Steppe Cement sales fall, Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan-based Steppe Cement said Tuesday that in the first quarter ended March 31 it sold 170,080t  of cement for KZT1,953m, compared with 187,404t for KZT1722m in the first quarter of 2011, a fall of nine per cent and an increase of 13 per cent, respectively.

The company noted that total first-quarter 2012 domestic consumption in Kazakhstan increased nine per cent YoY.

The average cement price in the current quarter for delivered cement was KZT11,483/t (ex VAT) compared with KZT9188/t in the corresponding quarter of 2011, an increase of 25%. The ex-factory price for the current quarter stood at KZT 9,172/t (US$62/t), an increase of 25% over the same period in the previous year.

Steppe Cement market share during the quarter fell to 18 per cent compared wtih 20 per cent in the whole of 2011.