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, Oct.
29, 2021 /CNW/ - Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. (TSX:
CUP.U) ("CUC" or "the Company") announced today its unaudited
results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 (all dollar amounts are
stated in United States
dollars).
Results for the Company for the three months ending
September 30, 2021 ("Third Quarter
2021" or "Q3 2021") were stable
considering the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic
continues to have on the economy of the Cayman
Islands with the tourism sector remaining closed.
Net earnings for Q3 2021 totalled $10.1 million, a
decrease of $0.3 million when
compared to $10.4 million for
the three months ending September
30, 2020 ("Third Quarter 2020" or "Q3 2020"). The
decrease is primarily attributable to lower operating income,
partially offset by lower finance charges and higher
foreign exchange gains.
The Company successfully completed a Rights Offering (the
"Offering") on October 29, 2020 and
raised gross proceeds of $47.8
million through the issue of 3,359,362 Class A Ordinary
Shares at a price of $14.24 per Class
A Ordinary Share. The net proceeds of the Offering were used to
repay short-term debt and to finance capital projects.
After the adjustment for dividends on the preference shares of
the Company, earnings on Class A Ordinary Shares
for Q3 2021 were $10.0 million,
or $0.26 per
Class A Ordinary Share, compared to earnings on
Class A Ordinary Shares of $10.2
million, or $0.31 per
Class A Ordinary Share for Q3 2020.
The Company calculates earnings per share on the weighted
average number of Class A Ordinary Shares outstanding. The
weighted average number of Class A Ordinary Shares outstanding were
37,240,262 for Q3 2021 and 33,593,624 for Q3 2020. This
increase in the weighted average number of Class A Ordinary Shares
outstanding was primarily driven by the Offering in October 2020 which resulted in the issuance of
3,359,362 Class A Ordinary shares.
Net earnings for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 totalled $22.0
million, an increase of $3.3 million
when compared to net earnings of $18.7
million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020. The increase is
primarily attributable to higher operating income, lower
finance charges and higher other income.
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, 2021
were $21.7 million, or $0.58 per Class A Ordinary Share,
compared to earnings on Class A Ordinary Shares of
$18.3 million, or $0.55 per Class A Ordinary Share, for
the nine months ended September 30,
2020. The weighted average number of Class A Ordinary Shares
outstanding were 37,263,218 for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 33,566,243 for the nine
months ended September, 30 2020.
Sales for Q3 2021 totalled 179.9 million kWh, an
increase of 4.8 million kWh, or 3% in comparison to 175.1
million kWh for Q3 2020. The increase was driven by higher
large commercial and residential customer sales in Q3 2021 compared
to Q3 2020, in-line with increased general economic activity.
The average monthly temperature for Q3 2021 was 85.7 degrees
Fahrenheit as compared to an average monthly temperature of 86.2
degrees for Q3 2020. The average rainfall for Q3 2021 was 6.2
inches as compared to 7.7 inches in Q3 2020.
Sales for the nine months ended September
30, 2021 totalled 494.5 million kWh, an increase
of 1.6 million kWh in comparison to 492.9 million kWh for the nine
months ended September 30,
2020. Sales for three and nine months ended September 30, 2020 were negatively impacted
by the COVID-19 pandemic on the Cayman Islands' economy.
Total customers as at September 30,
2021 were 31,964, an increase of 1,069 customers, or 3%,
compared to 30,895 customers as at September
30, 2020.
The average Fuel Cost Charge rate billed to consumers for Q3
2021 was $0.17 per kWh, an increase
of $0.07 per kWh when compared to the
average Fuel Cost Charge rate of $0.10 per kWh for Q3 2020. CUC passes
through all fuel costs to consumers on a two-month lag basis with
no mark-up.
The Company continues to work on increasing renewable
energy connected to the grid in accordance with its Integrated
Resource Plan which recommends pursing natural gas as a diesel fuel
replacement and increasing the utilization of renewable energy for
up to 60% of the electricity needs by 2037. The Company is actively
engaged with the Utility Regulation and Competition Office on
this subject as well as a number of related projects in its
efforts to reduce the impact of rising fuel costs on customers'
bills.
Renewable energy purchases for Q3
2021 totalled $1.6 million, an increase of $0.2 million when compared to
renewables purchases of $1.4
million for Q3 2020. Renewable energy is sourced
from the Customer Owned Renewable Energy programme and
BMR Energy Limited and costs are passed through to
consumers on a two-month lag basis with no
mark-up.
Renewable energy purchases for the nine months ended
September 30,
2021 totalled $4.4 million, an increase of $0.5 million compared to $3.9 million for the nine months ended
September 30, 2020.
President and CEO, Mr. Richard
Hew, says, "In Q3 2021, the
Company successfully responded to the impact
of Tropical Storm
Grace and met its safety and reliability
targets while continuing to navigate the uncertainty
and the myriad of challenges which the COVID-19 pandemic has
presented. The Company continues to monitor the
Cayman Islands Government's plans to reopen the
borders to the tourism
industry and to prepare for any
related increase in electricity
demand including the mitigation of recently
heightened global supply chain risks."
Reliability of service to our customers is a key objective for
our Company and it is critical to the continuing growth of
Grand Cayman. The CUC system
Average Availability Index was 99.96% during Third Quarter
2021.
CUC's Third Quarter results and related Management's Discussion
and Analysis ("MD&A") for the period ended September 30th, 2021 are attached
to this release and incorporated by reference and can be accessed
through the link with this release.
The MD&A section of this report contains a discussion of
CUC's unaudited 2021Third 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 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", "plans",
"believes", "estimates", "intends", "targets", "projects",
"forecasts", "schedules", 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.