(Trinidad Express) Trini-dad Cement Ltd has recorded growth in revenue of $97.2 million for the first nine months of 2014 ending September 30.
Revenue for the Claxton Bay-based group was $1.587 billion compared to $1.490 billion in the same period last year.
This improvement was driven by growth in the domestic cement markets in Trinidad and Jamaica, the company said in its interim financial report published on Saturday last. The company also said price increases were implemented in Trinidad, Jamaica and Guyana during the period.
They were the first financials published since the August 19 Special Compulsory Meeting of Shareholders held at the Raddison Hotel, Port of Spain. Minutes before the meeting TCL’s chief executive officer Dr Rollin Bertrand, its chairman Andy Bhajan, Carlos David Hee Houng, Bevon Francis, Brian William Young and Leonard Nurse resigned their positions from the board.
They were replaced by Wilfred Espinet, Alison Lewis, Chris Dehring, Michael Hamel-Smith, Nigel Edwards and Cemex executives Carlos Palero and Francisco Aguilera. Espinet, one of the shareholders who challenged the TCL board in court, was appointed chairman of the company. The board later fired Bertrand as CEO.
Profit after taxes amounted to $63.7 million compared with $78.9 million (inclusive of one-time tax credit of $37.7 million) in the prior year period which resulted in Earnings per Share (EPS) of 24.4 cents compared with 28.2 cents for the prior year period.
The Board, the report said, is currently negotiating with the financiers to have a restructured loan agreement.
Negotiations are also in progress between the Company and the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) to have an agreement with regard to retroactive payments for the expired collective agreements. A comprehensive financial and operational review of the Group is in progress and a restructuring plan, which seeks to secure the long-term viability of the company, is scheduled to be completed by October 31.
