Ansa McAl records 58 percent loss in Guyana - Chairman

Ansa McAl records 58 percent loss in Guyana – Chairman

Aug 17, 2018 News

Trinidad (Newsday) – The TT economy appears to be showing “slight improvement,” Ansa McAl chairman Norman Sabga has said.
“The fact that (our profits are) up three per cent locally would indicate to us that things are improving or we are getting a larger piece of the market,” Sabga told a shareholder’s meeting for the company’s half year financial results, at Tatil, Port of Spain on Tuesday.
The region’s biggest conglomerate reported a five per cent increase in revenues and profits for the first half of 2018. Revenue was $3.06 billion, up from $2.9 billion year on year. Profit before tax was $454 million, up from $432 million; and profit after tax was $323 million, up from $307 million.
Sabga said revenue was driven by three sectors: automobiles, beverages and consolidated buildings and services throughout the group.
Apart from Trinidad, the company recorded increased profits in the US (19 per cent); St Kitts (17 per cent); and Grenada (11 per cent). Barbados recorded a 31 per cent loss, while Guyana recorded a 58 per cent loss.
The company was “significantly affected” by the economic situation in Barbados, Sabga said.
He was, however, still optimistic about the opportunities in that country. “There are valleys and peaks and we tend to, as an organisation, come out better out of the recession than when we went in. You need to start looking at your whole organisation, whole value chain, whole method of operation and competing on that basis,” Sabga said of the economic environment there.
The situation in Guyana, he said, was a result of “retooling” the businesses for greater market penetration and he expected it to rebound quickly.
Regionally, he said, Ansa is seeing “good uplift” in other markets but overall, their percentage is fairly small compared to TT.
“Overall, the TT market is by far our largest market. Part of our strategy to invest in other economies going forward. It’s not going to happen overnight,” Sabga said.

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