Profit for the November was up 36% to $11.01 million

Caribbean Cream Limited, which trades under the name KREMI, is reporting sweet profits for its last three quarters.

At the same time, revenues went up eight per cent moving from $1.33 billion in November 2019 to $1.24 billion in the corresponding period in 2019. Operating profit for the nine-month period amounted to $109.23 million, an increase of 69 per cent relative to $64.82 million booked in 2019.

Revenue for the third quarter rose 11 per cent to close at $440.83 million compared to $395.48 million for the comparable quarter of 2019. Gross profit for the period under review improved by 15 per cent or $58.68 million to $452.59 million compared to $393.91 million for the comparable period in 2019.

Modest increase in gross profit

The company booked gross profit of $142.92 million for the third quarter versus $125.39 million reported for the similar quarter of 2019. Costs of sales amounted to $879.64 million coming from $841.54 million in 2019.

This representing an increase of five per cent, while for the quarter there was a 10 per cent growth to $297.91 million coming from $270.09 million in 2019. KREMI points out that the increase in cost of sales ”was driven by utility cost increases that resulted from higher sales and the preparation for the peak Christmas season”.

Administrative expenses climbed seven per cent to close at $300.01 million coming from $279.83 million booked in 2019, while selling and distribution costs fell 15 per cent from $51.26 million in 2019 to $43.35 million. The increase in administrative costs was influenced by, “costs in utilities, repairs & maintenance of the depots, and annual salary increases,” as highlighted by KREMI in its audited third quarter results.

Finance cost fell 19 per cent year over year to amount to $13.10 million relative to $16.09 million recorded in the nine months ended November 30, 2019. KREMI reported a 22 per cent increase in interest income for the period from $881,084 booked in 2019 to $1.08 million for the nine months ended November 2020.

After incurring taxes of $12.15 million (2019: $6.20 million) for the period under review, net profit attributable to shareholders increased by 96 per cent from $43.41 million booked in 2019 to $85.06 million for the period under review.

Earnings per share (EPS) for the nine months amounted to $0.23 (2019: $0.12), while the EPS for the quarter totalled $0.03 (2019: $0.02).