Gypsum industry news
USG Corporation Reports Third Quarter 2015 Results 23 October 2015
US: USG Corporation has reported that, on a consolidated basis in the third quarter of 2015, its net sales were US$972m, consistent with the third quarter of 2014.
On an adjusted basis, USG's net sales increased by US$20m or 2%. Operating profit improved by US$80m to US$102m. USG's adjusted operating profit was US$115m in the third quarter of 2015, an US$8m increase from the third quarter of 2014. USG generated US$76m in net income in the third quarter of 2015, compared to a net loss of US$12m in the third quarter of 2014. On an adjusted basis, net income of US$76m increased by US$14m from the third quarter of 2014. Foreign currency unfavourably impacted consolidated net income by US$8m in the third quarter of 2015. Adjusted results exclude results from Gypsum Transportation Limited (GTL) a shipping operation which USG has exited, litigation settlement charges and impairment charges were all recorded in the third quarter of 2014.
USG's gypsum segment generated US$89m of operating profit in the third quarter of 2015. On an adjusted basis, operating profit of US$89m improved by US$4m over the third quarter of 2014, led by the US gypsum business. Wallboard provided US$7m of improved operating profit, while the surfaces and substrates businesses contributed US$6m in incremental profit. These improvements were offset by US$5m of increased selling, general and administrative spending due to the timing of projects and costs incurred, as well as a US$4m unfavourable foreign currency impact.
The USG Boral business generated US$12m of equity income in the third quarter of 2015, consistent with the amount earned in the third quarter of 2014. On a currency-neutral basis, the USG Boral business earned US$15m of equity income, a US$3m improvement over the 2014 quarter.
"We saw margin expansion in our gypsum, distribution and USG Boral businesses, notwithstanding softer than expected demand," said James S Metcalf, Chairman, President, and CEO. "In the third quarter we saw improvements in wallboard, strong contributions from our surfaces and substrates businesses, organic margin growth in distribution and continued expansion in USG Boral. With our focus on controlling costs, we are well positioned to take advantage of an improving demand environment going forward."
Georgia reduces import of construction materials from Azerbaijan 23 October 2015
Georgia/Azerbaijan: The value of imported construction materials from Azerbaijan to Georgia fell by 50% from January 2015 to September 2015, according to a report issued by the National Statistics Office of Georgia.
The country imported 64,870t of gypsum plaster and other anhydrites worth a total of US$8.7m from Azerbaijan during the period. Further, the volume of imported construction materials from Azerbaijan to Georgia decreased by 39.7% compared to the same period in 2014. Officials noted that Georgia imported 107,630t of construction materials, worth US$18.5m, from Azerbaijan during the period. Construction materials accounted for 2.2% of the total volume of Azerbaijani exports to Georgia in the first nine months of 2015. In total, Georgia imported US$392m in products from Azerbaijan in January 2015 – September 2015, or 13.7% less than in the same period in 2014.