Steppe revenues grow as Kazakh cement prices rise

Kazakh cement company Steppe Cement reported third quarter revenue of KZT 12.05bn (£21m) on Friday, which was 8% higher year-on-year.

The AIM-traded firm said that for the nine months ended 30 September, it recorded revenue of KZT 28.81bn which was a 16% increase over the first three quarters of 2020.

Sales volumes of 535,200 tonnes were achieved during the third quarter, down 4% year-on-year, which the board put down to the company prioritising price over volume in the period.

For the first nine months of 2021, its sales volume was up 4% to 1,375,464 tonnes.

The average price for delivered cement was KZT 20,947 per tonne in the first nine months, compared to KZT 18,841 per tonne last year.

For the first three quarters of 2021, the ex-factory price stood at KZT17,930 per tonne, which was an increase of 13% over KZT 15,919 in 2020.

“For the first nine months of 2020, the cement market in Kazakhstan was 9.2 million tonnes, which was 24% higher than in 2020,” the board said in its statement.

“Imports stood at 7% of total consumption, similar to 2020.”

Steppe said exports from Kazakhstan totalled 1.4 million tonnes.

“Current estimate of the cement market for 2021 is 11.3 million tonnes, or 24% above 2020, with Steppe Cement's market share at 14%.”

At 0951 BST, shares in Steppe Cement were up 4.58% at 44.97p.