Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. is listed for trading in
United States dollars on the
Toronto Stock Exchange.
GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands, July
31, 2015 /CNW/ - Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd.
(TSX: CUP.U) ("CUC" or "the Company") announced today its unaudited
results for the Second Quarter ended June
30, 2015 (all figures in United
States dollars).
Net earnings for the three months ended June 30, 2015 ("Second Quarter 2015") totalled
$5.5 million, a decrease of
$0.2 million when compared to net
earnings of $5.7 million for the
three months ended June 30, 2014
("Second Quarter 2014").
Net earnings for the six months ended June 30, 2015 totalled $8.8 million, a decrease of $0.4 million when compared to net earnings of
$9.2 million for the six months ended
June 30, 2014.
These decreases in earnings were due mainly to higher
depreciation, transmission and distribution and temporary
generation rental costs, partially offset by higher electricity
sales revenues and other income.
After the adjustment for dividends on the preference shares of
the Company, earnings on Class A Ordinary Shares for the Second
Quarter 2015 were $5.4 million, or
$0.17 per Class A Ordinary Share,
compared to earnings on Class A Ordinary Shares of $5.6 million or $0.20 per Class A Ordinary Share for the Second
Quarter 2014.
After the adjustment for dividends on the preference shares of
the Company, earnings on Class A Ordinary Shares for the six months
ended June 30, 2015 were $8.6 million, or $0.28 per Class A Ordinary Share, compared to
earnings on Class A Ordinary Shares of $9.0
million or $0.31 per Class A
Ordinary Share for the six months ended June
30th 2014.
These decreases in earnings per Class A Ordinary Share were due
to lower earnings and an increase in the weighted average number of
Class A Ordinary Shares.
During the Second Quarter 2015, the Company successfully
completed a Rights Offering raising gross proceeds of $31.6 million through the issuance of 2,930,700
Class A Ordinary Shares. The Rights Offering also increased the
weighted average number of Class A Ordinary Shares used to
calculate the earnings per Class A Ordinary Share for the Second
Quarter 2015 to 30,283,909 when compared to 29,105,771 for the
Second Quarter 2014. For the six months ended June 30th 2015, the weighted average
number of Class A Ordinary Shares increased to 31,029,896 when
compared to 29,120,811 for the six months ended June 30th 2014.
Sales for the Second Quarter 2015 totalled 146.0 million
kilowatt hours ("kWh"), an increase of 1.5 million kWh in
comparison to 144.5 million kWh for the Second Quarter 2014. This
was driven primarily by growth in commercial customer
sales.
Sales for the six months ended June 30,
2015 totalled 275.0 million kWh, a decrease of 0.2 million
kWh in comparison to 275.2 million kWh for the six months ended
June 30, 2014. The average
monthly temperature for the first six months of 2015 was 81.3
degrees Fahrenheit as compared to an average monthly temperature of
81.5 degrees for the first six months of 2014. Cooler temperatures
reduce air conditioning load which can negatively impact the
Company's sales.
Total customers as at June 30,
2015 were 28,008, an increase of 2%, compared to 27,462
customers as at June 30, 2014.
The Company's reliability of service as measured by the Average
Service Availability Index was recorded at 99.95% for the Second
Quarter of 2015 with customers experiencing, on average, less than
one outage for the quarter lasting approximately one hour.
Capital expenditures for the three months ended June 30, 2015 totalled $14.0 million, an 87% increase when compared to
capital expenditures of $7.5 million
for the three months ended June 30,
2014. This increase was driven primarily by the Company's
ongoing investment in its new generating plant.
Work on the Company's new Power House building is progressing as
planned. The project is on track for the handover of the first
generating unit on May 1, 2016 and
the second generating unit and steam turbine will be handed over on
June 1, 2016. When completed, CUC
will have an additional 39.7 megawatts ("MW") of diesel power
including a 2.7 MW waste heat recovery steam turbine. The project
cost is estimated at US$85
million.
President and CEO, Mr. Richard
Hew, says, "I am pleased with the overall results recorded
during the Second Quarter 2015. The successful completion of the
Rights Offering and the progress being made on the construction of
our new power house are positive indications that we will have a
strong financial base and a stable and efficient power supply to
provide excellent customer service to our current and growing
customer base in the summer of 2016 and beyond."
The Consumer-Owned Renewable Energy Generation ("CORE")
programme which allows consumers to generate energy from renewable
sources and be compensated through stable, long-term rates
continues to attract participants. During the Second Quarter 2015,
26 customers were connected with 334 kilowatts ("kw") of renewable
capacity.
The CORE programme allows customers to connect small scale solar
systems or wind turbines to CUC's distribution system and to reduce
their monthly energy bills by generating their own electricity
while remaining connected to the CUC grid. Total capacity connected
under the CORE programme is estimated at 2,910 kiloWatts.
CUC's Second Quarter results and related Management's Discussion
and Analysis ("MD&A") for the period ended June 30, 2015
are attached to this release and incorporated by reference. They
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 2015 Second Quarter results, the Cayman Islands economy, liquidity and capital
resources, capital expenditures and the business risks facing the
Company. The release and Second 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 2039 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.