B.E.L. reports good year, despite hurricane

It took a licking from Hurricane Iris, not to mention a storm of protest over the Chalillo hydro project, but in the end, 2001 was not such a bad year for B.E.L. The company, which holds its tenth annual general meeting tonight at the Princess Hotel, will report to shareholders a respectable increase in revenues, profits and operating efficiency. Sales increased eleven point five percent to ninety point eight million dollars, while profits rose ten percent to eleven point eight million, or forty-three cents per share. The company will declare a twenty-cent per share dividend, the same as last year. Belize Electricity Limited is the nation’s sole supplier of electrical power. The majority of its shares–sixty-seven percent–are owned by Fortis Corporation of Canada, while the Belize Social Security Board owns twenty-five percent and smaller Belizean shareholders the remaining eight percent.