Steppe Cement sales up in first quarter

Steppe Cement updated the market on its first quarter on Thursday, reporting that it sold 197,179 tonnes of cement for KZT 2.31bn, compared to 124,669 tonnes of cement for KZT 1.53bn in the first quarter of 2017, representing an increase of 58% and 51% respectively.

The AIM-traded firm said the cement market in Kazakhstan during the three months to 31 March increased 12% over last year.

It managed to increase its market share to 14% in the first quarter, from 10% at the same time last year.

The average price for the current quarter for delivered cement was KZT 11,732 per tonne, excluding VAT, compared with KZT 12,257 in the first quarter of 2017, a decrease of 4%.

Steppe said the ex-factory price for the current quarter stood at KZT 8,304 per tonne, down 21% from KZT 10,500 per tonne.

The decrease was put down to increased sales in markets further from the factory, and the maintenance of a bigger fleet of wagons during the winter in preparation for the summer months.

“The company estimates Kazakhstan's cement market demand will increase to 9.2 million tonnes in 2018 from nine million tonnes in 2017,” the board said in its statement.

“Exports from Kazakhstan have more than doubled in the first quarter and will continue to increase during the rest of the year.”