Almond down $2m

THE global economic crisis has continued to affect the operations of Almond Resorts Inc., resulting in a decline in revenue of just over $2 million.According to a recently published unaudited consolidated statement of income for the six-month period ended March 31, 2010, revenue declined from $38.1 million at the end of March 2009 to $36.6 million this year. Almond, a member of the Barbados Shipping & Trading (BS&T) group whose parent company is Neal & Massy, saw the share of its losses from associated companies increase from $376 539 for the six months ended March 31, 2009, to $1.1 million for the comparable period this year.Consequently, whereas in 2009 the company recorded income of $2.4 million  before losses from associated companies, this year it incurred a $1.4 million loss.Chairman Arthur Lok Jack and president and chief executive officer Ralph Taylor said the winter season showed some improvements but a poor first quarter negatively affected the performance. “Morgan Bay has been particularly affected due to the limited airlift servicing of St Lucia in the fall period, resulting in an increase in share of losses from associated companies,” they said.Last year’s income before tax stood at $2 million compared to a loss before taxation of $2.5 million for the first six months of this year.Also, while income after tax amounted to just under $2 million in 2009, Almond recorded a $2.5 million after tax loss for the comparable period this year.Furthermore, basic earnings per share totalled 3.53 cents at the end of March 2009 compared to a loss per share of 4.42 this year.Lok Jack and Taylor noted that occupancy and average daily rates continue to be depressed in an increasingly competitive marketplace. “We continue to focus on cost containment across all properties as we strive to increase revenue. We have seen significant improvements in our levels of customers from United States and Canada but the United Kingdom continues to decline,” the two said.They said there is hope that Almond will see improvements over the coming month as Barbados and St Lucia are predicting improved visitor arrivals.Almond Resorts have three operations in Barbados and two in St Lucia. (NB)