Jamaica: CCCL posts higher full-year earnings

Caribbean Cement Co Ltd (CCCL) posted JMD1.54bn (US$12.7m) in earnings for year ending December 2015, compared to the JMD139m a year earlier.

The increase by the Jamaica-based producer, part of the TCL Group, comes despite big severance payouts. The separation of some former managers and voluntary redundancies late last year cost CCCL JMD436m. Among these, Anthony Haynes, who resigned from office as general manager last April to make room for Alejandro Varés as the new head, was the most senior manager to leave the company last year.

Increased domestic sales boosted company revenue from JMD14.4bn in 2014 to JMD15.4bn last year.
Significantly higher efficiencies resulted in EBITDA before severance cost rising from JMD961m to JMD2.6bn, resulting in the EBITDA margin climbing from 6.7 to 16.8 per cent.

"The company benefitted from improved operational practices, tight cost controls, and lower costs of fuels and energy," said a report to shareholders in the latest financial statements.

Domestic cement sales volume climbed by 12 per cent to 670,000t, while cement exports declined by 82,000t to 151,000t. However, clinker exports to Venezuela (through the PetroCaribe export-for-debt-payment mechanism), rose by 16 per cent to 180,000t.

Plans are under way to expand the Rockfort plant's capacity from 1.2Mta to 1.6Mta.