Steppe Cement posts first half loss, Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan-based cement producer Steppe Cement Ltd posted a consolidated loss after tax of US$0.1m for the six months ended 30 June 2012.

Revenue six months ended June 30 were US$52.16m (2011: $43.06m) while pretax profit was US$391,000 (2011 loss: US$2.84m).

The company’s sales volumes increased by two per cent to 615,838t and the average sales price increased from USD72/t to USD86/t during the period.
 
Production costs per tonne increased by 11 per cent in US dollar terms. The hike was due to higher electricity, transportation and coal costs partly offset by productivity increases, the company said.

Steppe Cement also noted that the Kazakhstan cement market increased by 16 per cent during the first half of the year. It expects consumption to reach 6.8Mt for the full year 2012, an increase of 9.7 per cent compared to the 6.2Mt in 2011. Prices are expected to increase in the 2H12 when compared to the 1H of 2012.

Overall local production has increased by 20 per cent in the first half of 2012 compared to 2011 while the share of the imported cement decreased from 17 per cent to 14 per cent.

Steppe Cement’s market share decreased from 21% in 1H2011 to 19% in 1H2012 but Steppe Cement expects it to be around 20% for the full year 2012.