Cave Shepherd & Company says all its financial services companies performed creditably in the first half of the financial year and recorded improved results.
This was outlined by Chairman of the local group of companies Sir Geoffrey Cave and recently appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Roger Cave, as they outlined to investors and stakeholders in consolidated financial highlights for the six months ended June 30, 2023.
The two executives disclosed that “Fortress Fund Managers, DGM Financial Group, Cave Shepherd Card (Barbados) Inc., and SigniaGlobe Financial Group recording strong profitability and much-improved results over the prior year”.
The remaining retail company in the group GCS Limited trading as Ganzee, was described as showing “significant revenue growth and improved profits” due to increased tourist activity in the 2022 – 2023 winter tourist season.
On the other hand, the Caves explained that SigniaGlobe’s increased profitability was due to a reduction in taxes from the one-off pandemic contribution level which impacted the comparative 2022 results.
Sir Geoffrey Cave
Importantly, the top officials of Cave Shepherd & Co, told regulators and shareholders that the other major contributor to the overall improved performance in 2023 was an “unrealised gain on the Group’s investment portfolio of $0.1 million compared to unrealised losses of $1.7
million in 2022 as a result of the declines in bond prices following the significant increases in US dollar interest rates”.
They said most of these funds are now held in a US dollar money market fund with higher yields and lower volatility. They also disclosed that a decision was taken to wind up the company’s defined benefit pension plan which has been closed to new entrants for over twenty years.
According to the chairman and CEO: “Subject to final regulatory approvals, this should be completed by the end of this year and is expected to result in a one-off gain from the surplus sharing transaction which was recently approved by the Plan’s members.”
The Caves described the group as maintaining strong liquidity with net assets of $94 million and net cash and cash equivalents of $29 million.
They also announced the Group was actively seeking new investment opportunities to enhance its growth and expansion both locally and regionally and there was a strong belief that some of these opportunities would be realised during the second half of the year.
(IMC1)
