Rain sends Caribbean Cement profits down

Caribbean Cement Co’s 3Q profit was affected by heavy rains at the end of summer and a large tax charge, according to the cement producer.

In addition, higher operational expenses further impacted profit. Some of the costs were associated with the demolition of a large obsolete structure at its Rockfort plant near Kingston, Jamaica.

Sales revenue in the third quarter fell to JMD4.38bn (US$31.8m) from JMD4.46bn in the 3Q18. Profit before tax declined 55 per cent YoY to JMD238m while profit after tax was down 75 per cent to JMD76.8m.

However, in the first nine months of 2019 profit has increased to JMD1.85bn, from JMD1.31bn.

Waste tyres as AF
In seperate news, Caribbean Cement reported that it continues its project to assess the viability of using old tyres as alternative fuel. “During the pilot phase, approximately 200 truckloads of tyres will be transported from the Riverton disposal site to the Rockfort plant,” the company said. The project started in July and is nearing its end.