Business
CUC Announces First Quarter Results for the Period Ended July 31, 2008and Change in Fiscal Year End and Interim Reporting Periods
Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. is listed for trading in United States dollars on the Toronto S...
About this update from Caribbean Utilities Co. Ltd. Class A
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nCaribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. is listed for trading in United\nStates dollars on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol\n"CUP.U".\n\n\nGRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands, Aug. 27 /CNW/ - Caribbean Utilities\nCompany, Ltd. ("CUC" or "the Company") announced today its unaudited results\nfor the first quarter ended July 31, 2008 (all figures in United States\ndollars).\n\n\n"First quarter 2009 earnings declined significantly over the same quarter\nlast year due to the reduction in consumer rates given as part of the\nnegotiations for new licences" remarked Richard Hew, CUC President and Chief\nExecutive Officer.\n\n\nNet earnings for the three months ended July 31, 2008 were $5.3 million\ncompared to $7.8 million for the same period last year. Earnings on Class A\nOrdinary Shares for the quarter were $4.7 million, or $0.19 per Class A\nOrdinary Share, compared to $7.2 million, or $0.29 per Class A Ordinary Share,\nfor first quarter fiscal 2008. The 32% decline in net earnings was principally\ndue to the January 2008 removal of the Hurricane Ivan Cost Recovery Surcharge\n("CRS") to customers as agreed with the Cayman Islands Government in \nDecember 2007. The CRS had been scheduled to be fully recovered in \nAugust 2008. The 3.25% rate reduction, implemented in January of 2008, and\nincreased depreciation and maintenance expenses of $0.4 million each, were\nalso contributing factors. General and administrative expenses were down \n$0.5 million over the same quarter in fiscal 2008. Total operating expenses\nincreased 41% to $47 million, driven by increased fuel costs.\n\n\nTotal electricity sales for the quarter increased 5% to 149.1\nmillion kiloWatt hour ("kWh") from 141.8 million kWh for the same period last\nyear. Total customers as at July 31, 2008 were 24,167, an increase of 5% over\nlast year.\n\n\n"System demand peaked in June at 92.9 megaWatts ("MW"), and was reliably\nmet by our 136.6 MW of installed generating capacity," said Mr. Hew. "In\nSeptember of 2009, we will add an additional 16 MW of capacity to meet the\ncontinued growth on the island."\n\n\nDuring the quarter, the Company provided recommendations to the\nElectricity Regulatory Authority ("ERA") regarding Customer Owned Renewable\nEnergy purchase...