KAZAKHSTAN: Steppe Cement Revenue Falls As Lower Prices Offset Sales Rise

Steppe Cement Ltd Tuesday said revenue in the first nine months of 2015 fell 4% year-on-year as increased sales were offset by lower cement prices.

The cement maker in Kazakhstan said revenue in the third quarter of 2015 experienced a small rise to KZT7.77 billion from KZT7.65 billion a year previously. That brought revenue for the first nine months of 2015 to KZT16.04 billion, down 4% year-on-year from KZT16.77 billion.

That revenue fell in the first nine months as the 4% year-on-year rise in sales volumes to 1.34 million tonnes from 1.29 million tonnes of cement was offset by average sale prices dropping to KZT11,905 per tonne of cement from KZT12,987 per tonne a year earlier.

For the first 9 months of 2015, the cement market in Kazakhstan increased by 14% compared to the corresponding period in 2014, while imports remained unchanged at 13% of the total consumption, said the company.

"Steppe Cement revises upwards its estimate of the cement market for 2015 to 9.5 million tonnes, with Steppe Cement's market share at 18%," it said.

An Alliance News calculation based on those figures shows that Steppe Cement's market share means it will sell just over 1.7 million tonnes in 2015.

Steppe shares were untraded on Tuesday morning at 17.50 pence.

KAZAKHSTAN: VICAT : Start-up of Production at the Jambyl Cement Plant

The Vicat group (Paris:VCT) is announcing that the Jambyl Cement greenfield plant in Kazakhstan has now entered the production phase in line with the original schedule. With a full-year production capacity of over 1.1 million tonnes, this new cement plant will enable the Group to capitalise on the tremendous potential and growth of Kazakhstan, a net importer of cement.

This efficient and modern facility boasts a geostrategic location that enables it to already meet demand generated by Kazakhstan's major growth regions. It is directly linked to the rail and road networks between the two major cities of Astana and Almaty, and can hence serve the country's leading economic and political centres.

Guy Sidos, Chief Executive Officer of the Vicat group commented: 

?The start-up of production at the Jambyl Cement plant is a technical success that has come at a perfect time to help meet Kazakhstan's growing needs for cement. This success has been built on a productive partnership with HomeBroker, our Kazakh partner, and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group.?

ABOUT THE GREENFIELD JAMBYL CEMENT PLANT 

The plant possesses limestone and clay reserves sufficient for more than 100 years and will produce cement using the dry process. This technology gives it a double competitive advantage:

the energy-efficient production line will consume less than half the energy per tonne of cement of plants using the wet process.

it is environmentally friendly, complying fully with all the Kazakh and international environmental and safety standards.

Alongside this industrial project, the Vicat group has developed a social project, including the creation of numerous direct and indirect jobs, an intensive and continuous training policy and the integration of employees from the neighbouring village of Mynaral.

ABOUT VICAT 

The Vicat Group has nearly 6,700 employees working in three core divisions, Cement, Concrete & Aggregates and Other Products & Services, which generated consolidated sales of €1,896 million in 2009.

The Group operates in eleven countries: France, Switzerland, Italy, the United States, Turkey, Egypt, Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Kazakhstan and India. Nearly 56% of sales are generated outside France.

The Vicat Group is the heir to an industrial tradition dating back to 1817, when Louis Vicat invented artificial cement. Founded in 1853, the Vicat Group now operates three core lines of business: Cement,Ready-Mixed Concrete and Aggregates, as well as related activities.