LONDON (Alliance News) - Kazakh construction material producer Steppe Cement Ltd Tuesday said it sold more cement in the first-half of 2015 as prices fell by almost a tenth, but the company said cement prices have recently improved in the second-half as the market continues to recover.
Steppe sold 717,654 tonnes of cement in the first-half, a 1% rise from the 709,459 tonnes sold a year earlier. However cement prices were down 9% in the period to KZT8,277 per tonne from KZT9,125 per tonne.
"The market reduction in selling price was driven by the unfavourable rouble exchange rate against the Kazakh tenge. Kazakh cement manufacturers reacted by cutting their prices aggressively to fence out imports," said the company.
"The situation has improved in June and July 2015 allowing price increases. Pricing in the second half will be influenced by the rouble/Kazakh Tenge exchange rate and the cement market evolution," it added.
Since the start of the second-half of 2015, Steppe said it has achieved an average price of KZT11,533 per tonne, which is a large rise from the first half but still down from KZT12,862 per tonne in the second half of 2016.
The ex-factory price in the current period lies around KZT9,665 per tonne, which is also down from KZT10,797 per tonne a year earlier.
"The Kazakhstan cement market continued to recover in 2015, driven by public infrastructure. The cement volume sold in Kazakhstan increased by 10% during the first half of 2015 compared to the same period last year. Over the same period Steppe Cement's market share fell to 17% from 19% in the same period of 2014," said Steppe.
Steppe said it expects to recover its lost market share "in the coming months".
Steppe shares were untraded on Tuesday, last trading at 23.00 pence per share.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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Steppe Cement (STCM)