Displaying items by tag: Steppe Cement

Kazakhstan: According to Dow Jones, Steppe Cement said that it sold more cement, but at a lower price, in the first half of 2015 due to the unfavourable exchange rate between the Kazakhstan Tenge and the Russian Ruble. The company sold 717,654t of cement for US$44.4m in the first half of 2015, compared to 709,459t of cement for US$48.9m in the same period of 2014.

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement's Malcolm Brown will retire as the non-executive chairman on 28 May 2015 due to health reasons. He does not intend to stand for re-election in the forthcoming AGM. He has served on the board for more than six years, since December 2008 and is a member of the audit and remuneration committees. Brown remains as a shareholder of Steppe Cement. The company is currently searching for an appropriate candidate to replace Brown.

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement Ltd has swung to a large pre-tax loss for 2014. The company said that its results were affected by the depreciation of the country's currency, the devaluation of the Russian Ruble and lower oil prices.

For the year ended on 31 December 2014, Steppe Cement reported a pre-tax loss of US$8.1m, compared with a pre-tax profit of US$13m in 2013, on revenues of US$117m and US$128m, respectively. Steppe Cement produced 1.6Mt of cement in 2014, up by 18% from the year ago period. It expects the overall Kazakh market demand for cement in 2015 to increase by 3% to 8.8Mt.

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement produced 1.61Mt of cement in 2014, up by 18% from 1.37Mt in 2013. Its revenue was US$114m in 2014, up by 7% from US$106m in 2013.

In 2014, cement consumption in Kazakhstan was estimated to have increased to 8.5Mt, 4% higher than in 2013. Steppe Cement's market share increased from 17% in 2013 to 19% in 2014, broadly in line with its expectations. Kazakhstan imported 1.1Mt, a 26% fall on 2013, while exports amounted to 500,000t, 150% higher than in 2013.

Devaluation of the Kazakh Tenge combined with reduced cement prices helped local cement producers to gain market share. Steppe Cement's margins fell due to lower cement prices, the devalued Tenge and inflation. However, some of the cost increases should be compensated by the reduced operating costs of the plant's Line 5 following upgrades to increase its capacity.