Steppe Cement sees 16% hike in revenue in 2021

Kazakh cement producer Steppe Cement saw its revenue increase 16 per cent to KZT36.02bn (US$82.7m) in 2021 as it sold 1,688,544t of cement, up from the 1,645,744t reported in 2020. The company’s domestic market share was 13.9 per cent. Exports fell by 57.2 per cent to 86,500t from 202,000t in 2020.

In addition to increased sales volumes, the company was also able to benefit from a 13 per cent increase in average prices (ex-VAT) for delivered cement. In 2021 the average price was KZT21,332/t, up from KZR18,811t/t in the previous year. The average ex-factory price increased from KZT15,760/t in 2020 to KZT18,134/t.

In 2021 cement consumption in Kazakhstan increased 23 per cent YoY to 11.6Mt from 9.4Mt in 2020 as the government changed the withdrawal policy for pension funds enabling people to allocate money from their pension funds to property or health.

To support the domestic market, the country imported 0.8Mt of cement in 2021, up from 0.6Mt in 2020. Kazakh producers exported 1.6Mt of cement, down from 2Mt in 2020.