Kremi raises prices 5% as costs drive $96m loss

Caribbean Cream Limited, the ice cream maker that trades as Kremi, said it raised product prices by an average of 5.0 per cent this month due to rising costs.

"There are question marks about transportation and shipping costs, and all our raw materials prices are up. This will force us to do a price increase, which will come online on June 1st (DEL)," CEO Christopher Clarke said in a Financial Gleaner interview.

Clarke attributed the cost pressures to conflict in the Middle East and its effect on global shipping and commodity prices. “Uncertainty does not help,” he added.

The company incurred a net loss of some $96 million for its February 2026 financial year, from a profit of $18 million a year earlier. 

Revenue edged down 0.7 per cent to $2.97 billion from $2.99 billion.  

Last October, Hurricane Melissa compounded the company's difficulties, damaging its Montego Bay depot and temporarily halting sales.

“We had zero sales for about a week, and we had to support employees who were hardest affected by the hurricane,” Clarke recalled, adding that sales largely returned to “normal” in Christmas.

Operationally, a water well commissioned during the year became fully operational, eliminating the company's National Water Commission bill and saving an average of $2 million per month. The well infrastructure is recorded in the financial statements at $39.5 million.

luke.douglas@gleanerjm.com