Steppe Cement Share Discussion Threads

[zangdook] 31/1/2024 13:08

And likely to pay 10% to 15% dividend if they sort themselves out, plus at least that much going forward.

[danmart2] 31/1/2024 12:19

This is now in bargain territory, 20.9p a share , from a small market share decline!

[1knocker] 31/1/2024 10:54

I have never heard that one before, scrwal!
It would indeed be draconian if a company lawfully carried out a reconstruction which carried a lawful tax advantage under its tax legislation, and the tax authority then said 'Sorry chum, we are applying different tax rules to you'.

I think you may have in mind the UK rules abut seeking clearance for 'exotic' tax avoidance schemes. If clearance is granted after an honest disclosure, the tax payer is safe from penalties for tax evasion if the scheme is subsequently held ineffective to avoid tax. That is all. Clearance is not an assurance that the scheme will be treated as effective, and failure to apply for and obtain clearance does not deprive the taxpayer of the tax advantage of a scheme which proves to be legitimate and effective.

A company reconstruction would not itself come within the scope even of the UK 'exotic' tax avoidance rules, though a tax avoidance scheme (which the reconstruction might have been carried out to enable the scheme to be implemented) could be.

Be that as it may, i very much doubt the company contemplates anything which could be regarded as tax evasion. The only potential complication I see is that when paying tax in more than one jurisdiction care has to be taken that a reconstruction to reduce tax in one jurisdiction does not increase the tax in another by as much or more than the saving. but that should be fairly straightforward arithmetic for a tax accountant.

[scrwal] 29/1/2024 20:58

1knocker - depending on the rules etc for each tax jurisdictions there may be a legal obligation to obtain clearance for any form of reconstruction as is the case in the UK for some restructuring. You don't just restructure without clearance , if you tried that the tax authority could just say no even if it complied with all the legislation and you don't have a leg to stand on because you didn't apply for clearance , it's that draconian.

[tag57] 29/1/2024 19:09

1knocker - this may be the case if they are not looking to move tax jurisdictions, otherwise they will need to register with a new tax authority and obtain various tax docs to obtain acceptance from tax authorities further up the Corp structure to allow the pass through of cash distributions. It all takes time as most tax authorities are in no rush to accept changes such as these.

[1knocker] 29/1/2024 17:59

scrwal, no restructuring or distribution to shareholders requires 'positive agreement' from any tax authority.

The tax rules for the various jurisdictions define the fiscal consequences of any restructuring or distribution. 'Agreement with the tax authorities' does not enter the picture.

It is just a question of obtaining advice from appropriate tax advisers as to what scope there is for making tax efficient payments, and as to what (if any) restructuring or form of payment will be most beneficial. It should have been possible to obtain that advice within a matter of weeks, and to decide whether any possible scheme is worth the candle, and to inform the market and the shareholders of the decision within a matter of a few weeks thereafter. Qicker than that if the advisers' advice was 'no dice'!

[danmart2] 29/1/2024 14:04

Not beyond the means of possibility.

This looks like it’s heading below 20p

[zangdook] 29/1/2024 13:41

Assuming the money is in Kazakhstan, the only way they could do a buyback would be to find a seller willing to accept payment in Kazakhstan.

[eggbaconandbubble] 29/1/2024 13:29

No expert here, but couldn't they start a large buy back programme? Or as I suspect is Abu Wanhabiwotsit putting particular pressure on.

[scrwal] 29/1/2024 13:19

They are dealing with multiple tax agencies let alone one. Any plan requires positive agreements from all parties and it is almost certain there have been major road bumps encountered and it is probable they are on plan c/d through no fault of their own. It is also feasible that a tax agency gave the thumbs down because they perceived an element of tax avoidance and decided to remedy that with a bit of legislation,

To me the directors are out of their depth regarding the tax situation and it doesn't help saying they may have a capital distribution which is completely misleading as they can't get the funds up to the top company in the first place.

[1knocker] 28/1/2024 12:42

This has gone on too long. It should only have taken a matter of weeks to ascertain what options are open to the company to make payments to shareholders tax efficiently, and only a matter of weeks after that for the company to decide whether any of the available options is worth the candle and to notify shareholders and the market accordingly.

[renewed1] 27/1/2024 15:05

So long as the interest isnt being syphoned off some where!!!

[dodger777] 27/1/2024 14:32

Are they smart enough to have the money set aside in a high interest account, I’m really starting to wonder.
This has been dragging on to long with no sign of it being cleared up any time soon. I’m doubting the boards competence on being able to get it sorted.

[mattjos] 27/1/2024 14:11

"Further to the announcement on 12 July 2023 in which Steppe Cement Ltd stated its intention to pay a dividend of 2 to 3 pence per share before November 2023 to the Company's shareholders and confirmed that it had set aside the funds to do so")

219,000,000 shares at 2p/share dividend = £4,380,000
219,000,000 shares at 3p/share dividend = £6,570,000

Let's say they put aside £5.5m for the dividend payment

Kazakhstan Money Market rates are circa 13% as compared to circa 5% for US$

I guess it depends on what currency they are keeping their cash in ... presumably mainly the US$ given the prior long-term trend for KZT to devalue relative to USD but, surely they'll keep at least some in KZT to try and capture some of that higher rate.

£5,500,000 @ 5% Deposit interest rate over 6 months = £137,000 interest on deposit

[renewed1] 27/1/2024 09:02

Well with Kazak interest rates they must have sved a stack by hanging omto our divi!!!!

[dodger777] 26/1/2024 18:38

Is that a 52 week low achieved today 🙄
Just pay the bloody dividend ffs

[aleman] 19/1/2024 13:11

I think the prediction was only a 0.25% reduction so 0.5% is a bonus. The economy already seemed to be showing a muted recovery from a difficult 2022 so the latest cut on the back of better inflation figures should see the recovery gain steam this year. After the strong national cement figures in H2, I think 2024 is well placed to be a record. The last strong year was 2021 and in the 3 years since, the population estimate is a rise from 19.2m to 19.8m so decent growth should be pretty much baked in. Cars sales are rocketing and the roads are constructed in concrete.

[riddlerone] 19/1/2024 09:13

"The National Bank of Kazakhstan decided to reduce its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 15.25% in its January 19th meeting"

[aleman] 17/1/2024 14:30

Kazakhstan national cement production in December was about 5% shy of the 2021 record for the same month but about 25% higher than the weather-disrupted December of last year. I think that might squeak Q4/2023 to a new Q4 record but it's so close to Q4/2021 that I just can't tell. They are near enough identical. With the Kazakh economy seemingly doing well in recent months, I'd suggest the 2024 total has a good chance of being a new record but, more importantly, it suggests recent better prices received will continue in the short term.

[zangdook] 17/1/2024 12:52

No dividend was due in November 2023. Dividends are not due until they've been declared. Even if it were possible to declare an ex-dividend date in the past, it wouldn't make any sense.

[parttime] 17/1/2024 12:24

dd776

I'm guessing that when this gets sorted the company would probably phrase it that a payment of 'X'pence will be made to shareholders on 'Date' IN LIEU of the divend due in November '23. Technically I believe companies can backdate dividends but obviously not to avoid any increases in taxes etc which may have occurred in between.

[dd776] 16/1/2024 15:19

The xd date does it always have to be forward date or can they backdate. ie to last Nov 2023

[mattjos] 15/1/2024 18:53

As/When the US$ does collapse this year, it certainly won't be taking the Tenge with it ... we'll then start to see (even status quo performance) dramatically affect the reported earnings in a very positive way.