DIRECTORS of the Cave Shepherd group say it is likely that member companies which depend on domestic demand will have a challenging 2011.
Chairman Geoffrey Cave and chief executive officer John Williams said this is a result of the introduction of several tax-raising measures by Government in late 2010 which are likely to limit consumer demand in Barbados.
However, they said the indicators for the international business sector and the prospects for tourism appear better this year than they did in 2010.
“If indeed increased visitor spend is realized, it will greatly benefit our Duty free Caribbean Holdings business and as retail still represents the most significant portion of our Group’s earnings, this will have a major positive impact on our 2011 performance,” the directors said in the group’s 2010 annual report.
Cave and Williams noted that the group was actively looking for new business and investment opportunities, including non-traditional areas.
“We are currently evaluating a number of interesting opportunities and we expect that some of these will materialize, thereby deploying some of the company’s excess cash resources into higher-earning investments which will generate ongoing and sustainable earnings in the years ahead,” they said.
The directors noted that they intend to be more aggressive in developing the Cave Shepherd Card business and are in the process of “restructuring” the operation.
They said the card continues to make a worthwhile contribution to the group’s performance and recorded a better result during 2010 whilst maintaining its excellent record on collection and delinquency management.
