Gypsum industry news

US: Lafarge has announced that is preparing the sale of its North American gypsum business to US private equity firm Lone Star in a deal worth an enterprise value of US$700m.

Lafarge North America's Gypsum division manufactures gypsum wallboards and joint compounds throughout a network of plants in the United States and Canada, including three US gypsum wallboard plants. In 2012, these operations generated sales of US$310m. The assets have been held for sale in the Lafarge's consolidated balance sheet since 2011.

This transaction, which is expected to close very soon, is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Global building materials producer Lafarge reduced its net debt by Euro700m in 2012 to Euro11.3bn. It sold the majority of its worldwide gypsum business – in Asia, Europe, South America and Australia – to Boral and Etex in 2011. Lafarge retains a 20% stake in the joint venture with Etex.

US: USG Corporation has reported fourth quarter 2011 net sales of US$750m, up by nearly 8% from its fourth quarter 2010 net sales of US$696m. Its operating loss for the fourth quarter was US$42m, whereas in the same quarter of 2010 it was US$95m. Its fourth quarter 2011 net loss after-tax was US$100m, down from the US121m net loss a year earlier.

"While some markets remain at or near historically low levels, all of our businesses continue to benefit from the strategic actions we have taken to reduce costs and strengthen our operations," said James S Metcalf, Chairman, President and CEO. "United States Gypsum Company and L&W Supply Corporation, our two largest businesses, reduced their reported operating losses in 2011 compared to the prior year, while many of our other key units achieved an operating profit in 2011."

"The success of our SheetRock Brand UltraLight wallboard products in 2011 was one of the highlights of the year," Metcalf continued. "Market acceptance and customer feedback regarding both the 1/2 inch (12.7mm) product and the newer 5/8 inch (15.9mm) products have been outstanding. We foresee significant opportunities to extend the proprietary lightweight technology to other product categories, including our market-leading family of joint treatment products."

Looking ahead Metcalf said, "Our goal is to continue taking the actions necessary to achieve an adjusted operating profit as soon as possible. We will remain focused on strengthening our core businesses, diversifying our earnings and differentiating USG though innovation."