Steppe Cement shares surge after strong Q1 growth

(Sharecast News) - Shares in Steppe Cement surged on Tuesday after the Kazakhstani cement manufacturer announced a big jump in sales in the first quarter and a healthy increase in market share. For the three months to 31 March, Steppe sold 276,217 tonnes of comment for KZT6.47bn ($12.7m), compared with 175,383 tonnes for KAZT3.79bn ($8.4m) the year before.

This represents a 57% jump in volumes and a 71% increase in revenues generated in Kazakhstani tenge.

The strong start to the year saw its share of the market grow to 13.5%, up from 11.5% a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the average price per tonne for delivered cement was KZT23,404, up 9% on the year before.

Production of clinker - the solid, lumpy material produced in the cement manufacturing process - was 14% higher than the previous year in the first quarter, meaning Steppe is "well positioned to take advantage of the traditionally busier summer months", it said.

However, looking ahead, the company maintained a "conservative" outlook for the rest of 2025: "Despite significant growth in the first quarter, rising inflation and global developments may have a considerable impact on the investment climate in Kazakhstan's construction sector. The company currently estimates Kazakhstan's cement market demand for 2025 to be approximately 12 million tonnes, similar to 2024."

Steppe's share price was up 14.3% at 16p in afternoon trade in London.