Gypsum industry news

Spain: Pladur Gypsum has officially opened its 12Mm²/yr Gelsa wallboard plant. The unit had an investment of Euro60m and it has created 75 jobs, according to the Periódico de Aragón newspaper. Start-up at the plant began in September 2018 and full production started in January 2019. The unit currently has a three-shift work pattern and this is expected to change to four shifts by the end of 2019.

Australia: USG Boral’s earnings fell in the first half of its financial year due to a slowdown in South Korea. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 16% year-on-year to US$89.3m in the half-year to 31 December 2018 from US$107m in the same period in 2017. Its revenue grew by 2% to US$594m from US$583m. This was attributed to sales volumes growth in Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam and India.

France: Saint-Gobain’s Interior Solutions division’s sales revenue grew by 4% year-on-year to Euro7.17bn in 2018 from Euro6.88bn in 2017. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 11% to Euro1.06bn from Euro953m. Overall, the group’s sales and earnings rose in 2018, although at slower rates.

"As expected, our results for the second half show a significant improvement, benefiting from broadly supportive markets, a strong pricing dynamic and the settlement of industrial issues that had weighed on the group's profitability in the first half,” said Pierre-André de Chalendar, chairman and chief executive officer of Saint-Gobain. He added that the group has a program underway to divest sales of over Euro3bn by the end of 2019.

US: Saint-Gobain has appointed Mark Rayfield as chief executive officer (CEO) of Saint-Gobain North America. He will oversee Saint-Gobain’s businesses in the US and Canada and continue to serve as CEO of its CertainTeed subsidiary. He succeeds Tom Kinisky, who now takes on the role of chairman of Saint-Gobain in North America and Chief Innovation Officer globally for the company.

Switzerland: Sika’s net sales grew by 13.4% year-on-year to Euro6.23bn in 2018 from Euro5.5bn in 2017. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 7.6% to Euro1.01bn from Euro940m. The building chemicals producer reported growth in all regions, with highlights in Eastern Europe, the US, India, Indonesia and China.