No payday for OCM shareholders

Shareholders of One Caribbean Media (OCM), the parent company of the Nation Newspapers and Starcom Network, will not be receiving a final dividend on their investments.

This was revealed by OCM chairman Faarees Hosein in the Chairman’s Statement accompanying the most recent consolidated audited financial statements of the company which has reported a multi-million dollar loss. OCM is listed on the Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchanges.

In the financials for the year ended December 31, 2019, which were published on Friday, OCM registered a loss of US$8.97 million. This was a dramatic decline from the US$2.97 million profit, the company made the previous year.

During the year under review, OCM generated revenue of US$54.33 million, which was down slightly from $57.90 million in revenue it earned for the same period in 2018.

Hosein told shareholders: “The directors considered the current environment and also took a forward look at the likely impact of the present global pandemic on our business operations and adopted a conservative approach to impair the goodwill of two of its business units.

“It should be noted that both of these businesses continue to make a material contribution to the Group’s financial performance. Given the attendant circumstances, the directors have taken a decision not to declare a final dividend.”