Cayman Turtle Centre suffered a loss of about $7.3 million in 2023 – and deficits are projected to increase further over the next two years.
The government-owned company, which has never made a profit, is forecast to lose about $7.7 million in 2024 and $8.3 million in 2025, according to its latest ownership agreement.
The increasing losses appear to be due to high operating expenses and declining revenue, which the centre told the Compass last month is down to a struggling cruise ship industry.
And, along with depreciation in property and equipment, the losses are set to contribute to the firm’s forecast drop in net worth – from $57.6 million in 2023 to $51.6 million in 2025.
Behind Cayman Airways, which reported projected losses of $10.4 million in 2023, Cayman Turtle Centre is the government-owned company with the second largest annual losses.
The Compass reached out to the company for a comment but did not receive a response before publication time.
No progress
Former CEO Tim Adam told the Compass in 2019 that after paying off a $50 million loan to rebuild the old hurricane-damaged centre, the long-term goal was to break even.
“Our aim over the next few years is to try to get to that point,” he said at the time.
However, losses appear to have remained substantial in the years since.
The latest annual report and financial statement available on the centre’s website date back to 2019, so accurate details on subsequent losses are not yet publicly available.
However, the company’s previous ownership agreement with the government forecast losses of $10.7 million in 2021 and $8.8 million in 2022.
The large deficits are likely to have been as a result of low visitor numbers following the COVID-19 pandemic.
And while losses were forecast to be notably lower in 2023 at $7.3 million, they are predicted to be on the rise again in the coming years.
Contributing to those losses are the company’s high operating expenses, which were forecast at $14.8 million for 2023, $14.4 million for 2024 and $14.2 million for 2025.
Among those expenses are personnel costs, at more than $6 million per year; supplies and consumables; and depreciation or amortisation.
The company is also planning several improvements to the attraction and farm this year, according to the ownership agreement.
The major output of $2.3 million is for the replacement of the saltwater pipes leading to the facilities.
Renovation of changing rooms for the lagoon and pool slide will set the company back $500,000, and upgrades on the aquatic life-support system will cost $330,000.
The agreement also lists $80,000 as allocated for a children’s splash park and $40,000 for medical equipment for animal programmes.
Too much?
In its latest budget, the government agreed to put aside $8.4 million in 2024 and $5.3 million in 2025 to cover some of the shortfall and other expenses.
The allocation of public funds for Cayman Turtle Centre was discussed during a meeting of the Finance Committee on 13 Dec.
Leader of the Opposition Roy McTaggart requested a breakdown of the figures, which Stran Bodden, chief officer at Ministry of Tourism, produced.
Bodden explained that in 2024, of the allocated $8.4 million, $6.1 million is for operational costs and $2.3 million is for the replacement of the saltwater pipes.
In 2025, of the allocated $5.3 million, $5 million is for operational costs and $255,000 is to complete the pipe project.
In response, McTaggart suggested that the money for operational costs has “ballooned quite substantially”.
Bodden disagreed, saying that historically the amount that is “required in cash” for the facilities has been about $500,000 a month, or $6 million a year.
Too little?
The Opposition leader then asked why, in that case, the allocation had dropped to $5.3 million in 2025, saying: “That seems to me to be a bit short if it’s running at half a million a month.”
Bodden responded that the ministry had to make the funding that was allocated in the budget work.
MP Moses Kirkconnell questioned past years’ government contributions which were significantly lower than the amount that has now been allocated.
Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan explained that this is because the company took out a $10 million loan with the government due to the lack of visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Now that that loan amount is used up, the actual amount that they need to make payments as well as to run the operations has come up to the $5.2 million,” he said.
The minister added that there are no fixed repayment terms for the government loan, and payment will not be required until cruise visitors are “back to some reasonable amounts”.
Kirkconnell asked exactly how much was budgeted in past years, and the chief officer said the government had injected $2.5 million in 2022 and 2023, along with the $10 million loan.
Related Videos
