Steppe Cement struggles with muted Kazakh cement market

(ShareCast News) - Steppe Cement struggled with a depressed Kazakh cement market in the first quarter of 2016, with both sales volumes and income down.The AIM-traded company sold 190,935 tonnes of cement for KZT 2.004m, compared to 192,884 tonnes for KZT 2.277m in the first quarter of 2015, representing a decrease in volume of 1% and a 12% drop in value.Steppe said the cement market in Kazakhstan during the first quarter decreased by 16% overall compared to last year, although the market reduction slowed in March. Its own market share decreased to 14% from 16% year-on-year."The company estimates Kazakhstan's cement market will reduce to 8.5 million tonnes in 2016 from 9.6 million tonnes in 2015," its board said in a statement.Steppe's average price for the quarter was KZT 10.494 per tonne compared with KZT 11,804 per tonne a year prior. The ex-factory price stood at KZT 8,689 per tonne, against KZT 9,956 in the first quarter of 2015.