Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement sales down as demand tumbles

Steppe Cement has seen sales and revenue fall in the first quarter of 2016 as the company predicts that demand in Kazakhstan will be 11 per cent lower this year than it was in 2015.

According to a report from DigitalLook, Steppe Cement’s volumes were down one per cent YoY in Q1 2016, falling to 190,953 tonnes. Revenues fared worse, falling by 12 per cent to KZT2.3bn (US$6.8m) over earnings in the same period last year. Ex-factory prices have declined by 13 per cent. 

Despite this, Steppe said that its market share rose two per cent to 16 per cent in Q1 2016. However, the company remains pessimistic about the market in general, predicting that demand this year will be 8.5Mt, down from 9.6Mt in 2015.