Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement’s turnover rose by 23% year-on-year to US$30.8m in the first half of 2018 from US$25m in the same period in 2017. Its cement sales volumes rose by 14% to 0.74Mt from 0.65Mt. The company said that the cement market in Kazakhstan increased by 7% during the first half of 2018. However, overall cement shipments from local companies increased by 15%, imports rose by 30% and exports doubled to 0.9Mt from 0.45Mt. Steppe Cement's local market share increased slightly to 16% in the first half of 2018 from 15% in the same period of 2017 and it exported 12% of its sales compared with 11% in 2017. The company estimates that local cement consumption will reach 9.4Mt in 2018.
