Gypsum industry news

Egypt: Knauf Egypt has entered into a partnership to supply Hassan Allam Construction with building materials for more than 100 upcoming projects. Arab Finance News has reported that Knauf Egypt’s delivery on the contracts will reflect its commitment to the Egypt Vision 2030 national sustainable development strategy.

Knauf Egypt recently invested US$640,000 in a collaboration with the German Society for International Cooperation to train 4000 Egyptian construction sector specialists per year.

India: JSW Group subsidiary JSW Infrastructure has entered a concession agreement with VO Chidambaranar Port Authority to develop a new berth at VO Chidambaranar Port on a design, build, finance, operate, and transfer basis. The Hindu newspaper has reported that the company plans to commission the 7Mt/yr Berth III for the export of bulk minerals, including gypsum.

JSW Infrastructure "The asset provides access to the rich hinterland with a diverse cargo profile including coal, limestone, gypsum and rock phosphate."

Romania: Saint-Gobain Romania has launched the Saint-Gobain National Trophy contest. The contest recognises exceptional projects due for completion by the end of 2024 which incorporate materials supplied by Saint-Gobain Romania. Local press has reported that judges will evaluate projects’ excellence in execution, sustainability and effective utilisation of their incorporated Saint-Gobain products. The company will receive submissions until 31 October 2024.

US: Out West Drywall is among building materials producers that have donated their products to non-profit organisation Habitat for Humanity’s latest affordable housing development in Montrose, Colorado. Local press has reported that the producer donated its gypsum wallboard for use in the development. Habitat for Humanity uses the economic process of shared appreciation to give its homeowners 5% composite annual growth in the equity value of their new homes over 20 years. Its goal is to raise living standards by increasing access to housing.

France: Saint-Gobain recorded €11.4bn in sales in the first quarter of 2024, down by 8% year-on-year compared to first-quarter 2023 levels. Group sales volumes fell by 4.7%, partly due to a 1.5% negative working day effect. Meanwhile, a negative group structure effect reflects on-going optimisation. New acquisitions during the first quarter of 2024 included Australia-based building materials producer and land banking entity CSR.

Saint-Gobain’s sales dropped by 10% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, but grew by 6% in the Americas, where the group noted a ‘dynamic’ renovations market. Its sales also grew, by 4.5%, with ‘strong momentum’ in India. In Saint-Gobain’s High Performance Solutions business, sales declined by 5.4% year-on-year. The business’ sales to construction customers fell by 6.7% amid a decline in new project starts in Europe.

Saint-Gobain forecast resilience in the remainder of 2024, through its focused strategy and proactive commercial and industrial initiatives. It expects new construction to end its decline in Europe and all segments to ‘hold firm’ or recover in the Americas.

Germany/Ukraine: The Würzburg Prosecutor's Office has opened a preliminary investigation into Knauf over its alleged involvement in the on-going reconstruction of Russian-occupied Mariupol. The investigation will seek to establish whether an ‘initial suspicion’ of criminal activity exists. Germany-based media outlet ARD published its allegation of Knauf’s involvement in the reconstruction via the use of its materials earlier in April 2024. The Würzburg Prosecutor's Office added that "There is currently no initial suspicion against Knauf employees."

The producer denied the allegations, adding that it complies with relevant laws and sanctions.

Brunei Darussalam/Indonesia: Siam-Indo Gypsum Industry delivered a shipment of gypsum products to Brunei Darussalam earlier in March 2024. The Borneo Bulletin newspaper has reported that the shipment will contribute materials for a 1000-unit housing development in country.

Importer VSL Systems reported that Indonesia's exports to Brunei Darussalam increased consistently year-on-year every year between 2018 and 2022.

China: Beijing New Building Materials (BNBM)’s operating income grew by 9% year-on-year to US$1.57bn in the first half of 2023, from US$1.44bn in the same period in 2022. Its net profit increased by 19% to US$251m from US$211m. The company said that it had a total gypsum wallboard production capacity of 3.4Bnm²/yr and that it was the world’s largest gypsum board group.

Parent company China National Building Material (CNBM) reported separately that its total sales of gypsum wallboard remained stable in the first half of 2023, at 1.09Bnm². It said “The supply of gypsum board is stable, but affected by the weak operation of the real estate market. The demand is insufficient and the operation of the industry is under pressure.” It added that BNBM built four “nearly zero emission” gypsum board production lines in the reporting period.

New Zealand: Gypsum wallboard producer and construction firm Fletcher Building has reported a 20% year-on-year drop in domestic housing demand during the first quarter of 2023. The Australian newspaper has reported that the company attributed the decline to ‘soaring’ interest rates in the country. It now expects to sell 800 residential units in 2023, 20% below its previous expectation of 1000 units. Fletcher Building said that building materials costs rose by 5 – 10% between 2020 and 2022, due to ‘higher input and commodity costs’ in production.

CEO Ross Taylor said that Fletcher Building faces labour shortages in its civil construction business, but maintained a strong order pipeline. Taylor said “It won’t drive an uptick in volumes but it will underpin the volumes in the next three to four years.”

Philippines: Knauf Gypsum Philippines has petitioned the Philippines Tariff Commission to reduce the import duty on imports of Omani gypsum to 0% of value. Currently, Oman’s gypsum enjoys a most favoured nation (MFN) reduced tariff rate of 3%. The Oman Daily Observer newspaper has reported that high gypsum wallboard demand has created short supply of gypsum in the Philippines, according to Knauf Gypsum Philippines. Beside the company’s wallboard operations, the raw material is also critical to cement production in the country.

The Philippines receives a minor share of Oman’s 8.74Mt/yr of natural gypsum exports. The Southeast Asian country has a housing backlog of 6m units.