Steppe Cement Ltd preliminary update to 31 December 2015

Steppe Cement Ltd recorded revenue for the year ended 31 December 2015 of KZT19,537m (US$54m), which was seven per cent lower than the KZT20,925m recorded in the corresponding period of 2014.

Sales volumes reached 1.6Mt, an improvement of two per cent YoY. The average price (ex-VAT) for delivered cement was KZT11,890/t in 2015, an eight per cent decrease compared with KZT12,975/t in 2014, mostly due to price pressure from Russian imports until the KZT devaluation in August 2015. For 2015, the average ex-factory price stood at KZT10,176/t (six per cent less than 2014) representing US$49/t based on 2015's average exchange rate for revenue.

Kazakhstan market update
In 2015 the cement market consumption in Kazakhstan is estimated to have increased to 9.5Mt, an 11 per cent growth over 2014. Steppe Cement's market share decreased from 19 per cent in 2014 to 17.3 per cent in 2015. During 2015 Kazakhstan imported 1.2Mt of cement (versus 1.1Mt in 2014) and exported 0.1Mt (versus 0.5Mt in 2014).

The full results and audited accounts denominated in US$ are expected to be published in April 2016.