(Trinidad Guardian) “Commendable.”
This is how chairman Robert Bermudez has described the Massy Group’s performance for the second quarter of its financial year which ended Mach 31, 2020.
Bermudez said pandemic restrictions remain in place in all of the countries in which the Group operates.
“The economies of countries in which we operate continue to struggle when compared to prior year and without the extra consumer spending which took place in March 2020 ahead of lockdowns and restrictions, consumer demand was even lower in the second quarter of financial year 2021 than financial year 2020,” Bermudez stated.
“Despite these challenges, the Group’s Q2 Year To Date performance is commendable,” he stated.
Bermudez said while the Group’s Third Party Revenue from Continuing Operations declined by one per cent from the same period in FY2020, Profit After Tax increased by 20 per cent from $263 million to $314 million.
The Group’s Earnings Per Share (EPS) improved by 24 per cent from $2.41 to $2.98 per share, he stated.
“The Group’s strategy to manage its operations as an Investment Holding Company paid off in Q2 FY2021. The new active management of the investment portfolios held throughout the Group under the leadership of the Group Corporate Treasury produced significant gains which more than compensated for weaker performance by the business Portfolios in Q2 FY2021,” he stated.
He stated that investment gains contributed approximately $61 million more to Profit Before Tax in Q2 FY2021 than Q2 FY2020, when Massy experienced investment losses in its portfolios, emanating from a decline in US Equities, precipitated by pandemic uncertainty.
Motors and Machines Third Party Revenue grew by nine per cent on the strength of its performance in Colombia.
“However, reduced sales in Trinidad due to low stock levels contributed to a decline in its PBT by nine per cent versus the prior year. Challenges with low volumes of bulk LPG sales in Jamaica arising from little activity at hotels and restaurants and low volumes of Nitrogen sales in Trinidad arising from declining activity in the petrochemical sector of the economy constrained the Gas Products Portfolio to a modest 4 per cent improvement in Revenue in Q2 YTD FY2021 versus prior year,” he stated.
“However, Gas Products Portfolio PBT declined by 10 per cent as the mix of increased sales in CO2 from Trinidad came at much lower margins,” Bermudez stated.
Bermudez stated that with increased autonomy provided to the Portfolios, the Group is “unleashing the creativity and ambition of executives and professionals in the Group to drive the performance of their Portfolios.”
“We are confident in our Portfolio teams to overcome this interruption to their growth trajectory in the coming months. We therefore believe it is prudent to declare a Half Year dividend of $0.55 which represents a 10 per cent increase over prior year,” he stated.
Bermudez stated that consistent with the company’s ongoing support for regional integration, the board made the decision to apply to cross-list the company’s shares on the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
“The Board considered the market sophistication and growth opportunities evident in the Jamaican securities market, which has become increasingly more dynamic over the past few years. The Board expects this will promote greater regional and international interest in the Company’s shares, which will redound to the benefit of all shareholders,” he stated.
