OCM stumped by share price puzzle

Chairman of One Caribbean Media (OCM) Faarees Hosein says the media group is still trying to determine who was behind the “manipulation” of its shares price which led to the stock tumbling in value.

On the Barbados Stock Exchange (BSE) the OCM price closed at $2.20 per share.

Since the merger of the Nation Corporation in Barbados and the CCN in Trinidad and Tobago, the equity has dropped from a high of $6.35 for those early investors.

Commenting in the 2020 annual report, Hosein said: “As if the pandemic was not enough of a distraction, we have had the spectre of share price manipulation in our shares on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange (TTSE) in October 2020.”

He told shareholders, the “manipulation” had led to the media group making a formal complaint to the Trinidad and Tobago Securities Exchange Commission, requesting an investigation into the matter.

Hosein said the probe was still ongoing. In the Chairman’s Statement, he noted the group “having experienced revenue declines in the first two quarters as a result of measures implemented by the respective governments to manage and contain the spread of COVID-19, the third quarter was marked by the resilience of the Group, reporting net profit before tax of TT $12 million [BDS $4 million], an 18 per cent increase over the same period in the previous year.”

The chairman added: “As at the end of 2020, we reported revenues of TT $311 million [BDS $103.6 million] which represented a decline of 16 per cent compared to 2019, while our net profit before tax and impairment of TT $24 million [BDS $ 8 million] was a creditable performance in what can be described as a wholly unusual year.”

And having not declared a dividend to shareholders, last year, he said the board felt the financial situation of the group had “sufficiently recovered as at the close of the year to be able
to recommend the payment of a dividend of TT $0.15 [BDS $0.05] per share”.

And in a move to satisfy shareholders in Barbados and across the region, the OCM annual general meeting is scheduled for June 17 at 10 a.m. at Express House but shareholders can participate in the meeting via webcast. (IMC1)