CUC Announces Third Quarter Results for the Period Ended September
30th, 2012
Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. is listed for trading in
United States dollars on the
Toronto Stock Exchange
GRAND CAYMAN,
Cayman Islands, Nov. 1, 2012 /CNW/ - Caribbean Utilities Company,
Ltd. (TSX: CUP.U) ("CUC" or "the Company") announced today its
unaudited results for the Third Quarter ended September 30th 2012 (all figures in
United States dollars).
Net earnings for the three months ended
September 30, 2012 ("Third Quarter
2012") totalled $6.6 million, an
increase of $0.3 million, or 5%, when
compared to $6.3 million for the
three months ended September 30, 2011
("Third Quarter 2011"). Lower finance charges and an increase in
other income were partially offset by a 1% decline in kilowatt-hour
(kWh) sales and higher depreciation costs for the Third Quarter
2012 when compared to the Third Quarter 2011.
After the adjustment for dividends on the
preference shares of the Company, earnings on Class A Ordinary
Shares for the Third Quarter 2012 were $6.5
million, an increase of $0.4
million, or 7%, from $6.1
million, for the Third Quarter 2011. Earnings per Class A
Ordinary Share for the Third Quarter 2012 were $0.22, comparable to Earnings per Class A
Ordinary Share for the Third Quarter 2011.
Net earnings for the nine months ended
September 30, 2012 decreased by 11%
to $13.6 million from $15.3 million for the same period in 2011.
Earnings per Class A Ordinary Share for the nine months ended
September 30, 2012 were $0.46, down from $0.53 per Class A Share for the same period last
year. This decline was driven by higher depreciation costs and a 1%
decline in kWh sales.
President and CEO, Mr. Richard Hew, says, "Electricity sales for this
quarter and earnings year to date were negatively impacted by the
continuing weak economy, relatively high fuel prices and wetter
than normal months. However, despite these circumstances, the
Company continues to meet its obligations of providing a safe,
reliable and efficient service to the residents of Grand Cayman while providing a reasonable
return to shareholders through prudent management of its
resources."
The Company's reliability as measured by the
Average System Availability Index was 99.95% for Third Quarter 2012
reflecting the percentage of time power is available to
customers. Capital expenditures for the nine months ended
September 30, 2012 totaled
$21.6 million including $8.5 million for Distribution System upgrades,
$4.1 million for Generation Asset
upgrades and $2.5 million for the
Company's Advanced Metering Infrastructure ("AMI") system.
The installation of the new AMI system continued
over the quarter under review. Over seven thousand, four hundred
new meters have already been installed. The AMI system allows CUC
to measure, collect and analyze energy usage more effectively, to
communicate directly with metering services such as electricity
meters, either on request or on a schedule, and to shorten the
delivery time for various customer services. The AMI project is
expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2014.
Earlier this year, the Electricity Regulatory
Authority ("ERA") solicited Request for Proposals (RFP) for
additional generation capacity from six Qualified Bidders
(including CUC). CUC submitted its bid on July 16, 2012. This competitive solicitation
process is in response to the certificate of need issued by the
Company in November 2011, driven
primarily by the upcoming retirements of some of the Company's
generating units. The projected date for 18 MW of additional
generation capacity is July 2014,
with a second increment of 18 MW of capacity required up to three
years later in 2017 with timing dependent on economic growth and
development of the Grand Cayman
economy and the related growth in demand for electricity. The ERA's
selection of the successful bidder is expected before the end of
2012 to meet the projected commissioning date of July 2014.
CUC's Third Quarter results and related
Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for the period
ended September 2012 are attached to
this release and incorporated by reference and can be accessed by
clicking the link at the end of this release.
The MD&A section of this report contains a
discussion of CUC's unaudited 2012 Third Quarter results, the
Cayman Islands economy, liquidity
and capital resources, capital expenditures and the business risks
facing the Company. The release and Third Quarter MD&A can be
accessed at www.cuc-cayman.com (Investor Relations/Press Releases)
and at www.sedar.com.
CUC provides electricity to Grand Cayman, Cayman
Islands, under an Electricity Generation Licence expiring in
2029 and an exclusive Electricity Transmission and Distribution
Licence expiring in 2028. Further information is available at
www.cuc-cayman.com.
Certain statements in the MD&A, other
than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements
concerning anticipated future events, results, circumstances,
performance or expectations with respect to the Company and its
operations, including its strategy and financial performance and
condition.
Forward looking statements include statements
that are predictive in nature, depend upon future events or
conditions, or include words such as "expects", "anticipates",
"plan", "believes", "estimates", "intends", "targets", "projects",
"forecasts", "schedule", or negative versions thereof and other
similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "may",
"will", "should", "would" and "could". Forward looking statements
are based on underlying assumptions and management's beliefs,
estimates and opinions, and are subject to inherent risks and
uncertainties surrounding future expectations generally that may
cause actual results to vary from plans, targets and estimates.
Some of the important risks and uncertainties that could affect
forward looking statements are described in the MD&A in the
section labeled "Business Risks" and include but are not limited to
operational, general economic, market and business conditions,
regulatory developments and weather. CUC cautions readers that
actual results may vary significantly from those expected should
certain risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying
assumptions prove incorrect. Forward-looking statements are
provided for the purpose of providing information about
management's current expectations and plans relating to the future.
Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate
for other purposes. The Company disclaims any intention or
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise
except as required by law.
SOURCE Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd.
PDF available at:
http://stream1.newswire.ca/media/2012/11/01/20121101_C4373_DOC_EN_20061.pdf