Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. is listed for trading in
United States dollars on the
Toronto Stock Exchange.
GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands, May 8,
2014 /CNW/ - Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. (TSX: CUP.U)
("CUC" or "the Company") announced today its unaudited results for
the First Quarter ended March
31st 2014 (all figures in United States dollars).
Net earnings for the three months ended
March 31, 2014 ("First Quarter 2014")
totalled $3.4 million, an increase of
$0.5 million when compared to
$2.9 million for the three months
ended March 31, 2013 ("First Quarter
2013"). This increase was driven by higher electricity sales
revenues and lower depreciation costs. These items were
partially offset by higher consumer service costs and finance
charges.
After the adjustment for dividends on the
preference shares of the Company, earnings on Class A Ordinary
Shares for the First Quarter 2014 were $3.3
million, or $0.11 per Class A
Ordinary Share, an increase of $0.5
million from the $2.8 million,
or $0.10 per Class A Ordinary Share
for the First Quarter 2013.
Sales for the First Quarter 2014 totalled 130.7
million kilo-watt hours ("kWh"), an increase of 5.2 million kWh, or
4%, in comparison to 125.5 million kWh for the First Quarter
2013. First Quarter 2014 kWh sales were positively impacted
by growth in customer numbers and warm weather conditions that
affected customer air-conditioning load more significantly when
compared to the same period last year. The average monthly
temperature for the First Quarter 2014 was 80.0 degrees Fahrenheit
as compared to average monthly temperature of 79.3 degrees for
First Quarter 2013.
The total number of customers at the end of the
First Quarter 2014 was 27,438 customers, a 1.3% increase when
compared to 27,086 customers at the end of the First Quarter
2013.
President and CEO, Mr. Richard Hew, says, "The Company continues to
invest in the infrastructure which is required to meet current and
future demand as needed, while also working to control its
operating expenditures. CUC is committed to ensuring that its
customers are provided with a safe and reliable electricity service
at least cost. "
Capital Expenditures totaled $6.5 million and reliability of service as
measured by the average service availability index, was 99.98% for
the First Quarter 2014.
The Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA)
cancelled the solicitation process for firm generation in
July 2013. This process had been
initiated by a Certificate of Need (CON) issued by CUC in
November 2011. The CON was driven
primarily by the upcoming retirement of some of the Company's
generating units due to begin this year.
The ERA has since restarted the process and
announced the listing of qualified bidders resulting from its
solicitation for Statements of Qualifications. Bids are due in
mid-May and an announcement of the winning bidder is expected to be
made in July 2014 for 36 MW of firm
capacity to be on-line by June
2016.
In the meantime, the ERA and CUC have agreed to
a temporary generation plan which will allow CUC to meet the
expected reserve margin requirements for the peak periods, and
until the firm capacity needs can be met.
CUC has secured the rental supply of
approximately 7.5 MW of mobile generation for this summer. This
will complement existing generation, satisfy ongoing customer needs
and help to ensure a continued reliable supply of power to
consumers.
During the quarter under review the Company also
initiated a technical interconnection study for one of the two
proposed large-scale solar energy projects. CUC anticipates that by
the end of 2015 it will connect 13 MW of renewable energy capacity
from developers who will finance, construct, own and operate these
facilities.
Mr. Hew added, "CUC believes there are economic
and environmental benefits from engaging renewable energy sources
to displace some of the diesel fuel that our generators presently
consume. Wind and solar are non-firm power and will need to be
supported by firm power sources such as diesel generation."
CUC's First Quarter results and related
Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for the period
ended March 31st 2014 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 2014 First Quarter results, the
Cayman Islands economy, liquidity
and capital resources, capital expenditures and the business risks
facing the Company. The release and First 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/2014/05/08/20140508_C7494_DOC_EN_40145.pdf