DUBLIN, (Reuters) – British group Cable & Wireless Communications said while there had been no major improvement in its key Caribbean market, it still expected to end its year broadly in line with forecasts.
CWC, which also trades in Panama, Macau and Monaco, said yesterday while tourist numbers were beginning to recover in the Caribbean, many were on cheaper packages and did not spend freely. Operations were also disrupted by hurricanes, it said.
“We are bumping along the bottom,” chief executive Tony Rice told reporters.
“Spend per tourist is down and the impact on disposable income in the Caribbean is probably worse than pretty much anywhere else in the world because it is so tourist dependent.”
Combined with higher subscriber acquisition costs from promotions and marketing, the group expected to post core second-half earnings from the Caribbean at around the same level as the $115 million reported in the first six months.
Analysts had been expecting a second-half improvement of around $10 million in Caribbean core earnings, meaning shares in the group were down 4.2 percent at 1010 GMT, valuing the company at just over $2 billion.
