Caribbean Cement first-quarter profit jumps 53% on Melissa rebuilding boom

Caribbean Cement Company Limited has reported a sharp rise in earnings for the first three months of 2026, helped by a fresh wave of reconstruction work tied to Hurricane Melissa and the benefits of a recently completed plant expansion. The result follows a tough 2025, when annual output slipped to a near five-year low.

For the quarter ended March 2026, the cement maker booked revenue of $9.3 billion, an increase of 12.9 per cent on the corresponding period in 2025. Rebuilding activity across Jamaica in the wake of Hurricane Melissa kept demand for cement firm during the period.

Net income climbed to $3.0 billion, 52.8 per cent higher than the $2.0 billion reported a year earlier. Earnings per share moved up to $3.58 from $2.34.

Management attributed part of the improvement to gains from its $6.7-billion debottleneck programme, which expanded the capacity of the company's kiln — the high-temperature furnace central to cement manufacturing. The upgrade trimmed unit production costs and pushed gross profit margins to 51 per cent, compared with 46 per cent previously.

With the expanded equipment in place, the plant turned out a record 289,700 metric tonnes of cement during the first quarter of 2026, a jump of 33 per cent year-on-year.

Low output explained

The strong start to 2026 stands in contrast to a bruising 2025. Caribbean Cement told the Financial Gleaner that full-year cement production remained under one million tonnes, dragged down by an extended planned shutdown, softer post-hurricane demand and two unscheduled kiln stoppages triggered by inventory build-up.

The planned outage stretched to 55 days, well beyond the company's usual 15 to 20-day window for annual maintenance. During that period, the firm carried out routine major works and brought the new kiln online as part of the debottleneck project.

“The commissioning of the new kiln did not immediately translate into higher production volumes, as a period of stabilisation and ramping-up is required before steady operating conditions can be achieved,” the company said.

Hurricane Melissa added to the strain. Caribbean Cement said its plant escaped with only minor direct impact, but local demand softened after the storm because the early recovery phase concentrated on clean-up rather than rebuilding.

That slack in demand prompted two production halts to manage excess stock — a 30-day stoppage in October and a 15-day stoppage in December — costing the company 45 days of output in the back half of the year.

Even so, the upgraded facility hit a record monthly production figure in July 2025, which the company pointed to as evidence of the new plant's higher ceiling.

“Carib Cement is committed to Jamaica and to meeting the demands of the local market,” the company said.

Outlook

Looking ahead, Caribbean Cement flagged rising fuel and energy prices linked to the US-Iran conflict as a key risk, but said it would take proactive steps to keep operations stable.