Clarendon Alumina Production continues losing money

Clarendon Alumina Production Limited (CAP) advises that it has produced 2015 accounts but that these have not yet been laid before the annual general meeting or Parliament.

It is unclear how the Government of Jamaica, and in particular, the otherwise progressive Ministry of Finance, does not have a defined policy that the audited accounts can be made available as soon as the audit has been completed.

The long delay for the minister to review accounts and place them before Parliament must be embarrassing to the various state companies like CAP that produce their accounts on a timely basis.

The March 2014 accounts show that CAP had an income of US$157 million, and that after payment of its cost of sales, totalling US$212million, administrative and finance costs and taxation, it showed a net loss for the year of US$85 million. This loss reflects a substantial increase from the loss of US$55 million in 2013. CAP is carrying forward tax losses of US$238 million.

As at March 2014, the company was wholly-owned by the Government of Jamaica. In March 1988 the Jamaica and Alcoa Minerals of Jamaica entered into an agreement whereby CAP and Alcoa operated a joint venture - Jamalco. The joint venture shares allocated alumina produced and corresponding costs on a 50:50 basis.

Alcoa managed the joint venture. It later acquired an additional five per cent of CAP's shares in Jamalco, and post-March 2014, Alcoa sold its 55 per cent shareholding to Noble Group.

The results of the joint venture, as far as the Government is concerned, are far from encouraging, as in both 2013 and 2014, the Government's proportion of cost of sales exceeded its share of sales by more than US$50 million. In the absence of the 2015 accounts, one does not know whether this loss continues or not.

CAP employs 329 full-time staff members and 583 part-time. This loss-making company continues to operate a defined benefit plan, which has a small surplus. The company has no receivables.