Hungary: Saint-Gobain's Hungarian wallboard plant generated a revenue of Euro21.9m in 2014, according to Attila Piros, the managing director of the local Rigips unit. Saint-Gobain inaugurated the Euro30m wallboard plant, Hungary's first, in 2008. Since 2012, Rigips has boosted its use of capacity at the plant. In 2014, it used more than half of its installed production capacity.

Bulgaria: Gips has reported that it made a consolidated loss of Euro2.1m in 2014 compared to the consolidated profit of Euro0.32m it declared in 2013. Consolidated revenue rose by 0.8% year-on-year in 2014 to Euro3.17m, Gips said in its latest financial statement. Natural gypsum producer Gips was set up in 1965.

Vietnam: Gypsum and Cement JSC (TXM) has announced that it will target US$314,772 of pre-tax profit on US$29.2m revenues and 4% dividend in 2015. It reported US$384,207 of pre-tax profit on US$28.9m revenues and 3% dividend in 2014. In 2015, TXM plans to invest in the DAP Dinh Vu plant, which manufactures artificial gypsum, and is looking for partners for a project exploiting gypsum in Laos.

Belgium: Etex Group has reported a 1.9% year-on-year drop in sales revenue to Euro3bn in 2014. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 11.6% to Euro226m from Euro234m. It attributed the decline to a poor second half, which was hit by a slowdown in public and private investments, poor exchange rates in South America, slowing growth in emerging markets and recession-like conditions elsewhere.

In its outlook Etex anticipates that cyclic fluctuations will continue to appear in all of its markets throughout 2015. Emerging markets are expected to show minor growth, while the fundamental situation in Europe, and particularly in France, needs to improve further. "Overall results are expected to be stable", says Paul Van Oyen, CEO of Etex.