Massy records smaller profits in some Caribbean markets

For the third straight quarter of the current financial year the Trinidad & Tobago-based conglomerate Massy Holdings Ltd has recorded a decline in the Barbados market.

In his statement for the quarter ending June 30, 2019, which was recently posted, Chairman Robert Bermudez reported that year-to-date profit before tax from Barbados declined two per cent, due mainly to economic challenges.

“While year-to-date profit before tax from Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados declined by three per cent and two per cent respectively, significant improvements were achieved from Guyana and Colombia, with gains of 16 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively,” he said.

“The integrated business unit profit before tax declined by seven per cent with economic challenges faced by the retail business in Trinidad and the distribution business in Barbados in particular,” he said.

There was also an eight per cent decline in St Lucia and St Vincent, which Bermudez said would “regularize itself by year end”.

The statement reviewing the period showed that positive contributions came from the financial services line of business, with year-to-date profit before tax increasing by ten per cent.

The chairman reported that the group’s third party revenue of $9.1 billion was one per cent below the revenue for the prior year.

“Group profit before tax of $642 million is however, 5.5 per cent higher than the profit before tax in quarter three prior year. Group profit after tax increased by 6.7 per cent from $390 million to $416 million and earnings per share improved by 6.4 per cent from $3.61 in prior year to $3.84,” he reported.

He said in the coming financial year the company would execute on identified opportunities to improve efficiencies, effectiveness and user experience through automation, process standardization and the centralization of some activities.

“The Group is proceeding with its plans to give greater autonomy and focus to its larger business units to pursue growth and performance improvements, and we expect this to be in place to start the new financial year,” said Bermudez.

He said in the short term the group’s growth was likely to come from stronger profit and loss management of its larger business units, cost and efficiency initiatives and its operations in the growing economies of Guyana, Colombia and Jamaica.

During the second quarter ending March 31, 2019, the company had reported moderate declines. And in the first quarter, which ended December 31, 2018, it also reported a decline in the Barbados market, which it said was due to reduced consumer spending.