Steppe Cement Share Discussion Threads

[eggbaconandbubble] 25/10/2023 19:47

7.00am! I will have run a couple of back to back marathons by then!!!

[andydaf] 25/10/2023 19:11

I do not expect a dividend announcement until middle of november when they know exactly what they can afford to pay.At the agm they were at pains to state that they did not want to borrow at todays interest rates.I am hoping for 2.5p myself but time will tell.With that said with my track record of predictions this year i had better get up at seven in the morning and look out for a dividend rns!GLA

[hairflick] 24/10/2023 20:12

Last year was as inconsistent as it gets with the extended delay in determining how and if the dividend could be paid out with tax considerations. Previous years to that saw more than one dividend paid out in a year so I’m damned if I can see any consistency.

[wilo101] 24/10/2023 10:51

will be about the same date as last year, company is always consistent

[zangdook] 24/10/2023 10:43

They do have a consistent history of being late with announcements.

[eggbaconandbubble] 24/10/2023 09:22

Maybe, just maybe they are holding out on the divi announcement to be sure that they are able to give a better divi than expected.

Ever the optimist!!!

[aleman] 24/10/2023 08:28

Cement Production in Kazakhstan decreased to 1235.20 Thousands of Tonnes in September from 1326 Thousands of Tonnes in August of 2023.

That's a strong number for September, well above 2022 but slightly shy of 2021's record. It's the third consecutive month of annual rises and looking like there could be a monthly record soon, weather permitting.

The recent national Kazakh cement trend is looking strong. Where's that dividend news?

[aleman] 18/10/2023 10:08

Big jump in Kazahstan industrial output in September. Last winter's slowdown looks long gone.


Industrial production in Kazakhstan increased 9.4% year-on-year in September 2023, accelerating from a 5.4% rise in the previous month, led by mining and quarrying rising to 14% from 8%. Considering the January to September period, production surged by an annual 4.4%.

[wilo101] 12/10/2023 09:40

Nothing to worry about, there are very few shares in public hands

[aleman] 12/10/2023 09:29

National numbers still improving.

The annual inflation rate in Kazakhstan eased to a 19-month low of 11.8% in September 2023, from 13.1% in the previous month, as food inflation advanced the least since February last year (11.4% vs 12.4% in August).

The National Bank of Kazakhstan decided to reduce its benchmark interest rate by 50 bps to 16% during its meeting on October 6th following a 25 bps cut in August.

[tdickit68] 12/10/2023 09:18

A lot of off book trades recently including 3 totalling 1.5 million today at 8.28 at around 26-27p range

[danmart2] 11/10/2023 15:55

It would not be wise to issue a dividend at this stage, they need to build the book and no doubt will have to go through a tough winter

[aleman] 11/10/2023 15:50

How do you expect them to calculate margins in 11 days? They had extra maintenance costs in H1 on line 5. With high volume in Q3, it looks like they won't have had chance to do much maintenance.

[scrwal] 11/10/2023 14:03

They sidestepped the issue of margins - not that a Q3 update would necessarily show that but given the interims had a 26% gross margin compared to 46% for the previous interims more emphasis should have been placed on reporting an improved margin unless it has worsened - the market may take the view that it has worsened and this will cause the price to drift downwards and the share may well take a bigger xd hit.

[wilo101] 11/10/2023 12:25

Nothing to be so depressed and negative about at all, oh yeh of little faith and knowledge, the numbers are not too bad at all.

[aleman] 11/10/2023 12:16

if the domestic market continues to contract.

It's not contracting. Nationally, summer volume has been above 2022 and August nearly up to 2021's record. The trend is such that I'm wondering if September's national volume will be a new September record when we get it. Q4 will no doubt be more weather sensitive but should still be up on a disrupted 2022. All the national general economic numbers are currently good and population demographics suggest good growth to come.

Despite a slightly smaller domestic cement market so far in 2023, we remain confident that the Company will continue deliver strong sales figures going forwards

[1knocker] 11/10/2023 11:19

Contracting market and price reductions (despite increasing production costs) to more or less maintain existing market share = steeply reducing profit. Notable that there are numerous references to 'revenue' but not to profit margins. The share price could fall plenty further yet, especially if the domestic market continues to contract.

2p now looks to be the very best we can hope for by way of a dividend, and it looks increasingly unlikely that it will be paid this month, Quite likely we will get 2p, as companies do not like fall short of guidance, but the dividend outlook thereafter is pretty bleak.

Not a time to buy or top up. Wait at least until after the ex div date, and probably well into next year, perhaps longer, IMO.Very tempted to take the hit and sell in the expectation of a much lower re-entry price down the line.

[eggbaconandbubble] 11/10/2023 10:43

Aren't the directors in a closed period?

[aleman] 11/10/2023 10:25

H1 KZT16702m -16%
Q3 KZT14116m +8%

That's quite a turnaround. (Add these together and there is a slight discrepancy with reported 9 months of KZT31093m. I think electricity sales to the grid account for occasional slight variance in some numbers?)

The national month to month trend looked to still be improving up to August so one would hope that the rest of the year be set fair even if the shares don't think so at the moment.

[lloydypool] 11/10/2023 10:20

Low volume of panic sells pushed the price down, I wouldn't be surprised if we see a modest director buy again in the next few days as they know how cheap the shares are & will know if they are going to run with a 2p divi (which I think is likely).

[apfindley] 11/10/2023 10:13

It sounds like they're setting out their stall to tell the market that trading is good, but expect to have a dividend cut or haitus for now to strengthen the cash position.Not a bad thing, it does seem like a great business.

[aleman] 11/10/2023 10:01

Cash is up $4m since June. One would imagine they could afford a 2p dividend and the market has been on an improving trend as the year has progressed. Volumes are up. Prices are weak but better. Things seem to be going the right way so why have the shares dipped back towards lows?

[lloydypool] 11/10/2023 09:57

Not going to rerate the share price quickly I don't imagine but reasonable cash position points to some dividend (2p would cost around $5m I think)and the business seems to be ticking over ok. I'm sure it could have been more positive but at 26p a more negative scenario was surely already baked in?

[lloydypool] 11/10/2023 09:49

11 October 2023
Steppe Cement Ltd
("Steppe Cement" or the "Company")
Trading Update for the Third Quarter ended 30 September 2023
The Company is pleased to announce the following trading update for the third quarter ended 30 September 2023 (Q3 2023). All numbers referenced below are unaudited.
-- Steppe Cement generated revenue of KZT 14,116 million in Q3 2023 which was 8% higher than revenue of KZT 13,071 million achieved in Q3 2022.
-- For the nine months ended 30 September 2023, Steppe Cement recorded revenue of KZT 31,093 million compared with KZT 32,651 million in the corresponding nine-month period in 2022 (a 5% decrease).
-- The increased revenue in the 3 months to 30 September 2023 was largely attributable to the sales volume of 593,352 tonnes, a 9% increase from the third quarter in 2022 due to improved production levels in the factory as well as an average 5% price reduction applied to products sold.
-- For the first 9 months of 2023, the sales volume decreased by 1% to 1,342,386 tonnes from 1,362,407 tonnes in the corresponding period in 2022.
-- The average price (ex-VAT) for delivered cement was KZT 23,163 per tonne in the first 9 months compared with KZT 23,965 per tonne in the corresponding period in 2022. For the first 9 months of 2023, the ex-factory price stood at KZT 19,810 per tonne, a decrease of 6% from KZT 21,023, the corresponding price in 2022.
-- The Company expects that EBITDA for the year ended 31 December 2023 will be lower than in 2022 principally due to a lower pricing environment and the impact of inflation on energy and other input prices.
-- Steppe Cement has cash and cash equivalents of USD 10 million as at 10 October 2023.
For the first nine months of 2023, the cement market in Kazakhstan was 9.1 million tonnes, 2% less than the corresponding period in 2022. In the first 9 months of 2023, imports into Kazakhstan decreased to 4.6% of total consumption down from 6% in the corresponding period in 2022, while exports from Kazakhstan were 0.85 million tonnes in the 9 months to 30 September 2023. The current estimate of the cement market for the full year in 2023 is 11.3 million tonnes or 2% below 2022, with Steppe Cement's market share expected to be at or around 15%.
Javier del Ser Perez, Chief Executive Officer of Steppe Cement, commented:
"It is pleasing to report increased revenues for the third quarter this year, with improved volumes being driven by adjusted pricing. Despite a slightly smaller domestic cement market so far in 2023, we remain confident that the Company will continue deliver strong sales figures going forwards and look forward to providing updates in due course".

[zangdook] 09/10/2023 19:16

the last dividend was declared a week before the ex date and three weeks before the payment date.