Durrant Pate/Contributor

Hurricane Beryl has put a damper on sales at Carib Cement, which saw its September 2024 quarter sales slashed by 11.2%, falling to $6.2 billion, which is 3% lower than the previous quarter in June.

For the nine-month ended September revenue went up by a mere one per cent to $21.5 billion compared to the corresponding period in 2023. Operating earnings for the nine-month period reached $6.0 billion, up 4.3% from the $5.8 billion reported for the same period in 2023.

However, in the third quarter under review operating earnings saw a significant contraction of 75.7% drop to $0.6 billion from the $2.6 billion reported for the corresponding period in 2023. This sharp decline was primarily due to reduced sales caused by Hurricane Beryl, which affected the company’s ability to resume production after the major shutdown, and increased operating costs related to a scheduled plant maintenance shutdown. 

Carib Cement, Jamaica’s sole cement manufacturer says the maintenance was undertaken to enhance operational efficiency and boost production capacity to meet local market demand. Earnings before taxation for the nine months jumped by 10.7% to $6.2 billion. 

However, for the third quarter, earnings before taxation contracted by a whopping 68.9% to $0.8 billion, down from $2.6 billion for the same period last year. Despite this quarter’s decline, the nine-month results show the ongoing benefits from the normalization of operations. 

Consolidated net income for the combined three quarters amounted to $5.0 billion, reflecting a 12.0% increase year-over-year. This resulted in earnings per share (EPS) of $5.77, an increase of $0.62. 

For the third quarter, net income fell to $0.7 billion, a 66.5% decline compared to the same period in 2023, leading to an EPS of $0.74, a reduction of $1.54. Carib Cement continues to maintain a solid liquidity position at the end of the nine months with cash and cash equivalents totaling $9.3 billion. 

Net cash flows from operating activities closed at $2.2 billion for the quarter and $10.0 billion for the year-to-date, of which $3.0 billion was invested in capital projects and $1.7 billion distributed to shareholders as dividends.