Poly Pet outlook cut as bottle maker faces first bond repayments

Jamaica’s largest plastic bottle manufacturer has had the outlook on its $800-million bond lowered to negative by regional ratings agency CariCRIS, which warned that Poly Pet Company Limited may not have the cash in hand when quarterly principal payments fall due in March.

The agency reaffirmed the issue credit rating at jmC on the Jamaica national scale, a grade it describes as poor, while shifting the outlook from stable.

“The negative outlook is based on the high likelihood that Poly Pet’s cash flow adequacy and financial flexibility could weaken over the next 12 to 15 months if the company is unable to fully capitalise its reserve account to meet all of its quarterly bond payments scheduled to begin in March 2027,” CariCRIS said in the release.

The reserve account was only established in June 2026, leaving the company roughly nine months to accumulate enough cash before the first instalment. CariCRIS said the short runway raises refinancing and liquidity pressure.

Poly Pet raised the $800 million in December 2020 to fund working capital and refinance existing debt. The original facility carried a fixed coupon of 7.5 per cent over five years, with the whole principal repayable in a single bullet payment at maturity in December 2025. The company did not repay it.

Instead, bondholders concluded negotiations in February 2026 to restructure the facility and push maturity out three years to December 2028. The price of that extension was a coupon rise to 10 per cent, interest payable quarterly, eight equal quarterly principal, and interest payments of J$42.9 million beginning in March 2027, and a J$600-million balloon payment at the end.

CariCRIS pointed to three further constraints: a projected loss after tax for the 2026 financial year, continued breaches of bond covenants, and elevated raw material costs.

Founded in 2006 and based in Kingston, Poly Pet manufactures high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles for household, beverage and industrial customers, and supplies labels, boxes and caps alongside them. It consumes 2 million pounds of HDPE and 4 million pounds of PET each year. The company is owned by Anthony Brown with 40 per cent, Tamara Phang with 40 per cent, and Chief Executive Shane Brown with 20 per cent.

It reported profit after tax of J$4 million for the year to June 2025, on total assets of J$2.4 billion.

CariCRIS said the company holds a strong market position and runs its plant efficiently, supported by asset maintenance practices. Those strengths are set against poor cash flow adequacy, heavy intercompany balances, and substantial customer concentration risk.

The agency also flagged the regulatory direction of travel, noting that single-use plastic bottles are being disincentivised in Jamaica. Further restrictions on plastic use rank among the triggers that could prompt a downgrade, as would any failure to meet the quarterly payments when they begin in March.

business@gleanerjm.com