Carib Cement makes record profit in 2022
CARIBBEAN CEMENT Company (CCC), the sole manufacturer of cement in Jamaica, revealed a lukewarm outlook amid making a record $5.3 billion in profit for its December 2022 year-end.
The profit haul was 24 per cent more year on year amid ongoing global challenges. The company stated that it plans to manage costs going forward.
“We will ensure that our operations remain resilient by employing sound cost management strategies in this challenging economic environment,” stated CCC in the preface to its financials. “Additionally, we expect to have a similar or better level of productivity and efficiency of the kiln [plant] in the future on completion of our planned major maintenance in 2023.”
Total revenue increased to $25.8 billion, from $23.8 billion a year earlier, signalling increased demand for its product during a building boom. The company did well to contain its total operating costs at $2.7 billion, from $2.5 billion a year earlier.
The company paid out over $1.3 billion in dividends in the year to shareholders. The last dividend from CCC occurred in 2005, and amounted to $59.6 million, or seven cents per share. In 2021, the company formed a committee to develop a dividend policy. Additionally, it paid royalty and service fees to its parent company at some $474.5 million, according to the financials.
Caribbean Cement has been profitable for the past decade, with annual earnings now at a record level. Profits in 2022 beat the previous record in the prior year at $4.3 billion.
The construction boom, amid the pandemic, resulted in solid gains for the cement company as the primary provider of cement in the island.
The company, in 2022, earned nearly three times the $1.88 billion in net profit it did before the onset of the pandemic in 2019. The rise in profit reflected increased demand, but also improved operational cost containment. The company also reduced its long-term debt, including paying out its preference shares in the financial year. The group’s capital stood at $20 billion, from $15.7 billion a year earlier.
“As a result of the positive performance, the Group generated free cash flow of $3 billion during the year, which allowed the company to return $1.3 billion to shareholders through dividends for the first time in 17 years. The company also completed a successful repayment of its preference shares of $1.8 billion with its parent company, Trinidad Cement Limited,” stated the company in its results.