$4.6-billion plant upgrade to start in the latter part of 2022

Jamaica’s lone cement manufacturer, Caribbean Cement Company experienced a fall in earnings in the just-ended September third quarter, due to a number of factors including lower productions.

Operating earnings after other expenses amounted to $411 million, representing a reduction of $1.8 billion when compared to the third quarter of the prior year. This reduction in revenue was a result of the lower sales due to the heavy rainfall and harsh weather conditions experienced during the quarter in conjunction with the lower production of cement and clinker.

The planned equipment maintenance exercise carried out in the quarter was the primary cause for the lower production at the cement plant, based in Rockfort in Eastern Kingston. During the September quarter, the company executed the annual general maintenance of the plant.

As a result of the higher cost recorded during in the quarter, the earnings before taxation was $335 million. During the period under review, Caribbean Cement Company earned revenue of $5.5 billion and an accumulated revenue of $17.8 billion for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021.

This represented an 18 per cent growth when compared to the corresponding nine-month period in 2020.

Aggressive US dollar debt repayment policy

The company continues with an aggressive US dollar debt repayment policy, which has allowed Carib Cement to reduce its financial expenses, by $61 million, as well as its foreign exchange risk compared with the corresponding quarter in 2020. In relation to cash flow, net cash provided by operating activities was $274 million for the quarter and $4.3 billion for the year.

The positive cash flow generated during the year allowed the company to reduce its debt by $3.9 billion. In terms of its outlook, Caribbean Cement Company says it “will continue to ensure sound decisions are made as we remain optimistic about the company’s future and Jamaica’s economic development. We are expecting that domestic demand for our premium product will remain high and are putting in the necessary steps to meet these requirements”.

To this end, in the latter part of 2022, the company will begin the $4.6-billion upgrade of our plant, which will expand cement production by 30 per cent when completed. This expansion will allow the company to move from producing 1.0 million tonnes to close to 1.4 million metric tonnes a year to properly support the strong local demand, which is expected to be driven by both government-initiated infrastructure projects and private development initiatives.

This will also put Carib Cement in a better position to export to markets in the region, providing customers with its high-quality products.

Reducing carbon footprint

The company’s management has committed to continue to promote initiatives such as Future in Action, geared at reducing our carbon footprint and will be rolling out programmes coalescing around this in short order. This is in addition to maintaining its responsibility of educating employees about the importance of vaccines and reinforcing “Behaviours that Save Lives”.

The management has trumpeted that “Caribbean Cement Company continues to demonstrate its resilience and remains resolute in achieving major goals. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and especially the third wave affecting the country, the company is committed to ensuring that critical programmes in key areas such as health & safety, talent development, customer service, and community partnerships remain robust. Concerning our health and safety programme during this quarter, we achieved two years without a recordable incident”.

Relative to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company continues with a strict adherence and enforcement of our 52 COVID protocols to keep all our employees, contractors and visitors safe. Carib Cement maintained its random testing initiative for employees and contractors, which is among several of the proactive steps we have implemented during the pandemic.

Regarding vaccination, the availability of various vaccine types and sites has also enabled the company  to bolster its health and safety programme. Carib Cement played its part in participating in the Private Sector Vaccine Initiative with more than 45 per cent of staff being vaccinated with ongoing initiatives to further increase that amount.