Caribbean Cement Company expects a more positive outlook from next year as the company finalises a debt ‘reprofiling’ plan with some of its 30 biggest creditors.
The agreement has given the company some time to pay off its JMD1.95bn (US$22m) debt over five years, starting from March 2013 to December 2018.
The company has posted losses for three years but expects a turnaround by January 2013. "We are not out of the woods (but) definitely our outlook is more positive," General Manager Anthony Haynes told Wednesday Business at the close of the annual general meeting. “We need to maintain careful cost containment and also be careful with our decisions," he said.
The debt restructuring by TCL is expected to reduce lease payments by Caribbean Cement to its parent.
Caribbean Cement is also expecting to boost revenues via a price increase implemented last month on its Carib cement product and to increase sales through exports. As such, Haynes expects production at the plant to rise from 50 per cent of capacity to about 70 per cent by January.
Last year, Caribbean Cement made a net loss of JMD2.6bn. Its losses for the first quarter ending March 2012 tripled to JMD$625m, pushing its accumulated deficits to JAD4.8bn.
