BELCO Holdings has been looking to diversify and expand into the Caribbean, according to the company's president and chief executive officer, Garry Madeiros.

In an interview with The Royal Gazette, Mr. Madeiros said that since he took over seven years ago, the company has been following a plan of diversification.

He said Belco, which provides electricity and gas to the Island's 62,000 residents, had been just one company when he took over at the helm in 1994, and now was made up of a group of companies - Belco, Bermuda Gas and Utility Company Ltd. and Belco Energy Services Company (BESCO).

"We are now a diversified company," he said following the announcement last week of the company's six-month earnings.

"We no longer just concentrate on electricity. We have two goals - shareholder value and keeping the cost of electricity down. It has become a real challenge."

And he added that in a bid to keep the price of electricity stable and not have to increase rates, the company was looking abroad for potential partners or companies to buy out.

"Recently we have been looking at the Caribbean for a power processing company which would either be a Besco or Belco partnership or something we could buy out. So far we have been unsuccessful in finding something appropriate, but we are still considering the move. We are always on the look out for something like this which will take us into the future."

And he said that diversifying would allow the company to increase sales, keep costs down and give the company more stability in the long run.

Last week Belco Holdings announced that its profits fell marginally after costs increased during the first six months of 2001.

The company said consolidated net earnings for the first six months of the 2001 financial year had declined slightly by 0.21 percent to $8.3 million compared to $8.4 million a year earlier.

The firm said that, while electric energy revenue, which represents the primary contributor to Belco's bottom line, increased by 6.4 percent to $61.8 million, operating expenses increased proportionately during the six month period.

Kilowatt hour sales were up 3 percent, a direct result of a 5.2 percent increase in residential sales and growth in this sector was attributed to a large number of new residential units coming on line as well as increased usage by existing customers. An increase in fuel adjustment revenue, which also contributed to the increase in electricity sales, was offset by an equal increase in fuel costs.

Expenses rose 6.3 percent during the six month period over the same period last year as a result of higher fuel adjustment costs and increased depreciation costs mainly related to the two new engines which became operational in May 2001. Administration expenses also increased as a result of reallocating resources, as well as increased expenditure on environmental, safety and training programmes, the company said.