Market and Masterplast Set Up a Joint Company

Masterplast Plc. and Market Építő Plc. have announced on the website of the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) on Friday that they have established a joint venture to develop and manufacture new building materials for Master Plaster and Master Builder Construction.

The two companies had a strategic cooperation agreement on the establishment of Budapest-based MIP Alapanyaggyártó Plc., and their stake in the new company is 50-50%.

The owners are organizing their thermal insulation material factory construction activities into the new company, which they have justified by domestic and regional market needs. According to the announcement, their plant in Halmajugra, Heves county, with an annual capacity of 35,000 tons, will be completed by the first half of 2025 at a cost of EUR 49 million (almost HUF 18 billion).

The cooperation agreement and the investments were announced at the end of 2022, and the plant will also be built in Serbia, according to the information. Tibor Dávid, Masterplast's president, said at the time that they expect a significant demand due to persistently high energy prices, and that 80% of the domestic building stock is poorly insulated anyway.

Masterplast, founded in 1997, has subsidiaries in ten countries and sells in a further 30. The company posted sales of EUR 191.5 million in 2021 and almost EUR 201.8 million (HUF 74 billion) in 2022, with after-tax profit falling from EUR 16 million in 2021 to EUR 15.7 million (HUF 5.8 billion) in 2022. Its shares are traded in the premium category on BSE, closing at HUF 2455 on Friday, and ranging between HUF 2,250 and HUF 4,440 in a year.

Market Építő Plc. was founded in 1996 and carries out nearly 40 projects a year, covering the entire spectrum of building construction. The company is listed on the BSE with corporate bonds. According to its published report, it closed 2021 with revenues of almost HUF 290 billion and 2022 with revenues of more than HUF 306 billion. Its profit after tax fell from HUF 36.5 billion to below HUF 35 billion.