Gypsum industry news

Spain: Uralita SA has released financial results for the 2011 calendar year, which show a net loss of Euro27.1m. The gypsum wallboard and insulation materials producer also saw sales drop to Euro676m from Euro683m year-on-year, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation down by 65% from Euro78.9m in 2010 to just Euro26.9m. The group's revenue was also down marginally, to Euro690.8m, a drop of just 0.2%.

The Spanish construction market remains in the doldrums amid the continued Eurozone debt crisis, drastically reducing demand for gypsum, insulation and the other building materials that Uralita produces. Uralita SA has released financial results for the 2011 calendar year, which show a net loss of Euro27.1m. The gypsum wallboard and insulation materials producer also saw sales drop to Euro676m from Euro683m year-on-year, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation down from by 65% from Euro78.9m in 2010 to just Euro26.9m. The group's revenue was also down marginally, to Euro690.8m, a drop of just 0.2%.

The Spanish construction market remains in the doldrums amid the continued Eurozone debt crisis, drastically reducing demand for gypsum, insulation and the other building materials that Uralita produces.

Pakistan/India: The price of gypsum has increased by about US$1.50/t for local consumers after the opening of Wagha border, because mine contactors are exporting gypsum to neighbouring India in massive quantities. Industry sources said that if exports of gypsum continued unchecked the local cement manufacturers, who are the major users of this commodity, will suffer the most due to its constant hike in rates, which may impact the price of cement.

In India the price change has been in the opposite direction and more pronounced, with prices falling from US$35/t to US$24/t on a glut in supply.

An official of the Pakistani Punjab Mines & Minerals Department, on the condition that his name not to be mentioned, questioned the prudence of allowing raw gypsum exports. "We are monitoring export of gypsum and trying to approach the cement industry, which is the biggest user of this mine. In several meetings with the representatives of the cement industry we have raised the issue of unregulated gypsum exports to India through the Wahga border route," the official said.

In the 2010-2011 financial year, which ended on 30 June 2012, Pakistan produced around 0.68Mt of gypsum, with its part of Punjab producing 0.49Mt of the total.

US: In one of the most important steps in the saga over allegedly-tainted Chinese-made wallboard, attorneys have announced that a US$13m settlement has been reached between homeowners in Virginia, whose properties were built with the product and some of the companies they sued.

The settlement involves companies that imported and sold the wallboard as well as numerous other firms involved in the cases and around 200 local homeowners.

Federal product-safety regulators have found that the wallboard emits gases that corrode metal in homes and recommended that such wallboard be removed, although the legal battle over who will pay to fix the properties is now in its 38th month. Many homeowners have already abandoned their properties or lost them through foreclosure or bankruptcy. Others have sold their homes, sometimes for less than half of what they paid.

In July 2012 the settlement will go before a federal judge in New Orleans for a preliminary approval, with a final approval possible by 13 November 2012.

India: The Revenue Department of India has imposed an antidumping duty of up to US$51.7/m3 on the import of certain type of gypsum boards from China, Indonesia, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates in order to protect domestic players from cheaper shipments.The duty will remain in force for six months.

The restrictive duty was levied after it was recommended by the Directorate General of Antidumping and Allied Duties (DGAD). In its probe the DGAD had concluded that, "the product had been exported to India from the subject countries below associated normal values and the domestic industry had suffered material injury."

The DGAD conducted the probe after a complaint from Saint-Gobain Gyproc India which accounts for about 80% of the domestic production of India's gypsum boards.

During January-December 2010 (the investigation period) imports from the four countries had increased by 194% per cent compared to 2007-08. India has initiated 275 anti-dumping investigations between 1992 and March 2012, involving over imports from more than 40 countries.

China: Beijing New Building Materials has announced plans to build three gypsum board lines in Tianjin, Quanzhou of Fujian province and Liaocheng of Shandong province with a total investment of over US$62.9m.

The Tianjin project is a 50Mm2 plasterboard production line. Products from the project will be sold to Tianjin, Beijing, Tangshan, Qinhuangdao, Cangzhou, Dalian and overseas markets. The company plans to set up a wholly owned subsidiary with a planned registered capital of US$7.9m in Tianjin to run the project, which will also include a steel plant. The Quanzhou project will be a 30Mm2 plasterboard production line using FGD gypsum. Products will be sold to Fujian, eastern Guangdong and Taiwan.