Lasco Manufacturers Ltd has more than tripled the four containers of iCool it was shipping to the Guyanese market monthly as the company seeks to ramp up export numbers of its new lead product.

“With the addition of other products, we are expecting to grow that number even more in that market alone,” stated Paul Shoucair, Local and Export Business Development Director of Lasco Distributors, during a recent tour of Lasco’s White Marl facilities.

“The future looks bright for iCool,” he continued.

Chairman of the company, Lascelles Chin, last week announced that plans were underway to invest another US$5 million to expand its warehouse facility by 62,000 square feet, in addition to US$5 million on equipment in order to triple production capacity.

This means that the company has invested a total of J$8.1 billion in Jamaica since its inception.

With the increased investment, the company expects to add new product lines and increase the output of iCool. The drink is currently sold in six Caribbean countries, with plans to enter Trinidad and Tobago and Panama.

According to Chin, over the six-month period March to August, Lasco Manufacturing exported 54 containers of iCool, and in September exported 20 containers to regional markets.

“For October, we already sold 30 containers. We are only now selling to six countries and we are planning to sell to 14 other countries in the Caribbean,” Chin told shareholders at the company’s recent annual general meeting.

The Lasco Group of companies posted combined net profit of $457.2 million for the three months ending June 30, 2016.

The production arm, Lasco Manufacturing, saw a 10 per cent decline to $224 million in the first quarter of 2016, down from $246.6 million a year earlier.

Part of the decline was attributed to an increase in corporation tax as the company is now allowed only 50 per cent of the original tax waiver under the regulations of the Jamaica Stock Exchange.

Supply chain issues from overseas partners also negatively impacted production and the company’s ability to fill demand. Nonetheless, total revenue for the three months climbed to $1.7 billion, an increase of roughly $3 million or 21 per cent over the prior year of $1.4 billion.