Gypsum industry news

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.

Belgium: Etex recorded first-half consolidated sales of Euro1.45bn in 2021, up by 18% year-on-year from Euro1.23bn in the first half of 2020. Its recurring earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (REBITDA) rose by 50% to Euro308m from Euro206m. The group increased its profit for the period by 98% to Euro139m from Euro70m. Its building performance division’s sales increased by 29% on a like-for-like basis to Euro1.03bn. Its residential segment recorded particular growth due to ‘dynamic’ renovation activities. All of the division’s operating regions performed well, with all product ranges progressing year-on-year in sales, volumes and margins terms.

Chief executive officer Paul Van Oyen said, “Although the on-going Covid-19 pandemic was still heavily impacting people’s lives, as well as the global economy, in the first half of 2021, the consequences for Etex cannot be compared to what we have experienced last year. The company benefitted from a very dynamic market, especially the home repair and improvement activities, as well as from the fact that our operations were hardly halted - whereas we suffered from several weeks of plant lockdowns in different countries during the second quarter of 2020. Moreover, the ambitious cost control measures we rapidly put in place last year continued to bear fruit in 2021” He added “Overall, we maintained our focus on local decision-making, enabling our leaders on the field to take the right steps and inspiring the trust of our people. More importantly, we never lost sight of our ‘Inspiring ways of living’ purpose in the face of many challenges. All of this while keeping our relentless dedication to the safety and well-being of our people, which is and will always be our number one priority.”

Saudi Arabia: National Gypsum recorded consolidated sales of US$12.5m in the first half of 2021, down by 11% year-on-year from US$14.1m in the first half of 2020. Its profit for the period fell by 13% to US$5.30m from US$6.11m.

Australia: Boral recorded consolidated sales of US$3.87bn in the 2021 financial year, down by 6.7% from US$4.14bn in the 2020 financial year. It recorded a net profit of US$463m, compared to a loss of US$828m in the 2020 financial year.

CEO and managing director Zlatko Todorcevski said “Our full-year 2021 financial year results reflect the mixed market conditions we are continuing to experience in Australia during the pandemic. The value of total construction work was lower than the prior year, including in multi-residential, non-residential and infrastructure construction. Several major projects were completed during the period, with others delayed before new projects come on-line and reach materials intensity. While a lift in detached housing provided a boost to activity during the year, Boral’s earnings are predominantly exposed to construction activity outside of residential.”

He added “We have made substantial progress in our strategy to transform Boral into a stronger, better performing, more customer-focused organisation, with a core portfolio of businesses that deliver value throughout the cycle. Over the past year, we have progressed the divestments of several non-core assets, including completing the divestment of our interest in the USG Boral joint venture and announcing the sale of North America Building Products, achieving sale prices well above expectation. With total proceeds of almost US$3.25bn from completed and announced divestments to date, our strategy to focus Boral on the core Australian construction materials business is well advanced. And following a detailed assessment of strategic options for our North American Fly Ash business, we are now entering the final stages of a divestment of this business.”

France: Saint-Gobain’s sales grew by 24.6% year-on-year to Euro22.1bn in the first half of 2021 from Euro17.8m in the same period in 2020. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) nearly doubled to Euro3.25bn from Euro1.64bn. Both sales and earnings were also higher than the comparable period in 2019.

“These first-half 2021 record results surpass even our second-half 2020 performance. This success reflects the profound positive changes in our organisation from Transform & Grow,” said Benoit Bazin, chief executive officer of Saint-Gobain. “It also reflects structural changes in our markets, which should show an acceleration in growth over the coming years.” The group added that it was planning to catch up with previously delayed expansion projects for the construction Industry and in façade and gypsum solutions in Mexico, India and China in the second half of 2021.

US: Eagle Materials’ gypsum wallboard sales grew by 28% year-on-year to US$166m in the first quarter of its financial year to 30 June 2021 from US$130m in the same period in 2020. Wallboard sales volumes rose by 8% to 70.9Mm² from 65.4Mm². Wallboard earnings increased by 53% to US$63.3m from US$41.3m. The building materials producer attributed its increased revenue to higher sales and prices.

“These results reflect strong market demand in both of our major business lines and exceptional operational execution by our team. Our wallboard business continues to benefit from robust residential construction activity across our markets,” said president and chief executive officer Michael Haack.

Saudi Arabia: National Gypsum’s three-month profit in the first quarter of 2021 declined by 23% year-on-year to US$7.20m from US$9.33m in the first quarter of 2020. During the quarter it recorded a net profit of US$3.78m, down by 20% from US$4.72m.

US: Eagle Materials recorded consolidated net sales of US$1.62bn in its 2021 financial year, up by 16% year-on-year from US$1.40bn. Its net earnings quadrupled to US$339m from US$70.9m. Its gypsum wallboard sales volumes increased by 6% to 265Mm² from 265Mm². The building materials producer increased its wallboard prices during the second half of the year due to improved demand outlook for single-family construction activity in the US and increasing demand for our products.

President and chief executive officer Michael Haack said, “Across all measures, fiscal 2021 was extraordinary for Eagle as we met and overcame challenges that were inconceivable just a year earlier. The resilience of our business model, our financial discipline and our team’s operational and strategic execution allowed us to deliver record financial results, integrate the largest acquisition in the company’s history and further streamline our business portfolio by divesting several non-core businesses, all while achieving industry leading safety performance. Our strong operating cash flow enabled us to reduce leverage to under 1.5 times net debt-to-earnings before interest taxation depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), providing us with significant liquidity and increased financial flexibility.” He continued “As we begin our new fiscal year, Eagle is well-positioned, both geographically and financially, with ample raw material reserves to capitalise on the underlying demand fundamentals that are expected to support steady and sustainable construction activity growth over the near and long-term. We remain confident in Eagle’s prospects for continued growth and sustainable value creation for all shareholders.”

Belgium: Etex’s full-year consolidated net sales were Euro2.62bn, down by 11% year-on-year from Euro2.94bn. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 16% to Euro468m from Euro557m. The group called its bottom-line performance ‘stunning.’ It reduced its debt by 95% to Euro15.0m from Euro331m.

The coronavirus outbreak impacted performance across all regions. At the peak of the outbreak’s impact on the group’s operations in April 2020, it had suspended operations at 48% of its facilities globally. In Europe, sales increased year-on-year in Germany and Romania. This, a dynamic plasterboard market in the Netherlands and ‘good’ group performance in Eastern Europe failed to offset the regional decline. The impact was notably severe in the Benelux countries and the UK in the second quarter of 2020. In Latin America, sales were comparable with 2019 levels on a like-for-like basis. Asian and African sales experienced a decline, partly offset by the opening of new markets in Australia prior to the acquisition of Knauf Plasterboard in February 2021.

Chief executive officer Paul Van Oyen and chair Jean-Louis de Cartier de Marchienne said, “Although our order book for the first half of 2021 is positive, we expect our revenue to be affected by Covid-19-related volatility this year and the next. Despite this forecast, the performance culture that we have invested in over the last year is firmly in place and delivering results. In addition, our strategic acceleration of sustainability and customer experience initiatives will continue to bear fruit moving forward.” They added, “The acquisitions we made in 2020 will fuel our future growth in high-potential markets. In 2021, we will continue to identify new opportunities, as we are currently in an excellent position to make significant additional investments.”

France: Saint-Gobain recorded consolidated net sales of Euro38.1bn in 2020, down by 10% year-on-year from Euro42.6m in 2019. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 9% to Euro4.42bn from Euro4.87bn. Following a 12% like-for-like contraction in the first half of 2020, consolidated net sales grew by 5% on a like-for-like basis in the second half of 2020, with a 5% increase in gypsum wallboard volumes and a 1% increase in prices.

Chair and chief executive officer Pierre-André de Chalendar said, “The record results of the Group for second-half 2020 confirm the pertinence of the Group’s differentiation strategy and the success of its profound transformation begun several years ago. I would like to sincerely thank the teams for these excellent results achieved and for their unwavering commitment and solidarity."