Global Gypsum Newsletter

Issue: GGM71 / 09 February 2026

Headlines


Nigeria: BUA Cement subsidiary BUA Gypsum Plaster has commenced commercial production of gypsum wallboard at its Port Harcourt plant in Rivers State. The Premium Times newspaper has reported the plant also has capacity to produce 2400t/day of plaster, production of which began in 2025. Cement producer BUA Cement says that it is diversifying to capitalise on Nigeria’s gypsum wallboard supply gap. In addition to Nigeria, the Port Harcourt plant will also supply other West African countries.


US: Eagle Materials recorded sales of US$1.83bn in the first nine months of the 2026 financial year (FY2026), up by 2% year-on-year. A 5% year-on-year rise in costs, to US$1.28bn, offset sales growth to precipitate an 8% decline in net earnings, to US$364m. Gypsum wallboard sales fell by 10% in value, to US$581m, and by 8% in volume. The group reported ‘good progress’ on an on-going upgrade to its Duke gypsum wallboard plant in Oklahoma.

Eagle Materials issued US$750m of 10-year senior notes with an interest rate of 5% during the quarter, which extended its total debt maturity schedule and increased committed liquidity. A portion of the proceeds repaid its bank credit facility. It ended 2025 with debt of US$1.8bn, net debt of US$1.4bn and a net leverage ratio of 1.8 times.

President and CEO Michael Haack said "Despite a mixed construction environment, Eagle's portfolio of businesses continued to perform well during the third quarter of FY2026. While the residential construction market was challenged, federal, state and local spending on public infrastructure projects and private non-residential construction remained elevated. Our low-cost operations continue to generate strong cashflow that we are investing to advance our operational efficiency and our low-cost position."


Saudi Arabia: Germany-based Knauf has announced the planned acquisition of a majority stake in United Mining Industries Company (UMI), followed by all other outstanding shares in the company. UMI is a market-leading producer of gypsum products and other building materials domestically and across Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and other Middle Eastern markets. A planned initial investment would give Knauf a 63% majority stake in UMI. After completion of this, Knauf intends to submit an offer to acquire up to 100% of shares in UMI.

Knauf has been active in the Middle East for 30 years. It established its first gypsum wallboard plant regionally at Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, in 2008. Saudi Arabia is a key growth market for the group and a ‘central pillar’ of its regional strategy.


US: Germany-based Grenzebach has received an order from American Gypsum Company for the construction of a new wallboard production line at the its Duke, Oklahoma, plant. The new line will expand the Duke plant’s capacity by 25%, while reducing its operating costs by 20%. American Gypsum Company intends for the expansion to help it to meet ‘rising demand’ in its South US and US Sunbelt regions.

Grenzebach will deliver a ‘customised complete plant,’ equipped with natural gypsum drying facilities and two calcination plants, by mid-late 2027. The supplier noted the order as its largest for the building materials sector to date.

“This major project will be implemented across the group, with our locations in North America, Germany, India and Romania working closely together,” said John Corsi, CEO of Grenzebach North America. “A key factor in securing this project was the strong sales cooperation between our Grenzebach Corporation and Millennium Control Systems teams in the US and our centre of competence for Building Materials at Grenzebach BSH in Germany. This international collaboration underscores our expertise and capability as a strong, global operating partner.”


Global: Saint-Gobain has won Top Employers Institute Global Top Employer 2026 certification, marking an 11th consecutive year as a holder of the award. The producer is one of 17 organisations worldwide to achieve the certification in 2026. Certification is based on the Top Employers Institute’s HR Best Practices Survey, comprised of people strategy, work environment, talent acquisition, learning, diversity, equity and inclusion and wellbeing.


Switzerland: Sika recorded sales of €12.1bn in 2025, down by 5% year-on-year, but up by 1% in local currency terms. The company attributed the currency effect primarily to weakness in the US Dollar. Sales grew by 2% in local currencies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and by 2% in local currencies in the Americas, but fell by 5% in local currencies in Asia and the Pacific. During 2025, Sika launched its Fast Forward production and organisational optimisation programme, expected to cut costs by €162 – 216m/yr by 2028.

CEO Thomas Hasler said "Despite challenging macro-economic conditions, we achieved modest growth in 2025 and further reinforced our market position. Global markets were soft in the fourth quarter of the year, including US commercial construction trends, which were exacerbated by the government shutdown. Additionally, China saw continued market weakness in the residential building sector. However, our enhanced customer solutions allowed us to maintain pricing discipline and gain market share in every region.” Looking ahead to the rest of 2026, Hasler said “While we currently expect global market conditions to remain muted through the first half of 2026, we enter the year with a leaner cost structure and a clear investment roadmap to accelerate innovation and digitalisation."


Canada: Researchers at Université Laval have developed an alternative wallboard panel using earth and wood fibres. The study sourced wood fibres from medium-density fibreboard (MDF) supplied by composite panels producer Uniboard. Test boards displayed comparable mechanical and thermal properties to 16mm-thick CertainTeed Type X gypsum wallboard, with increased acoustic insulation capacities. However, their reduced modulus of rupture increases the risk of breakage during handling or installation, while they are over twice as combustible as conventional gypsum wallboard, necessitating a reduction of wood fibre content or the use of fireproofing additives in any future commercial recipe. The boards are suitable for production at existing gypsum wallboard plants.


Azerbaijan: Construction gypsum production rose by 42% year-on-year to 128,300t in the first 11 months of 2025. Despite this, the State Statistics Committee of Azerbaijan recorded a 3% decline in the total value of the national building materials output in the period, to US$771m. Monthly Azerbaijan Business Monitoring News has reported that construction gypsum stocks ended 2025 at 2300t.