You will be aware of the continued financial challenge that Carib Cement has been facing. Unfortunately, the rebound in sales that were seen towards the end of last year has not been maintained and the domestic market appears to be going into contraction once again. At the same time, in the first four months of this year, oil prices have continued to rise and are up 12% over the end of the year prices. This has translated into 9% increase in electricity costs and we are likely to face similar increase in our solid fuel costs when next we order. These increase directly impact on mining, manufacturing and distribution costs.
We have critically reviewed all strategies that affect the Company’s performance and are left with no choice but to institute an average 9.2% price correction, which will come into effect on June 1, 2012.
Our situation is not very different to other manufacturers in the region who have also been adjusting their prices in the face of escalating energy and other costs. Our checks revealed that after this price adjustment, our ex-factory price will still be the lowest among the manufacturing countries of Mexico, Columbia, the Dominican Republic, Barbados and Trinidad.
