CARIBBEAN Cement Company Limited (CCC) delivered its strongest financial performance on record in 2025, as higher cement volumes following a multibillion-dollar expansion allowed the company to lift earnings even as hurricane disruptions weighed on parts of the wider Caribbean.

The gains were disclosed on Thursday by CCC’s ultimate parent, CEMEX SAB de CV, which said Jamaica posted record operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) during the year after cement volumes rose 7 per cent, driven mainly by tourism-related construction and residential self-build activity.

The performance marks the clearest pay-off yet from CCC’s US$42-million kiln debottlenecking project, completed in the third quarter of 2025, which has enabled the company to replace lower-margin imports with higher-value local production.

“Jamaica posted record Operating EBITDA in 2025 with cement volumes growing by 7 per cent,” Cemex said in its full-year release. “The completion of the kiln debottlenecking project is allowing us to profitably substitute lower margin imports with local production.”

Jamaica drives regional earnings 

CCC’s strength stood out within Cemex’s South, Central America and Caribbean (SCAC) segment, which generated US$1.14 billion in revenue and US$223 million in operating EBITDA for the full year. The Caribbean sub-region — including Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Guyana — accounted for 39 per cent of segment EBITDA, equivalent to nearly US$87 million.

Previous disclosures by Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) have shown that CCC is the group’s single most important operating unit, contributing more than half of consolidated revenue and the bulk of operating profit. TCL directly owns 74.1 per cent of CCC.

CCC reached peak production volumes in July 2025 and began exporting cement again later in the year, shipping 3,000 metric tonnes to Curaçao in September — a milestone that underscores the scale and efficiency gains achieved since the expansion.

Hurricanes, maintenance temper regional gains

Despite Jamaica’s record performance, Cemex said operating EBITDA for the SCAC segment declined 5 per cent on a like-for-like basis, citing the impact of Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica alongside elevated maintenance activity in Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago.

The group also reshaped its regional footprint during the year, exiting the Dominican Republic in January 2025 and selling its Panamanian operations in October.

Cemex said cement volumes across the region rose 2 per cent in 2025 and projected low single-digit price increases for building materials in 2026, supported by improving consumer sentiment and a recovery in formal construction.

“We remain optimistic about the medium-term outlook for the region, where improved consumer sentiment and formal construction are expected to drive demand,” said Louisa “Lucy” P Rodriguez, Cemex’s chief communications officer, during Thursday’s earnings call.

CCC results due next

Jamaican investors are expected to get a clearer picture of CCC’s standalone performance when the company publishes its audited financial statements by March 1. CCC’s operating EBITDA rose 5 per cent in 2024 to $9.38 billion, and climbed a further 5 per cent to $7.68 billion for the nine months ended September.

At the group level, Cemex reported US$16.13 billion in consolidated sales for 2025, with net profit edging up 1 per cent to US$970 million, despite significant one-off impairment and severance charges.

For CCC, however, the story of 2025 is more straightforward: after years of heavy capital spending, Jamaica’s cement producer has entered a phase of higher output, stronger margins, and renewed regional relevance — positioning it as one of the country’s most consequential industrial performers heading into 2026.