Gypsum industry news

US: Eagle Materials, Inc has released its fiscal results for the first quarter (ending 30 June 2011) of the 2012 financial year. Its revenues were USD119.8m and its net earnings were USD3.1m, with earnings per diluted share of USD0.07.

In a statement Eagle said that demand for building materials and construction products remained weak and that it would continue to streamline its operations in response to these lower levels of construction activity. Revenues decreased compared to 2010, primarily due to lower sales volumes across all of Eagle's businesses sections.

Eagle's 'Gypsum Wallboard and Paperboard' section first fiscal quarter operating earnings of USD4.3m were down by 53% compared to the same quarter of 2010. The section's revenues for the first quarter totaled USD70.3m, a 9% decrease from the same quarter of 2010.

The revenue decline reflects lower sales volumes and lower average net sales prices. The average gypsum wallboard net sales price the quarter was USD90.03/MSF, 8% less than the 2010 quarter. Gypsum wallboard sales volumes for the quarter were 412MMSF, representing a 9% decline compared to the same quarter of 2010.

US: USG Corporation (USG) has reported second quarter 2011 net sales of USD761m, an operating loss of USD21m and a net loss of USD70m. For comparison in the second quarter of 2010, the corporation's operating loss was USD25m and its net loss was USD74m.

US Gypsum wallboard shipments totaled 986MMSF, down on the second quarter of 2010, which saw 1070MMSF shipped. The average selling price was also down, from USD114.17/MSF on average to USD111.55/MSF.

"We are continuing to pursue our near-term and long-term strategic priorities during the protracted recession in our domestic markets," said James Metcalf, President and CEO of USG. "By strengthening our core businesses, diversifying the sources of our earnings and aggressively leveraging our innovation leadership to differentiate USG's products from the competition, we are confident that we can successfully navigate this recession and capitalise on a recovery."

The corporation's adjusted operating loss was USD19m in the second quarter of 2011, which compares to an adjusted operating loss of USD18m in the second quarter of 2010. The adjusted operating loss for the second quarter of 2011 excludes USD2m of restructuring and long-lived asset impairment charges, while the adjusted operating loss for the second quarter of 2010 excluded USD7m.

Turkey: Saint-Gobain has completed the acquisition of Doğaner, a Turkish manufacturer of plaster and wallboard. The company operates a plant with an annual production capacity of 500,000t/yr of plaster and 12MM2/yr of plasterboard, which is located 50km southeast of the Turkish capital Ankara.

In 2010 Doğaner generated revenue of nearly Euro22m and employed 109 people. The acquisition will enable Saint-Gobain's Gypsum Activity to consolidate its position in a large and growing market and to enhance its current product range by offering locally manufactured wallboard.

Spain: The Uralita Group, which is engaged in the production of gypsum materials including wallboard (as well as insulation panels) has released its annual report, which shows a 94% slump in its net profit to Euro604,000 from Euro10.1m in 2009.

The group's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to sales ratio was down from 12.8% to 11.5%. The result continues a four-year record of positive earnings for the group but several of its other indicators were down, including total debt to net tangible assets (from 110.9% to 115.0%), total liabilities to total assets (up by 1.7% to 0.6) and net tangible assets per share (down 3% to Euro1.29).

Australia: Lafarge has announced the sale of its Australian gypsum operations to Knauf for net proceeds of Euro120m.

Lafarge's Australian Gypsum business represents two manufacturing facilities for gypsum wallboard and other compounds along with a national network of distribution and retail centres. In 2010, Lafarge's Australian operations generated EBITDA of Euro13m. The completion of this deal is expected to happen in the third quarter of 2011.

This news follows Lafarge's decision to sell its gypsum interests in Europe and South America to the Belgian Etex Group (announced on 14 July 2011 – read full story here). Under this proposed agreement, Lafarge would receive net cash proceeds of approximately Euro850m and in addition would receive a 20% interest in the new partnership. The partnership would combine the European and South American Gypsum activities of both groups.