The Massy Group, A Force For Good; A Very Responsible And Profitable Company In The Caribbean.

Company Profile:

Market/Stock Exchange: Trinidad and Tobago
Company: Massy Group
2014 Businessuite Rank: #1

Chairman: Mr. Arthur Lok Jack

Deputy Chairman and Chairman Designate: Mr. Robert Bermudez,

President & Group CEO: Mr. E. Gervase Warner

Address: 63 Park Street, Port of Spain Trinidad, West Indies
Telephone: (868) 625-3426
Facsimile: (868) 627-9061
E-mail: nmh@neal-and-massy.com
Website: www.neal-and-massy.com

Neal & Massy Holdings Limited (the ‘Company’) was incorporated in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in 1923. The Company and its subsidiaries, (the Group) are engaged in trading, manufacturing, service industries and finance in Trinidad & Tobago and the wider Caribbean region.

At September 30, 2013, the Group is organised into six main business segments:
1 -Automotive & Industrial Equipment Business Unit
2 -Energy & Industrial Gases Business Unit
3 -Integrated Retail Business Unit
4 -Information, Technology & Communications
5 -Insurance Business Unit
6 -Other Investments

What They Believe And Committed To Achieve in The Pursuit Of Opportunities Outside CARICOM.

The following edited extract was taken from the company’s 2013 Annual Report to shareholders.

2013 saw Neal & Massy marking its 90th anniversary, a journey that began in 1923. Ten years later in 1933, responding to dire world economic conditions resulting from the Great Depression, and the promptings of shrewd local bankers, two entities concluded an historic merger, to form the holding company – Neal & Massy Engineering Company Limited with two subsidiaries – Neal & Massy Limited, and Tractors and Machinery (Trinidad) Limited (TRACMAC).

Remaining extremely conservative for several years, this prudence served Neal & Massy’s purpose and helped the company survive. But it was not until 1977 when Sidney Knox assumed leadership of the Group, that Neal & Massy made bold moves, achieving significant growth through acquisitions and entry into new markets.

Under Knox’s leadership which ended in 1995, the Group acquired scores of companies and expanded into Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana and Suriname, morphing into one of the largest and most renowned conglomerates in the Caribbean.

In the late 80’s and 90’s, Trinidad experienced its longest recession during which many high profile public companies either entered bankruptcy or were acquired. Neal & Massy survived and re-engineered itself under the leadership of Jesus Pazos who was appointed CEO in 1995.

Neal & Massy, illustrating its capabilities to adapt to the prevailing economic conditions, saw Pazos moving quickly to divest the Group of many of the loss making subsidiaries, reduce debt and substantially strengthening the Group’s Balance Sheet.

During the first decade of the 2000s with the Trinidad and Tobago’s economy emerging from recession, the Group, under Bernard Dulal-Whiteway’s leadership, enjoyed substantial growth with the attendant increase in shareholder value, thereby setting the stage for the prospects of the present.

For Current Chairman, Mr. Arthur Lok Jack, Neal & Massy’s 90th anniversary presents an opportunity to reflect on that journey from 1923, and on the lessons derived and to use those lessons to guide the company’s steps over the coming years.

Arthur Lok Jack a Non-Executive Director, was elected to the Board in 1998 and was appointed Chairman in June 2004. He is also the Executive Chairman of the Associated Brands Group of Companies, Chairman of Guardian Holdings Limited and serves on the boards of many other Caribbean companies.

He delivered the following report (edited for space) to shareholders at the Group’s 2013 Annual General meeting.

“Despite the economic tightening of regional economies, the Group delivered yet another year of commendable results by improving and leveraging the synergies of our existing businesses in the countries where we operate. Sluggish growth of Caribbean economies has, however, made it imperative to continue pursuit of opportunities outside the CARICOM region.

Our Group has continued on a positive growth trajectory, recording $843 million in Profit Before Tax (PBT) and third party revenue growth of 3 per cent. The Group’s overall Earnings Per Share (EPS) increased by 18 per cent to $5.73.

Our Automotive & Industrial Equipment and Insurance Business Units, and our Retail Line of Business performed exceptionally. Our Group of Companies also performed very well in Guyana.

This was a particularly good year for our Automotive & Industrial Equipment Business Unit. Based on its consistent growth, we are confident that the introduction of motor insurance offerings from United Insurance will redound to the benefit of both our customers and our shareholders.

Energy operations in our Energy & Industrial Gases Business Unit experienced a challenging year, and plans are underway to recover the profits lost mainly on sales and service-based operations in this Business Unit.

Our downstream sector project, a natural gas-based petrochemical complex in La Brea, a joint endeavour, with Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company Inc, is well underway and is further detailed in E. Gervase Warner President & Group Chief Executive Officer’s Report.

Despite operating in a constrained economy, our Barbados businesses grew in profits.
Neal & Massy remains committed to the Barbadian economy and is doing its part to help to stimulate growth through investment. The Group made a major investment in its Warrens Super Centre store to add the Dacosta Manning’s household products, including furniture, electronics and appliances, to an expanded store, creating the country’s first ever super-combination store format. Additionally, Neal & Massy submitted an Expression of Interest for a renewable energy project that is being considered by the Government of Barbados.

Favourable output in services, manufacturing, mining and agriculture contributed to the improvement of Guyana’s economy. Our businesses there delivered excellent results in 2013. To widen its customer base, the Guyana Group has done a remarkable job in leveraging the distribution networks of all the companies.

Construction has already begun on a centrally-located warehousing facility for our distribution business. Plans are underway to extend our Retail Line of Business. For the Group, Guyana’s growing economy continues to provide a focus of keen investment attention.

The profit contribution from our Jamaica-based businesses declined by 24%. This was largely driven by the currency devaluation and underperformance of the NMH Trading & Distribution Ltd. operation.

The Group continues to approach business in CARICOM with cautious optimism, giving due consideration to opportunities outside our traditional markets. To extend our Automotive and Information, Technology & Communication portfolios, we are pursuing investments in Central and South America. We have appointed a Country Manager for Suriname who has started exploring opportunities there, particularly in the energy sector.”
Arthur Lok Jack Chairman

It’s Now The Massy Group

As shown, the Neal & Massy Group from inception has adapted and shifted its focus to ensure its existence. This year the Group went through another major transformation creating the MASSY Group as part of a group wide rebranding and repositioning exercise.

On June 29, 2014 The Neal and Massy Group announced that it had changed its name to Massy as part of a comprehensive rebranding exercise that unifies all subsidiary companies to create a strong, consistent corporate identity. Redefining the corporate brand strengthens cohesion and clearly communicates the advantages of choosing to do business with the Group. The rebranding maximises marketing efficacy by powerfully connecting the equity of strong subsidiary brands with the corporate brand and vice versa. The new brand conveys the promise of reliability and value throughout the Massy range of products and services.

The Group’s new strategic direction focuses on activating existing synergies that connect products to relevant services, and creating more efficient and cost-effective value propositions for consumers. These synergies are defined as ecosystems in the context of the Group. BM

Note:
Gervase Warner, President & Group CEO of Massy in an interview with the Trinidad Guardian’s Business Editor, Anthony Wilson, shared the rationale for the Massy re-brand.
http://digital.guardian.co.tt/?iid=96661&startpage=124#folio=124