise transport routes to our clients. The takeover is a result of our long-term expansion strategy for the future as well as our integrated production strategy, from recycling the raw material paper to producing high-quality packaging", said Cord Prinzhorn.

The approval of trade authorities is necessary for the conclusion of the purchase. Prinzhorn Holding and the seller have agreed to keep all other details about the purchase confidential.

Hamburger Rieger is part of the Hamburger Containerboard Division of the Austria-based Prinzhorn Holding. Until now, Hamburger Rieger has been producing high-quality corrugated board at two locations in Germany – Spremberg in Brandenburg and Trostberg in Bavaria. The product lines RiegerLiner, RiegerTop, and SpreeWhite have transformed the company into a leader in quality for the white covered quality papers market segment. With 1.8Mt/yr, Hamburger Containerboard is one of the leading producers of high-quality containerboard in Europe. Hamburger Containerboard papers are made exclusively out of recycled paper.