Oman: The country exported 8.07Mt of gypsum from January 2024 to August 2024, according to data from Zawawi Minerals. Oman exported 11.2Mt in 2023, up by 11% year-on-year from 9.9Mt in 2022.

US: GMS recorded first-quarter sales of US$1.4bn in the 2025 financial year, which began on 1 April 2024. This corresponds to a 3% year-on-year rise from first-quarter 2024 financial year levels. Group adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 16% to US$146m. During the reporting period, GMS increased its gypsum wallboard sales by 3%, to US$588m. It reported an overall rise in sales volumes, buoyed by 4% growth in single-family residential construction, offsetting declines in multi-family residential and commercial construction. President and CEO John Turner nonetheless announced a new US$25m/yr costs reduction programme, due to on-going ‘market pressures.’

Turner said "We continued to focus on the execution of our strategic pillars and adapting to shifting end-market demand, and are managing costs more firmly across the business. We believe the market pressures we faced this quarter will likely persist over the next several quarters, at least until the expected reduction in interest rates can positively impact demand for our products.”

Europe: Etex has reported a solid financial performance aligned with its 2024 forecasts, despite experiencing market contractions across Europe in the new build and renovation sectors. Revenue fell 4.2% year-on-year to €1.93bn, with a recurring earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (REBITDA) decrease of 5% year-on-year to €377m. The company’s outlook for the rest of 2024 is a careful and regular evaluation in response to the current volatile market situation.

New Zealand: Winstone Wallboards’ parent company Fletcher Building says that it will ‘vigorously defend’ against charges by the New Zealand Commerce Commission of alleged anti-competitive customer rebates between 2017 and 2022. RNZ News has reported that rebates of the type allegedly deployed by Winstone Wallboards are ‘common’ competitive manoeuvres in the sector. The Commerce Commission says that it will file an action before the end of October 2024.