Steppe Cement rises on third quarter growth

Steppe Cement updated the market on its third quarter performance on Friday, reporting revenue of KZT 13.07bn (£25m) - 9% higher year-on-year.

The AIM-traded firm said that for the nine months ended 30 September, it recorded revenue of KZT 32.65bn, making for a 13% increase.

Sales volumes reached 546,357 tonnes in the quarter, up 2%, while it decreased 1% for the first nine months of the year, to 1,362,407 tonnes.

The company reported an average ex-VAT price for delivered cement of KZT 23,965 per tonne in the first nine months, up from KZT 20,947 at the same time last year.

For the same period, the ex-factory price stood at KZT 21,023 per tonne, an increase of 17% over KZT 17,930 in 2021.

Steppe said the cement market in Kazakhstan totalled 9.4 million tonnes in the first three quarters, 2% higher than in 2021.

Imports decreased to 6% from 7% of total consumption year-on-year, while exports from Kazakhstan came in at 0.85 million tonnes.

The current estimate of the cement market for 2022 was 11.8 million tonnes, or 2% above 2021, with Steppe Cement's market share at 15%.

At 0922 BST, shares in Steppe Cement were up 2.54% at 32.3p.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.