Gypsum industry news

US: Gypsum wallboard imports in the fourth quarter of 2011 were 72,000t, equivalent to 8MM², a rise of 15% compared to the third quarter of 2011 and 37% year-on-year. Mexico accounted for 59% of these imports, followed by Canada with 41%. The figures were released in the latest gypsum publication from the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Producers mined 2.18Mt of gypsum during the fourth quarter of 2011, a rise of 8% year-on-year. Synthetic gypsum production was 1.77Mt , a rise of 4% year-on-year. Synthetic gypsum accounted for about 37% of the 4.81Mt total supply of gypsum in the US during the quarter. Sales of calcined gypsum were 2.93Mt, a rise of 8% year-on-year. Sales of board products were 3.73Mt, equivalent to approximately 416MM², a rise of 4% compared to the third quarter of 2011 and a rise of 14% year-on-year. Imports of crude gypsum were 864,000t, a rise of 12% from the third quarter of 2011. The US imported crude gypsum from 10 countries in the fourth quarter of 2011 with Mexico accounted for 40% followed by Canada with 38%, and Spain with 22%.

Wallboard exports were 212,000t, equivalent to 23.6MM², a rise of 6% compared to the third quarter of 2011 and a rise of 18% year-on-year. Wallboard was principally exported to Canada with accounted for 93% of the total.

Belgium: Etex Group has reported a revenue rise of 17.6%, from Euro1.96bn in 2010 to Euro 2.3bn in 2011. In 2011 the Belgium-based manufacturing group acquired major gypsum interests from Lafarge and had a former manager jailed in a major Italian asbestos trial.

Etex acquired 80% of the European and South American gypsum activities of Lafarge in November 2011, increasing its controlling interest to 80% in its South American gypsum business. On a like-for-like basis its revenue increased by 10.3%. The newly acquired gypsum activities added a further 7.3% to the revenue increase from 2010. The Group's operating income decreased by 4.9% to Euro176m in 2011, from Euro185m in 2010. Profit decreased by 29% to Euro88m from Euro 124m.

In its annual report the Group attributed the fall in operating income to the setup of a provision in response to the outcome of the Italian Eternit asbestos trial in February 2011. Etex was judged civilly responsible for the actions of one of its former top managers. Damages from the case were over Euro100m.

US: USG Corporation has reported a net loss of US$30.5m for January and February 2012, compared to US$82.3m for the same two-month period in 2011. The preliminary, unaudited results were announced in connection with USG's ongoing tender offer and consent solicitation relating to its 9.75% notes due 2014.

For the two-month period, USG reported net sales of US$517m and an operating profit of US$5.7m. For the comparable two-month period in 2011, USG reported net sales of US$447m and an operating loss of US$46.8m. The company has attributed the improved year-over-year results primarily to increases in its US average wallboard price and wallboard gross margin.

USG currently expects that operating results for March 2012 will reflect the continuing impact of the wallboard prices and gross margin increases. Complete results for the first quarter are expected to be announced on 17 April 2012.

Indonesia: Indonesia's largest producer of gypsum PT Petrojaya Boral Plasterboard (Jayaboard) is building a new gypsum board factory in Cilegon, Banten with a production capacity of 30MM²/yr. The project is estimated to cost US$25m and it will expand the capacity of the company to 65MM²/yr.

Construction of the project is already underway and it is to be completed in 2013 said Kil-Joo Lee, the president of the Boral subsidiary.

China: The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has released China's 12th five-year (2011-2015) plan for major industrial solid waste. The plan will target US$80bn from recycling solid waste with a comprehensive utilised volume of 1.6Bnt by 2015.

Under the plan, which will cover industrial by product gypsum, gangue, coal ash smelting slag, red mud and carbide slag, China is expected to generate 2.5 million new jobs in the field of industrial solid waste management. In the case of gypsum, it is likely that the by-product will be used in the production of wallboard.

MIIT predicts that China will generate an incredible 15Bnt of industrial solid waste in total during 2011-2015.