1 month ago
13
Port services company Cargo Handlers Limited, CHL, cited concerns over global trade tensions but remains positive about its financial outlook.
Executive Chairman Mark Hart, when asked to expand on the concerns, responded with a single word: “Trump.”
US President Donald Trump, who took up office on January 20, has threatened to impose tariffs on nations he considers unfair trade partners, sparking concerns of a global trade war. His proposed policies include a universal 10 per cent tariff on all imports and significantly higher duties on goods from countries like China. “I think it’s just uncertainty and potential trade disruption. But it is all left to be seen,” he said.
Critics warn that tariffs could disrupt global supply chains, increase consumer prices, and provoke retaliatory tariffs from affected nations. Data showed that consumer and business confidence increased in the fourth quarter, but slipped in the second and third quarters due to the passage of Hurricane Beryl, inflation, and crime concerns.
Hart added that confidence will fluctuate due to “prevailing external risks” that now include “changing trade policies” which are “triggering renewed global unease”. These events, he said, will influence shipping services into 2025.
CHL’s full-year revenue dipped to $473.5 million, down from $514.8 million a year earlier. Profit also decreased to $273.7 million from $322.6 million the previous year. The company attributed the decline to rising costs and the suspension of unloading liquefied natural gas containers for a client.
CHL provides loading and unloading services at the Port of Montego Bay, which is managed by the Port Authority of Jamaica. Additionally, it operates a logistics trucking firm and owns a one-third stake in Buying House Cement, which imports cement from the Dominican Republic. Despite steady inflows of cement, a 39 per cent increase in vessel hire rates in 2024 and the passage of Beryl significantly impacted cement earnings, which totalled $92 million for the year, or 12 per cent less year-on-year.
Hart indicated in his report to CHL shareholders that public and private infrastructure projects would benefit the port. “We are excited about the prospects of key commercial developments taking shape in western Jamaica and expect several projects to yield additional demand on shipping services when implemented,” he said in the company’s newly released 2024 annual report.
He mentioned coastal projects led by the opening of the Princess Resort in Green Island near Negril, the construction of the Hard Rock Hotel and Pinnacle luxury developments, the planned bypass from Hopewell to Lucea, and the expansion and retrofitting of Cornwall Regional Hospital.
“CHL relies on economic expansion for its growth, whether for our subsidiary Buying House Cement, our fuel logistics operations, or our traditional port activities,” Hart stated in the report.
English (US) ·