Steppe Cement 1H18 volumes rise by 14%

In the 1H18 Steppe Cement Ltd sold 738,228t of cement for KZT10,539m (US$30.7m), compared with 650,333t of cement for KZT8553m in 1H17. This represents an increase of 14 per cent in volume and an increase of 23 per cent in turnover over the same period in 2017.

The average price for the current period for delivered cement was KZT14,276/t (ex VAT), compared with KZT13,151/t in the corresponding period of 2017. The ex-factory price for the current period was KZT11,560/t, compared with KZT11,147/t in the corresponding period of 2017.

The cement market in Kazakhstan expanded by seven per cent during the 1H18 compared with the same period last year, reports Steppe Cement. Steppe Cement's local market share increased to 16 per cent in the 1H18 from 15 per cent in the same period of 2017. In addition, the cement producer exported 12 per cent of its sales compared with 11 per cent in 2017,

However, overall cement shipments from local companies increased 15 per cent compared with 2017, imports (representing eight per cent of the local market) increased by 30 per cent and exports more than doubled again from 450,000t to 900,000t, due to favourable regional exchange rates.

Steppe Cement currently estimates Kazakhstan's cement consumption at 9.4Mt for 2018.