Gypsum industry news

Australia: Building materials supplier Boral has reported a loss of US$25.1m for the first half of its 2012-2013 fiscal year, due to a sustained weakness in the Australian and US housing markets. It recorded a profit of US$157m in the same period in 2011-2012.

For the half-year ending on 31 December 2012, Boral reported a sales revenue of US$2.86bn, 14% above the previous year. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) (before significant items) increased by 3% to US$116m. Both figures benefitted from acquisitions that the company made. Profits were hit by US$79.6m impairment charges tied to the suspension of cement production at Waurn Ponds, Victoria and first half restructuring and redundancy costs.

"In Australia, Construction Materials delivered a solid 25% improvement in EBIT, but Building Products reported a very disappointing US$18.6m first half loss, following an US$11.4m loss in the second half of last year," said Boral's CEO and Managing Director Bob Kane.

He added that in the newly combined Boral Gypsum division, Australian Plasterboard was also significantly impacted by lower volumes and higher operational costs, reporting a 45% decline in EBIT. This decline was offset by a US$19.6m increase in reported earnings from Asia as a result of the acquisition of the remaining 50% interest of Boral Gypsum Asia in the 2012 financial year.

US: The US-based building materials provider Eagle Materials has reported financial results for the third quarter of the 2013 fiscal year, which ended on 31 December 2012. These showed that its revenue was up by 33% compared to the same period of the prior fiscal year. Earnings per share were up by 429% year-on-year.

Eagle's third quarter sales volumes improved across all business lines, with sales prices improving in all but one of it business lines. Its gypsum wallboard segment experienced the most significant improvement, with an increase in average net sales prices of 27% as compared with the same quarter of the prior fiscal year.

Eagle's Gypsum Wallboard and Paperboard division's third quarter operating earnings of US$24.8m were up by 362% compared to the same quarter of the 2012 fiscal year. Higher wallboard average net sales prices, higher gypsum wallboard and gypsum paperboard sales volumes and lower recycled paper input costs were the primary driver of the quarterly earnings increase.

Gypsum wallboard and paperboard revenues for the third quarter were US$100.3m, a 37% increase from the same quarter a year ago. The revenue increase reflects primarily higher wallboard average net sales prices and sales volumes. The average gypsum wallboard net sales price for the third quarter was US$120.55/1000ft2, 27% greater than the same quarter a year ago. Wallboard sales volume for the quarter of 519Mft2 represents a 23% year-on-year.

US: USG Corporation (USG) has reported its results for the fourth quarter of 2012 and for the year as a whole. These results showed that sales had increased by 12% to US$815m in the final quarter of the year, but that USG also made an operating loss of US$8m. This, however, was lower than the US$43m that it lost in the final quarter of 2011. The group's adjusted operating profit was US$5m, versus a US$38m adjusted operating loss in the 2011 quarter, but it made a net loss of US$13m. This compares favourably to the 2011 quarter, when it made a loss of US$100m.

In terms of sales, its US gypsum wallboard shipments came to 1.22Bnft² against 1.09Bnft² in the 2011 quarter. The average price was US$132.26/1000ft² ­up from US$112.59/1000ft² in the same period of 2011. USG also announced that its SHEETROCK Brand UltraLight Panels accounted for 49% of all of its US wallboard shipments for the period.

The Corporation recorded full year 2012 net sales from continuing operations of US$3.2bn, an operating profit from continuing operations of US$73m and a net loss of US$126m. For the full year 2011, net sales from continuing operations were US$2.9bn, the operating loss from continuing operations was US$206m and its net loss was US$390m.

"Our wallboard results were the strongest we have seen in over three years, and we achieved our fourth consecutive quarter of positive adjusted operating profit," said James S Metcalf, Chairman, President and CEO. "The results show that commercial markets remain choppy, but we continue to see signs of a housing recovery."

China: China National Building Material Group (CNBM) produced 1.65BnM² of gypsum board in 2012. The Chinese state-owned building materials manufacturer reported that its operations revenue in 2012 grew by 14% year-on-year to US$35.5bn. CNBM saw its profit reach US$1.81bn, while its net profit for the year hit US$1.38bn. As the end of 2012, CMBM had US$46bn in total assets, 38% more than at the end of 2011.

US: Gypsum production in the US has increased by 11% to 9.9Mt in 2012 compared to 8.9Mt in 2011, according to a report from the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS attributed this rise to increases in activity in the US housing and construction markets.

In its Mineral Commodity Summary for Gypsum in 2012, the USGS reported that the apparent consumption of gypsum increased by 4% to 24.6Mt in 2012 compared to 23.7Mt in 2011. Wallboard products sold rose slightly from 1.60BM2 in 2011 to 1.63BM2 in 2012. Overall, 47 companies produced gypsum in the US at 54 mines and plants in 34 States. Approximately 90% of domestic consumption, with a total of approximately 22Mt, was accounted for by manufacturers of wallboard and plaster products. At the beginning of 2012 the production capacity of operating wallboard plants in the US was about 3.07BM2/yr.

In its overview of the industry the report commented that the US ranked fourth in the world for gypsum production after China, Iran and Spain. An increased use of wallboard in Asia, coupled with new gypsum product plants, spurred increased production in that region. The report expected that the worldwide production of gypsum would rise driven by the increasing popularity of wallboard due to its economy and efficiency.

Lastly, it was noted that if the construction of wallboard plants designed to use synthetic gypsum from flue gas desulfurisation (FGD) units continues this will result in less mining of natural gypsum. The availability of inexpensive natural gas, however, may limit the increase of future FGD units and, therefore, the production of synthetic gypsum.