Cement Q3 profit jumps $1.15B

Profit at Caribbean Cement surged over by $1.15 billion to $1.23 billion percent in the September quarter, from a 32 percent jump in sales. For the nine months to September, profit jumped a strong 42 percent to $2.2 billion from $1.57 million in 2019 as revenues rose 12 percent to $15 billion.
Investors immediately reacted to the results by driving the stock up $8.04 or 17.5 percent to $54 on the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
The third quarter results blew past the June quarter, with revenues of $4.78 billion reflecting a modest increase over 2019 with the profit rising from $368 million to $521 million.
Operating profit surged 69 percent in the quarter, to $2.85 billion from $1.69 billion and rose 19.6 percent for the year to date, to $6.97 billion from $5.8 billion in 2019.  Direct operating cost, increased 8.5 percent from $2.7 billion to $2.93 billion and increased 5.8 percent for the year to date, to $8.1 billion from $7.7 billion in 2019.
Other operating and administrative expenses dropped 25 percent to $6.44 million in the quarter and fell slightly in the nine months period to $2.04 billion. Foreign exchange losses amounted to $266 million in the quarter and $923 million for the year to date, while finance cost declined in the quarter, to $173 million from $209 million in 2019 and from $677 million to $503 million for the nine months. The company provided $536 million for taxation for the quarter representing 30 percent of the profit and $1.27 billion for the nine months for 36 percent of profit.
Earnings per share came out at $1.44 for the quarter and $2.62 for the nine months. ICInsider.com is forecasting $3.50 per share for a PE of 15 times earnings. The amount could be beaten as there could be no foreign exchange losses in the December quarter and if sales keep close to the third quarter numbers while the provision for taxation could less than in the third quarter.
Gross cash flow provided by operating activities brought in $2.56 billion from which they paid $2.5 billion against loans, leaving $374 million in cash at the end of the period.
At the end of September, shareholders’ equity stood at $10.58 billion, up from $8.3 billion at the end of December last year. Borrowings are down to $7.7 billion from $12.8 billion at the close of September last year.
The results for the quarter shows the potential for the company to increase profits as cost are fairly fixed. The reverse is true as lower sales will adversely affect gross profit and drag profits lower. With the expansion in buildings in Jamaica and prospects for exports barring increased importation of cement into Jamaica, the future appears bright for the company. Added to the above is the rapid repayment of loans that will reduce interest cost and foreign exchange losses.