Steppe Cement struggles with exchange rate in first half

Steppe Cement posted its interim results for the six months to 30 June on Tuesday, with a consolidated loss after tax of $1.5m.

The AIM-traded firm sold 761,771 tonnes of cement during the period, up 6% on the same time last year.

Consolidated turnover dropped 1% in Kazakh tenge, however, to KZT 8.19bn.

In US dollars, consolidated turnover was down 47% after currency fluctuations to $23.7m, with Steppe reporting a loss per share of 0.7 cents, slightly narrower than the one cent loss per share in the first half of 2015.

Exchange rates played a major role in the poor result, with the average exchange being KZT 345 per $1 during the six months to 30 June, compared to KZT 185 per $1 average a year ago.