Trinidad conglomerate ANSA McAL is celebrating earning an historic TT$1 billion profit, but is concerned about the “struggle” its Barbados businesses are going through.
Company chairman A. Norman Sabga made the comments while reporting that the profit was the biggest in his organisation’s 133 year history.
“This is a landmark. Our profit before tax increased by 21 per cent to $1.14 billion and revenues improved to $6.2 billion,” he said in Trinidad.
Group finance director Aneal Maharaj attributed the record performance to eight sectors with 13 business lines, the financial sector and Guardian Media Limited. But he highlighted the concern about Barbados amid the good news.
“All of the geographical territories have done well. Guyana has done well. In Barbados our business has continued to struggle because of the sluggish economy. However, we have confidence that the growth will return. So the growth is coming from the financial sector, the media and the automotive sector,” he said.
Also commenting on the performance was chief operating officer Gerry Brooks, who said: “We think our businesses are well positioned in each sector for 2014 and the future and beyond. We have made significant investments in the manufacturing sector.
“In the chemical business we have expanded the plant by 20 per cent and that positions us in 2014 to deal with new markets. Our auto businesses did extremely well. Customers have been extremely enthusiastic about the new brands. We made significant investment in our online media, properties we acquired and the radio stations. We have also seen results in the financial services sector.”