Steppe Cement sold 0.74 million t of cement in the first half of the year, a 14% increase on the same period in 2017. Sales revenues were up 23% year on year.
Overall, the cement market in Kazakhstan increased 7% in 1H18. Domestic producers increased shipments by 15% and also benefitted from a more than doubling of exports, which came on the back of favourable exchange rates.
Imports – which represent 8% of the market – also rose by 30%. Steppe Cement currently estimates the country’s cement consumption will be 9.4 million t in 2018.
Steppe Cement’s local market share increased slightly over the first six months of the year from 15% in 1H17 to 16%. It also exported a slightly larger proportion of its sales.