Steppe Cement reported a first-half profit after tax of US$9m, reversing a US$0.5m loss in the same period of 2025, as higher cement prices and improved operating performance strengthened margins.
The results of the Kazakhstan-based Malaysian-headquartered company, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, provide additional financial detail following the company’s July trading update, previously reported by CemNet. Operating profit increased from approximately US$10,000 to US$11.8m, while the gross margin rose from 21 to 34 per cent. Operating cash flow advanced from US$2.2m to US$9.6m.
Steppe Cement held cash of US$18.8m and net cash of US$16.7m at the end of June. The company is consequently financing its US$35m project to expand production capacity to 2.5Mta from cash flow, rather than using the debt funding originally envisaged.
Construction work is progressing, with more than 250 workers on site. Commissioning remains scheduled for summer 2027 and will require a three-month shutdown of Line 6.
The producer has also agreed to invest up to US$10m in best available technologies between 2025 and 2035. These measures are expected to reduce environmental taxes by US$1.5m annually. A clay-crusher bag filter has already been commissioned, while the Line 6 back-end filter is due for completion in October.
