Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. is listed for trading in
United States dollars on the
Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol
"CUP.U".
GRAND
CAYMAN, Cayman
Islands, February 14, 2025 /CNW/ - Caribbean
Utilities Company, Ltd. ("CUC" or the "Company") announced its
audited results for the twelve months ended
December 31, 2024 ("Fiscal 2024") (all figures
are in United States
Dollars).
Highlights for 2024 were as
follows:
- Successful commissioning of the 20-megawatt ("MW") battery
energy storage system ("BESS"). This system is anticipated to save
customers 5-6% in fuel costs.
- Successful completion of lifecycle upgrades ("LCU") to three of
the five generating units that will be upgraded. These upgrades
will not only prolong the life of the engines but will improve fuel
efficiency, reduce emissions and improve environmental impacts, and
significantly prepare the engines for dual fuel operation.
- Achieved a reliability performance of 1.8 outage hours per
average customer in 2024. This is consistent with North American
reliability standards.
- Completion of the Company's Health and Safety Plan which
included several focus areas such as training, mental health
management initiatives, an internal health and safety audit, and a
contractor workshop.
- Recertification of ISO 45001:2018, the international standard
for Occupational Health & Safety management systems. with no
major non-conformances.
- Development of a wildfire mitigation plan and internal
procedures. This plan supports the focus on improving the Company's
resilience in the event of a wildfire emergency.
- Nomination for the Investors in People ("IIP") prestigious
Overseas Employee of the Year Gold Award. This nomination is a
testament to CUC's commitment in creating a positive and supportive
working environment for employees.
Customer Support
- Successful implementation of mid-month consumption reports for
residential customers. This initiative complements the Customer
Connect tool, which is a free resource available on the Company's
website for all residential and small business consumers. The
mid-month consumption reports allow for increased customer
awareness of energy consumption.
Financial Growth
- Capital expenditure of $100.6
million was invested in the construction of the BESS, LCU,
Resiliency projects and upgrade of its generation, transmission and
distribution assets.
- Net earnings for the year ending December 31, 2024, were $42.7 million, a $4.0
million increase compared to net earnings of $38.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.
- 3% increase in kilowatt-hour ("kWh") sales.
- 3% increase in the quarterly dividend from $0.18 to $0.185 per
Class A Ordinary Share.
- The Company published its first Green Financing Framework
("Framework"). The Framework sets out the Company's standards for
financing and refinancing projects through green financing
instruments. The $50.0 million in
Green Note proceeds is being used to refinance and finance eligible
projects in three categories: energy efficiency, climate change
adaptation and clean transportation.
"CUC is dedicated to providing cost-effective and
environmentally positive investments for our customers. Our 2024
achievements in capital projects reflect the hard work and
dedication of our team to deliver the highest quality service to
our customers. Looking ahead, CUC will remain steadfast in our
commitment to ensuring our customers receive reliable, safe, and
cost-effective energy," said President and CEO, Mr.
Richard Hew.
Net Earnings and Sales Revenues
Net earnings for the Fiscal 2024 were $42.7 million, a $4.0 million increase from net earnings of
$38.7 million for the twelve months
ended December 31, 2023 ("Fiscal
2023"). This increase was attributable to a 3% increase
in kWh sales, 3.2% base rate increase effective June 1, 2024 and the Z-Factor revenue for BESS
and Resiliency projects. These factors were partially
offset by higher depreciation, general and administrative expenses
and maintenance costs. In addition to increase in
operating income, the net other income increased in Fiscal 2024 due
to higher income from pipeline operation, recovery of billing in
arrears related to pole attachment and lower finance charges.
Sales in kWh for Fiscal 2024 were 749.3 million kWh, an increase
of 22.3 million kWh or 3% compared to Fiscal 2023. The increase was
driven by customer growth and increase in average customer
consumption for residential and large commercial customers-.
Despite the relatively cooler weather and increased rainfall, a
record peak load of 128.0 MW was experienced on September 17, 2024. Total customers as of
December 31, 2024, were 34,280 an
increase of 2% when compared to 2023.
Fuel factor and renewable costs are a pass-through at cost to
customers. Fuel Factor consists of charges from diesel fuel and
lubricating oil costs, which are passed through to consumers on a
two-month lag basis with no mark-up. The average Fuel Cost
Charge rate charged to consumers for Fiscal 2024 was $0.23 per kWh, compared to the Fuel Cost Charge
rate of $0.24 per kWh for Fiscal
2023. The average fuel price per imperial gallon ("IG") for
the year ended December 31, 2024, was
$3.90, compared to $4.24 for the year ended December 31, 2023.
After the adjustment for dividends on the preference shares of
the Company, earnings on Class A Ordinary Shares for Fiscal
2024 were $41.7 million, or
$1.08 per share, as compared to
$37.7 million, or $1.00 per share for Fiscal 2023.
Key Updates
In 2024, the Company made significant strides in its
Environment, Social, and Governance ("ESG") objectives. The Company
maintained its environmental management system and is registered to
ISO 14011:2015. This standard requires an external audit and in
2024, CUC retained the certification with no major
non-conformances. This recertification demonstrates the Company's
commitment to its ESG objectives and its commitment to being
environmentally prudent.
Despite the significant hurricane activity in the Caribbean region in 2024, CUC was able to
renew its annual property insurance with no change in coverage and
on favourable rate terms. The Company continues its efforts to
improve the resiliency of its infrastructure to mitigate the risk
of property damage due to climate change and weather events. In
2024, the Company achieved an average of 1.8 hours of outage time
per customer. This achievement is in line with North American
standards and a testament to the investment in reliability efforts
made by CUC. The Company will continue to focus on resiliency in
2025 with the hardening and undergrounding of major transmission
lines. These efforts will continue to allow for better
uninterrupted service for customers and will allow for quicker
restoration of service during major weather events.
In August of 2024, the Company's Green Financing Framework (the
"Framework") was published. This Framework outlined the Company's
standards for financing and refinancing projects through green
financing instruments. The framework was assessed by second-party
opinion provider, Sustainable Fitch, as excellent, and in Q4 2024,
the Framework was awarded the title of Debt Deal of the Year -
Caribbean through the Global
Banking and Markets Latin America Awards.
CUC remains committed to excellence in customer service,
continuing to focus on programmes and projects designed to improve
customer experience, service delivery, and customer education.
During the year the Company successfully introduced proactive
mid-month consumption notifications for residential customers to
enhance customer education. This initiative complements the
Customer Connect tool and allows the customer to monitor their
daily energy usage and customise consumption level alerts so that
customers can manage their consumption.
Capital Projects
In 2024, the Company invested $100.6
million in construction of the BESS, LCU, Resiliency
projects and the upgrade of its generation, transmission and
distribution assets. The above capital projects will enhance
reliability, ensure safe delivery of electricity and provide
fuel cost savings for the customers of Grand Cayman. Some of these projects will also
assist in the reduction of carbon emissions, which is in line with
the Company's target of 70% reduction of emissions by 2037.
CUC's Annual 2024 results and related Management's
Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") are attached to this release
and incorporated by reference. The MD&A section of this
report contains a discussion of CUC's 2024 results for the
twelve-month period ended December 31,
2024, the Cayman Islands
economy, liquidity and capital resources, capital expenditures and
the business risks facing the Company. The release and 2024 audited
annual results 2024 MD&A can be accessed at www.cuc-cayman.com
(Investor Relations/Press Releases) and at www.sedarplus.ca.
The principal activity of the Company is to generate, transmit,
and distribute electricity in its licence area of Grand Cayman, Cayman
Islands pursuant to a 20-year Transmission &
Distribution ("T&D") Licence and a 25-year non-exclusive
Generation Licence (the "Generation Licence" and together with the
T&D licence, the "Licences") granted by the Cayman Islands
Government (the "Government", "CIG"). The T&D Licence, which
expires in April 2028, contains
provisions for an automatic 20-year renewal and the Company has
reasonable expectation of renewal until April 2048. The Generation Licence expires in
November 2039. Further information is
available at www.cuc-cayman.com.
Certain statements in the MD&A, other than statements of
historical fact, are forward-looking statements concerning
anticipated future events, results, circumstances, performance or
expectations with respect to the Company and its operations,
including its strategy and financial performance and condition.
Forward looking statements include statements that are predictive
in nature, depend upon future events or conditions, or include
words such as "expects", "anticipates", "plan", "believes",
"estimates", "intends", "targets", "projects", "forecasts",
"schedule", or negative versions thereof and other similar
expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "may", "will",
"should", "would" and "could". Forward looking statements are based
on underlying assumptions and management's beliefs, estimates and
opinions, and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties
surrounding future expectations generally that may cause actual
results to vary from plans, targets and estimates. Some of the
important risks and uncertainties that could affect forward looking
statements are described in the MD&A in the section labeled
"Business Risks" and include but are not limited to operational,
general economic, market and business conditions, regulatory
developments and weather. CUC cautions readers that actual results
may vary significantly from those expected should certain risks or
uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove
incorrect. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose
of providing information about management's current expectations
and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that such
information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company
disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise except as required by
law.
SOURCE Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd.
