The Guyana National Printers Limited (GNPL) registered an after-tax profit $487,000 for 2012, far below the $5.1m figure for 2011.
The 2012 annual report was tabled in Parliament last month and the notes to the account state that GNPL is one of the companies listed by the government for privatization.
A qualified opinion was given to the accounts by chartered accountants Maurice Solomon and Co. as the requisite information on the company’s defined benefit pension plan was not provided. Except for this, the auditors found that the financial statements gave a true and fair view of the position of the company. The auditors’ opinion was endorsed by the Office of the Auditor General.
The annual report said that the company’s turnover rose by $50.6M from $237.3M in 2011 to $287.9M in 2012. A pre-tax profit of $3.3M was registered in 2012 compared to $9M in the previous year. The 6.3% increase in the cost of materials for the manufacture of exercise books was the key for the rise in the cost of sales.
Earnings per share amounted to $1.77 in 2011 compared with $18.11 in 2012.
No dividends were paid in 2012.
The accounts also reveal that GNPL received a $25.8M loan from the Ministry of Finance, the terms and conditions of which are yet to be finalized even though the loan is recorded at least as far back as the
2011 accounts.
The state-owned GNPL was incorporated in May 1976. It says its mission in part is to “Consistently deliver the finest quality commercial packaging and printing with exceptional value on time, every time…”
