Businessuite #8 Caribbean Ranked Public Company for 2015
Goddard Enterprises…. “And The Journey Has Just Begun”.

Company Profile:
Goddard Enterprises Limited (‘the Company’) is incorporated under the Laws of Barbados. The principal activities of the Company and its subsidiaries (together ‘the Group’) include airline, industrial and restaurant catering, ground handling services, general trading, meat processing, printing and print brokers, baking, packaging, automobile and automotive parts sales, insurance, real estate, shipping agents and stevedoring, manufacturing of aerosols and liquid detergents, investments, rum distilling, water purification and bottling and island tours.

Associated companies are involved in waste disposal, laundry services, financing, property rentals, investments, and general insurance and hotel operations.

The Group operates throughout the Caribbean and Central and South America.

Stock Exchange: Barbados

Company: Goddard Enterprises Limited

2016 Rank:
2015 Rank: #8
2014 Rank: #7

Chairman: Mr. A. Charles Herbert
CEO: Mr. Anthony H. Ali

Address: The Goddard Building, Haggatt Hall, St. Michael, Barbados.
Tel: (246) 430-5700
Fax: (246) 436-8934
Email: gelinfo@thegelgroup.com
Website: www.goddardenterprisesltd.com
Annual Reports and Performance http://bse.com.bb/reports/trading-reports

The following edited extract was taken from the company’s 2014 Annual Report to shareholders.

“The Barbados economy continues to struggle. The Government has implemented fiscal adjustment programmes while unemployment climbed to an estimated 11.7%. Barbados’ economic fundamentals continue to be weak. Competitive and other structural shortcomings, and recently announced tax reforms, continue to paint a bleak outlook for the country. Gross public sector debt increased to 109.2% up from 105.2% one year ago. Based on this, no real growth in Gross Domestic Product is expected in 2015.

Consolidated Group Revenue and Profit from Operations for the year ended September 30, 2014 amounted to $954.1 million and $64.7 million respectively, compared with $962.6 million and $46.4 million in the previous year. Earnings per share was 62.1 cents compared with 35.3 cents in 2013. These results were achieved in spite of the flat economies that we faced across the Caribbean for the better part of the year.

For the financial year ended September 30, 2014, Group revenue declined by 0.9% over the prior year to $954.1 million, generating a Gross Profit of $356.0 million, down from the prior year by 0.4%. Gross Profit expressed as a percentage of Sales was 37.3%, compared to 37.1% for the prior year. Selling, marketing and administrative expenses totaled $310.0 million, compared to $312.7 million in 2013 representing a decrease of 0.9%. Profit from operations before other gains/(losses) – net increased over prior year by 3.0% to $50.1 million.

Other gains/ (losses) – net increased to $14.6 million compared to the prior year loss of $2.2 million representing a 753.2% increase. Income from our Associated Companies decreased by 33.0% to $6.6 million from $9.8 million in the prior year.

This decline was as a result of poor performance by Sagicor General Insurance Inc. (“Sagicor”) as well as losses incurred on a recently discovered fraud perpetrated on Globe Finance Inc. (“Globe”).

Turning to the Group Consolidated Balance Sheet, our Working Capital Ratio increased to 1.59 from 1.47 in the prior year mainly due to a reduction in our current borrowings enabled by our improved results. Our Net Asset Value per share stood at $7.92 compared to $7.54 in 2013 representing an increase of 38 cents per share and our closing share price was $6.31 on the Barbados Stock Exchange at September 30, 2014.BM

Charles Herbert became Chairman of the Goddard Group of Companies on February 5, 2013, following the retirement of Mr. Joseph N. Goddard. Mr. Herbert spent 15 years of his professional career with The Barbados Mutual Life Assurance Society, now Sagicor Life Inc. (“Sagicor”), and at the time of his resignation from Sagicor, was a member of its senior management team responsible for the Actuarial, Group Insurance and Pension Departments. A Barbadian by birth, Mr. Herbert, a Barbados Exhibition Winner in 1974, achieved First Class Honours in his B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Edinburgh. He also holds a Diploma in Education from the University of the West Indies and is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries. Prior to joining Sagicor, and on his return to Barbados from Edinburgh, Mr. Herbert served his alma mater, Harrison College, as an Assistant Master. Following his 15 year sojourn at Sagicor, he joined the firm of Watson Wyatt Worldwide as a Consulting Actuary before establishing the Barbados Branch of Eckler Limited in 1996, where he is currently the Principal. Mr. Herbert has worked closely with the Barbados Employers’ Confederation, the Supervisor of Insurance, and more recently, the Financial Services Commission, on the drafting and implementation of the new Pension legislation.