CAC last traded at $13.10.
The past twelve months have been tough for air-conditioning company CAC 2000 with sales and profit plummeting as major road works around their business place disrupted business in a serious way.
Revenues and profits were significantly impacted by the disruption to business resulting from major road works in the Spanish Town and Hagley Park Road area. Additionally, to compliance with IFRS 15 which stymied revenues by an estimated 10 -20 percent, chopping $171 million off revenues for the nine months, Steve Marston, the company’s Chairman and CEO reported to shareholders in a commentary included with the quarterly financials.
Profit in the July quarter plummeted 326 percent from a profit of $19 million in the corresponding 2018 period to a loss of $43 million as sale revenues fell by 22.5 percent for the quarter to $221 million from $285 million in 2018 and declined 19 percent for the year to date to $738 million from $909 million in 2018. For the nine months to July, profit dropped 154 percent from $72 million in 2018 to a loss of $39 million.
Cost of sales fell 14 percent in the quarter, compared to 10 percent for the year to date leading to a fall in gross profit margin in the nine months to 32 percent from 39 percent in the 2018 period. Gross profit margin declined 30 percent from 36 percent in the 2018 quarter. Other income that included income from professional service undertaken in Barbuda declined from $4.4 million to just $73,478 for the quarter but jumped sharply in the nine months to $47 million from just $7 million in 2018.
Steven Marston,
Chief Executive Officer
Gross cash flow was negative with the consumption of $26 million but the company still ended with more cash funds at the end of the period of $149 million. At the end of July. Current assets ended the period at $1.06 billion inclusive of trade and other receivables of $522 million. Current liabilities stood at $459 million including Payables of $381 million. Shareholders’ equity stood at $444 million with borrowings at just $208 million.
The future for the company for the current fiscal year lies in the ability to close as many of the projects of the more than $800 million of projects Management says is on hand.
Companies hurt from temporary disruptions can be candidates for big recovery in stock price when they return to normal operations CAC seems to one such entity. Investors in looking at this company should focus on the next fiscal year when the operations should not suffer from the disruptions encountered in the past year. Earnings per share ended with a loss of 33 cents for the quarter and a loss of 31 cents for the nine months. The company’s shares are listed on the Junior Market of the Jamaican Stock Exchange and last traded at $13.10.
