Cave Shepherd & Company Limited is in expansion mode, with officials eyeing new business opportunities in Barbados and Guyana.
This comes as the company reports a $13 million profit and implements a leadership transition at the board and executive level.
“We are currently exploring expansion opportunities in Barbados and Guyana, which if successful, will improve the results in the years ahead,” said then chairman Sir Geoffrey Cave and chief executive officer Roger Cave in the directors’ statement, dated October 16, which accompanied the company’s published unaudited financial statements for the nine months ended September 30, 2026.
Cave Shepherd’s board directors recently announced that following more than 50 years of dedicated service to the company, Sir Geoffrey decided to step down as chairman but that he would remain on the board as a non-executive director.
The company’s chief executive officer (CEO) Roger Cave, a member of its board of directors since 1997, became the group’s new chairman effective October 17.
Alison Browne-Ellis, the current CEO of Cave Shepherd Card (Barbados) Inc., which trades as Payce Digital, will become the group’s new CEO effective February 1.
These recent announcements were made following another profitable period for Cave Shepherd & Company, which now mainly operates in the financial services sector.
Sir Geoffrey and Cave reported: “For the nine months ending September 30, 2026, the group recorded a profit attributable to equity holders of the company of $13 million or earnings per share of $0.70, both unchanged from the prior year.
Surpassing budgets
“These results don’t accurately reflect an otherwise very solid performance for the year-to-date for the group with total revenues up 18 per cent to $34.9 million and operating profit is up nine per cent to $15.7 million from $14.4 million in 2025.”
The two officials further reported that the group’s financial services businesses, Fortress Fund Managers, Payce Digital, SigniaGlobe Financial Group, and DGM Financial Group “all continue to perform well surpassing both budgets and prior year comparative results”.
“Payce Digital has successfully migrated its card processing operations to a new provider which will provide a solid platform to grow that business in the future,” they stated in the directors’ statement.
In addition, the pair said: “Store All, our self-storage subsidiary, continues to show profitable results at both the operating and net profit levels and construction has also commenced on a new self-storage building in Lears.
“Our travel-retail associate, GCS Limited (Ganzee) revenues and profitability have been impacted in recent months due to a decrease in tourist spend, while Pick UP Taxi Inc.’s profitability from ride-sharing operations declined compared with 2025, reflecting increased competition in the market.”
The performance of the group’s investments were negatively impacted by interest rate increases beyond Barbados’ shores.
“Our investment portfolio recorded unrealised gains of $200 000, compared with $1.1 million in the prior year, reflecting significantly weaker bond prices due to the significant increases in the level of [United States] interest rates so far in 2026,” the two officials explained.
The Cave Shepherd’s net assets stood at $130.8 million, reflecting an increase from $117.1 million in the prior year with net cash and liquid assets totalling $39.6 million, and Sir Geoffrey and Cave said this underscored “our continued balance sheet strength and liquidity”.
Shareholders have also been benefitting from the group’s improved financial returns. The two officials said that the board of directors approved and paid an interim dividend of $0.20 per share, which was paid in August 2026.
Looking ahead, they stated: “The last quarter of the year has historically been one of our strongest, therefore, we anticipate closing the year with an improved performance over the prior year.”
In announcing the leadership changes at the board of directors and executive level, Cave Shepherd had said that “collaborating closely with the chairman, Browne-Ellis’s proven ability to drive innovation and growth will support the continued success and long-term development of the Cave Shepherd Group”.
Cave Shepherd’s reporting of a $13 million profit for the first three quarters of its 2026 financial year follows its earning of $8.6 million in net income in the six month’s ended June 30.
Sir Geoffrey and Cave previously reported that the group’s financial services businesses, Payce Digital, Fortress Fund Managers, SigniaGlobe Financial Group and DGM Financial Group recorded mixed results, but that “on a combined basis, these businesses delivered a modest increase in profitability for the period”.
The challenge for investments was also evident between January and June.
“Although the group’s investment portfolio recovered in the second quarter following first quarter market weakness arising from geopolitical tensions in Iran and elevated oil and fuel prices, unrealised gains remained below the exceptional levels achieved in the corresponding period last year,” Sir Geoffrey and Cave previously explained.
Despite this, the group’s net assets showed strong growth, reaching $129.4 million, compared to $115.5 million in the prior year, an increase of 12 per cent, at the end of June with liquidity levels of cash and cash equivalents at $34 million. (