GRAND
CAYMAN, Cayman Islands,
Nov. 7,
2014 /CNW/ - Caribbean Utilities
Company, Ltd. is listed for trading in United States dollars on the Toronto Stock
Exchange
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands-
Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. (TSX: CUP.U) ("CUC" or "the
Company") announced today its unaudited results for the Third
Quarter ended September 30 2014 (all
figures in United States
dollars).
Net earnings for the three months ended September 30, 2014 ("Third Quarter 2014")
totalled $6.2 million, an increase of
$0.2 million when compared to net
earnings of $6.0 million for the
three months ended September 30, 2013
("Third Quarter 2013"). This increase was due to higher
electricity sales revenues, lower finance charges and higher other
income. These items were partially offset by higher consumer
service and transmission and distribution costs, driven by Third
Quarter 2014 adjustments to increase the Company's allowance for
doubtful accounts and to dispose of certain obsolete inventory.
After the adjustment for dividends on the preference shares of
the Company, earnings on Class A Ordinary Shares for the Third
Quarter 2014 were $6.1 million, or
$0.21 per Class A Ordinary Share,
comparable to earnings on Class A Ordinary Shares and earnings per
Class A Ordinary Share for the Third Quarter 2013.
Net earnings for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 totalled $15.4 million, an increase of $0.7 million when compared to $14.7 million for the nine months ended
September 30, 2013.
This increase was due primarily to higher electricity sales
revenues, lower depreciation costs and higher other income. These
items were partially offset by higher consumer service and
transmission and distribution expenses.
After the adjustment for dividends on the preference shares of
the Company, earnings on Class A Ordinary Shares for the nine
months ended September 30, 2014 were
$15.1 million, or $0.52 per Class A Ordinary Share, an increase of
$0.8 million from the $14.3 million, or $0.50 per Class A Ordinary Share for the nine
months ended September 30, 2013
Sales for the Third Quarter 2014 totalled 153.2 million kilowatt
hour, ("kWh") an increase of 7.5 million kWh in comparison to 145.7
million kWh for the Third Quarter 2013. This 5% increase was driven
by warmer weather conditions in 2014 and an increase in the number
of customers. Total customers as at September 30, 2014 were 27,560, an increase of
384 customers, or 1%, compared to 27,176 customers as at
September 30, 2013.
President and CEO, Mr. Richard
Hew, says, "The Company continues to focus on delivering a
safe and reliable service to its customers while at the same time
managing costs and improving efficiencies. As the local economy
continues to emerge from the recent recession, the Company stands
ready to meet the demands of any accompanying growth in our
customer base."
Capital expenditures totaled $7.1
million and reliability of service as measured by the
Average
Service Availability Index, was 99.93% for the Third Quarter
2014.
In October 2014, the Electricity
Regulatory Authority ("ERA") announced that the Company's bid to
supply new generation capacity had been selected as the top
proposal of the bids submitted in response to the ERA's request for
proposals issued on January 31,
2014. As a result, CUC will develop and operate a new 39.7
megawatts ("MW") diesel power plant including a 2.7 MW waste heat
recovery steam turbine. The project cost is estimated at
$85 million and the plant will be
commissioned no later than June
2016.
This project will require a significant, long-term financial
undertaking by CUC to deliver the benefits of the highly efficient
production of electricity for consumers in Grand Cayman. The Company is now moving
forward to the signing of agreements with its equipment provider
MAN Diesel & Turbo of Augsburg, Germany and the primary construction
contractor BWSC of Denmark, to
build and commission the new power plant.
The Company also continues to explore large-scale alternative
energy options. During the period under review, one of the
renewable energy providers which is currently in discussions with
the Company applied for Planning Department permission to start the
development of a 5MW solar power plant. It is anticipated that the
output from this renewable energy project will be available to the
Company in 2016. The Company believes that there are economic and
environmental benefits to be derived from renewable energy
sources. These renewable energy sources will replace some of
the diesel fuel presently used in our generators.
CUC's Third Quarter results and related Management's Discussion
and Analysis ("MD&A") for the period ended September 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 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.