US: Gypsum Management & Supply, Inc. (GMS), a distributor of gypsum wallboard, suspended ceiling systems and interior construction products, has acquired ASI Building Products, LLC, a provider of ceilings and building products. Both the companies are based in the US. Following the transaction, ASI Building Products majority owner and industry veteran Dave Mayer, along with the entire ASI team, will continue on with GMS going forward.

The acquisition will allow GMS to expand its presence in Michigan, with a portfolio of quality products and reinforces its commitment to customer service.

US: ACG Materials has acquired Diamond Gypsum, a miner of gypsum products that are sold into various oil and gas, infrastructure and agricultural applications. The company owns and operates a quarry in central Oklahoma. No value for the transaction has been disclosed.

"We are excited to further strengthen our position as the leading industrial mineral and aggregate producer in the Midwest," said Paul Harrington, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ACG Materials. He added that the acquisition expands ACG Materials' presence in the Sooner Trend Anadarko Basin Canadian and Kingfisher Counties (STACK) shale basin.

ACG Materials, a subsidiary of HIG Capital, is based in Norman, Oklahoma. It mines, mills, processes, and distributes industrial minerals and aggregates including gypsum, anhydrite, limestone, sand, gravel and downstream food, pharmaceutical and plaster products.

Peru: The local arm of global building materials manufacturer Eternit has recorded a 39% increase in sales in Peru during the first half of 2017 due to greater sales volumes in many of the company's main lines. This includes gypsum wallboard sales and sales of temporary housing modules to the Peruvian State as part of the government's reconstruction of areas damaged by floods in March 2017. While high prices of plaster and fibreglass benefitted the firm in the first half, Eternit expects prices to fall during the second half of 2017.

US: Eagle Materials' revenue has risen by 23% year-on-year to US$366.1m in the first quarter of its 2018 fiscal year, which runs 1 April – 30 June 2017. Its first quarter earnings before interest and income taxes increased by 22%, reflecting improved sales volumes and net sales prices across nearly all businesses.

Eagle Materials' Gypsum Wallboard and Paperboard revenues for the first quarter totalled US$154m, 9% higher year-on-year. The average gypsum wallboard net sales price in the quarter rose by 10% to US$1711/Mm² (US$159/MSF). Gypsum wallboard sales volumes rose by 11% to 60Mm² (654MMSF). Paperboard sales volumes fell by 5% to 79,000t, reflecting the timing of third-party purchases. The average paperboard net sales price rose by 10% to US$550/t.

Gypsum wallboard and paperboard reported first quarter operating earnings fell by 4% to US$48.8m. The earnings decline primarily reflected increased operating costs at Eagle Materials' paper mill due to the timing of its annual maintenance outage and higher recycled fibre costs, partially offset by improved wallboard sales volumes and sales prices.