Steppe Cement announced that its 2Q17 revenue of KZT9312m (US$27.7m) was 27 per cent higher than the KZT7316m achieved in the corresponding quarter in 2016.

Sales volumes reached 685,745t during the third quarter, a 12 per cent increase from the 3Q16 due to good clinker output and stock availability.

For the nine months ended 30 September 2017, Steppe Cement Ltd recorded a revenue of KZT17,865m compared with KZT15,506m in the corresponding nine-month period in 2016, representing a 15 per cent increase. The sales volume during this period decreased by three per cent to 1,336,078t from 1,371,024t in the corresponding nine-month period in 2016.

The average price (ex-VAT) for delivered cement was KZT13,372/t in the first nine months compared with KZT11,310/t in the corresponding period in 2016. The ex-factory price stood at KZT11,198/t, an increase of 18 per cent over KZT9,451 in 9M16.

For the first nine months of 2017, total cement sales in the Kazakh cement market remained as in 2016 at 7.3Mt. Imports increased from five to seven per cent of total consumption and exports from Kazakhstan more than doubled to 0.7Mt. Steppe Cement maintains its estimate of the cement market for 2017 at 9Mt, with Steppe Cement's market share at 17 per cent.