Displaying items by tag: Steppe Cement

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement narrowed its losses in the first half of 2025 as higher sales volumes and stronger margins offset rising energy costs and inflationary pressures, according to Sharecast. The company reported revenue of US$40.9m for the six months ending 30 June 2025, up by 19% from US$34.4m in 2024, driven by an 18% increase in sales volumes to 850,000t. Net loss fell sharply from US$3.5m to US$0.5m in 2024.

The producer said that production costs remained flat in tenge terms despite higher electricity, diesel and consumable prices. Clinker output rose by 4% in the first six months and remains on track for 8% growth in 2025. The producer has reportedly invested in ecological compliance measures, including new filters, and commissioned a dynamic separator for its third raw mill. It is also exploring ways to boost clinker capacity at its Line 6 and optimise its wider asset base.

Kazakhstan’s cement market grew by 19% in the first half of 2025, supported by favourable weather, economic growth, infrastructure spending, population increases and subsidised mortgage lending. However, Steppe expects growth to slow in the second half of 2025. The company aims to maintain its domestic market share at around 14% for the full year, with total volumes between 1.8Mt and 1.85Mt. Exports fell from 0.45Mt to 0.4Mt in the same period of 2024, while imports increased to 7.7% of the market amid higher supply from Uzbekistan. Steppe Cement reported clinker and cement inventories valued at US$7.3m.

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement reported a net profit of US$1m for the year ending 31 December 2024, down by 78% from US$4.5m in 2023, due to rising input costs, particularly a 42% increase in electricity tariffs and a one-off VAT charge. Sales rose by 4% to US$84.9m, while earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell to US$7.5m from US$12.4m in 2023. The producer retained a 14.5% market share in a growing national cement market, where consumption increased t 11.9Mt, from 11.3Mt in 2023. A completed upgrade to Line 6 raised clinker output to 1.47Mt.

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement sold 0.28Mt of cement and generated US$12.5m in the first quarter of 2025, up by 57% in volume and 71% in revenue year-on-year. Clinker production rose by 14%, positioning the company ‘favourably’ for the upcoming busier summer months.

Kazakhstan’s cement sales rose by 20% to 2.03Mt in the quarter, while exports fell by 5% and imports, particularly from Uzbekistan and Russia, rose to account for 9% of the market.

Steppe Cement maintained a conservative outlook for the rest of 2025, citing rising inflation and ‘global developments’ as potential challenges, but expects market demand to remain around 12Mt, similar to 2024.

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement has published its nine-month trading update for 2024, showing a drop in sales of 2% year-on-year in nine months up to 30 September 2024, to US$63m. Sales volumes remained level year-on-year at 1.34Mt. Regulatory News Service has reported that Steppe Cement attributed medium-term increases in production and the stabilisation of costs to capacity expansions and other capital expenditure investments since 2022. Nine-month domestic cement consumption was 9.1Mt, in line with nine-month 2023 levels. Imports accounted for 319,000t (4%) of total consumption. Meanwhile, exports totalled 720,000t.

Regarding results for the third quarter of 2024, CEO Javier del Ser Perez said "We recovered both volumes and pricing in the third quarter of 2024, following a price adjustment in the second quarter. While competition remains strong, our plant has continued to enhance its capacity and productivity, enabling us to offset the impact of past inflation. We remain focused on driving higher volumes and cash generation.”

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement has reported a loss of US$4.4m in the first half of 2024 compared to a profit of US$61,000 in 2023. The company, which operates two cement production facilities in Kazakhstan, saw its revenue fall by 7% to US$34.4m, down from US$36.9m, reportedly due to a 4% reduction in sales volume and higher electricity and maintenance costs.

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement reported on 12 July 2024 that its revenue in the first half of 2024 was impacted by lower average cement prices. In the first six months of 2024, sales of cement fell 4% to 0.72Mt from 0.75Mt in 2023. The company generated sales of US$32.4m, down 9.6% from US$36bn in 2023. During the first half of 2024, the cement market in Kazakhstan declined by 1.6% year-on-year from 2023, with much of the decline concentrated in the first quarter. Overall demand in the Kazakh cement market was 11Mt in 2023, and is expected to be similar in 2024. Looking ahead, the company anticipates further growth and increased sales in 2024.

A spokesperson for Steppe said "The cost of transport and some utilities, particularly electricity, have significantly increased year-on-year. However, sales focus in local markets, better production levels and higher productivity have partially compensated for these increased costs."

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement saw a notable decrease in net profit to US$4.5m in 2023, down from US$17.9m in 2022. The company also reported a decrease in revenue to US$81.8m from US$86.7m in 2022, largely due to competitive pressures and logistical challenges, that affected exports. Despite these hurdles, domestic sales grew by 4%, though exports nearly ceased, reflecting the new capacities in neighbouring Uzbekistan which have driven down prices and diminished profits from exports.

The country's cement market contracted slightly to 11.5Mt in 2023, with per capita consumption settling at 575kg. The local cement industry has balanced demand and production, but seasonal fluctuations continue to affect the market, particularly in northern regions. Production costs increased by US$8m and the company has responded by increasing capacity by 0.1Mt with a US$3.1m capital expenditure aimed to enhance efficiency at its facilities. Looking ahead to 2024, an additional US$2.4m is earmarked for further improvements.

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement sold 175,383t of cement for US$8.5m in the first quarter of 2024, down from 214,832t for US$11m in the first quarter of 2023. This represents a year-on-year decline of 18% in volume and 23% in value. Despite the decrease in sales, its production of clinker grew by 25% year-on-year.

Cement sales in Kazakhstan declined by 12% to 1.69Mt in the first quarter of 2024. Exports fell by 6%, mainly due to reduced exports to Uzbekistan. Imports remained level at 4% of domestic demand, with the majority coming from Russia. Steppe Cement anticipates a total market demand of approximately 11Mt in Kazakhstan for 2024, a 5% year-on-year decrease. Rising transport costs and an increased proportion of shipments to southern Kazakhstan resulted in low margins, according to the company.

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement reported US$82.5m in sales in 2023, down by 7.2% year-on-year from US$89m in 2022. The company attributed this to a decline in sales, to 1.6Mt in 2023. It said that it commanded a 14% local market share for the year.

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement reported sales of US$65.2m during the first nine months of 2023. This corresponds to a year-on-year decline of 4.8% from US$68.5m in the corresponding period of 2022. Steppe Cement forecast a year-on-year decline in its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in full-year 2023 from US$30.9m in 2022, due partly to the impact of inflation on costs, including energy costs.

CEO Javier del Ser Perez said "Despite a slightly smaller domestic cement market so far in 2023, we remain confident that the company will continue to deliver strong sales figures going forward."