Saudi Arabia: National Gypsum Company’s sales amounted to US$13.8m in 2023, down by 5.5% year-on-year from US$14.6m in 2022. Reuters has reported that the company’s cost of sales dropped by 8% year-on-year. Nonetheless, it recorded a net profit of US$1.36m, against a US$1.71m loss in 2022.

France: Saint-Gobain Placo has launched Glasroc X 13, a ‘three-in-one’ gypsum wallboard for use in façades and exterior shells for wood-frame structures. The producer says that the board embodies three key benefits for wooden construction applications: fire protection, weather resistance and stability. It can be left uncovered for up to six months before cladding, and is available in 1200mm or 1250mm widths.

Turkmenistan: Ak Bulut despatched its first shipment of gypsum wallboard to Georgia on 2 April 2024. Trend News has reported that Ak Bulut says that the market entry signals the innovation of the Turkmen building materials sector. The producer commissioned its 4Mm²/yr Dostluk gypsum wallboard plant in December 2023.

China: Beijing New Building Materials’ (BNBM) operating revenue increased by 11% year-on-year to US$3.10bn in 2023 from US$2.79bn in 2022. Its net profit rose by 32% to US$483m from US$367m. Its sales volumes of gypsum wallboard rose by 4% to 2.17Bnm² from 2.09Bnm². This compares to total national sales of 3.21Bnm2. The company is the largest seller of wallboard in China.

The subsidiary of CNBM reported that the country has a wallboard production capacity of 4.95Bnm²/yr, using data from Gypsum Building Materials Branch of the China Building Materials Federation, although 280Mm²/yr of this is classified as ‘backward and uncompetitive.’ It also added that the National Development and Reform Commission proposed in February 2024 that China phase out wallboard production lines with a capacity below 10Mm²/yr as part of the country’s plans to become net zero by 2060.