Goddards outlook worry

Barbados’ lone pan-Caribbean conglomerate has declared it is in “very uncertain waters” as the group of companies navigates the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on its large catering division.

Goddard Enterprises Limited (GEL), which was formed in 1921 by Joseph and his son Victor Goddard, currently operates in 23 countries across the Caribbean, Central, South and North America. The group reported a net profit of $30.7 million for the six-months ending March 31 and this represents a 5.1 per cent drop from the same period in the last financial year.

In its unaudited half-year financial statement chairman Charles Herbert and managing director Anthony Ali said; “The economic fallout from COVID-19 has affected our businesses and various countries in different ways due to the diverse nature of the Group. The Group’s main area of concern, however, is our Catering and Ground Handling Division.

“The closure of the borders and the global stoppage of air travel have resulted in a significant decline in this business. We anticipate a material financial impact as the future of this business, the timing of recovery and the post-recovery levels are very uncertain at this time.”

The two top executives emphasized that management of the group was “deploying its resources and capabilities in other directions as well as restructuring the business to reduce costs”.

Herbert and Ali explained that some of its South American subsidiaries where COVID-19 was still spreading, had been hard hit by the virus.

Their statement said: “There is likely to be a significant impairment of our investment in Mirexus Biotechnologies Inc. Ecuador has been hit very hard by the pandemic with many infections and deaths.

“However, Ecuakao Kakao Processing Proecuakao S.A. has managed to maintain good production levels and has capitalised on good cocoa prices. Our food production-related businesses have been holding their own as consumers continue to stock up. The pandemic has also presented some opportunities for us; as our Aerosol and Disinfectant plant has seen an increase in business with the launch of new products in demand at this time.”

And with international travel still grounded, further slowing economic activity in the region, the GEL executives told shareholders to prepare for difficult period ahead.

They said:“The outlook for the second half of the year is not known but we anticipate a very poor result. Management has adopted strategies for cash preservation and therefore there is no concern for adequacy of cash reserves to run the Group’s operations. The Group’s Balance Sheet is expected to remain strong.”