Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. is listed for trading in
United States dollars on the
Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol "CUP.U".
GRAND
CAYMAN, Cayman
Islands, May 3, 2023 /CNW/ - Caribbean
Utilities Company, Ltd. ("CUC or "the Company") announced its
unaudited results for the first three months of 2023, ending
March 31, 2023 (all figures are in
United States Dollars).
CUC continues to implement its Capital Investment Plan
(2023-2027) which was approved by the Utility Regulation and
Competition Office ("OfReg") in January
2023. Grand Cayman has
continued to benefit from the capital investments that have been
made and will continue to be made over the next 5 years.
In 2022, the Company submitted its Capital Investment Plan
("CIP") for 2023-2027 to OfReg for approval. The plan included an
investment amount of $403.4 million
and will include a $60 million
investment in alternative energy and resiliency projects. Both the
Company and OfReg announced the initiation of two independent
studies, which would be followed by an update to the public
regarding the plans for upcoming distributed renewable energy solar
generation programmes in early 2023. The Company's study was
undertaken to analyse the impact of additional renewable energy on
fuel efficiency of the current existing generating units of CUC.
Based on findings, an additional 3 megawatts ("MW") capacity was
released and allocated to the Consumer Owned Renewable Energy
("CORE") and Distributed Energy Resources ("DER") Programmes. The
study indicated additional renewable energy was within appropriate
limitations and this will cause no significant impact to fuel
efficiency.
The Company also received regulatory approval for lifecycle
upgrades to 5 MAN generating units totaling 68MW of capacity. This
upgrade will substantially prepare the engines to be converted to
run on liquid natural gas or diesel while also improving their fuel
efficiency. This project supports the Cayman Islands National
Energy Policy (NEP) by embracing energy efficiency, reducing
emissions and diversifying the generation portfolio with the
capability to generate energy from gas or diesel from the Engine
Room 5 (ER5). This project is slated to begin in 2023.
Net earnings for the three months ended March 31, 2023 ("First Quarter 2023" or "Q1
2023") were $5.2 million, a
$0.3 million decrease from net
earnings of $5.5 million for the
three months ended March 31, 2022
("Q1 2022"). This decrease is primarily attributable to higher
finance charges, depreciation and general and administration costs
that were partially offset by higher other income. Electricity
sales revenues increased by $2.5
million for Q1 2023. In 2023, electricity sales revenues for
Q1 totaled $24.6 million, Q1 2022
sales totaled $22.1 million. This
increase is primarily driven by 6% kWh sales growth. This growth
can be attributed to the 3% customer growth and recovery in hotels
and restaurants as tourism rebounded.
After the adjustment for dividends on the preference shares of
the Company, earnings on Class A shares for Q1 2023 were
$5.1 million, or $0.14 per Class A ordinary share, as compared to
$5.4 million, or $0.14 Class A ordinary share for Q1 2022.
President and CEO, Mr. Richard
Hew, stated, "The continued growth and recovery of tourism
in the Cayman Islands contributed
positively to the Company's Q1 results. Consumption of electricity
by large commercial entities and the overall economic growth on
Grand Cayman were big contributors
to the success of the Company in the first quarter. Our Company is
moving ahead with the plans for increased alternative energy and
resiliency projects."
With increased capacity approved for the CORE and DER
programmes, there is now a total of 18 MW of capacity for customer
interconnection, this capacity is complemented by the 5 MW solar
farm in Bodden Town. It is expected that additional renewable
energy allocation will occur prior to the commercial operation date
of the 20 MW Battery Energy Storage System ("BESS"). The CORE and
DER programmes take into consideration the long-term goals of the
National Energy Policy and the Integrated Resource Plan.
CUC's First Quarter 2023 results and related Management's
Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for the three months period
ended March 31, 2023 are incorporated
by reference. The MD&A section of this report contains a
discussion of CUC's unaudited 2023 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 2023 MD&A can
be accessed at www.cuc-cayman.com (Investor Relations/Press
Releases) and at www.sedar.com.
The principal activity of the Company is to generate, transmit
and distribute electricity in its licence area of Grand Cayman, Cayman
Islands pursuant to a 20-year Transmission &
Distribution ("T&D") Licence and a 25-year non-exclusive
Generation Licence (the "Generation Licence" and together with the
T&D licence, the "Licences") granted by the Cayman Islands
Government (the "Government", "CIG"). The T&D Licence, which
expires in April 2028, contains
provisions for an automatic 20-year renewal and the Company has
reasonable expectation of renewal until April 2048. The Generation Licence expires in
November 2039. 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.
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2069370/Caribbean_Utilities_Company_Ltd_Q1_2023_Interim_Report.pdf
SOURCE Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd.