Despite facing logistical headwinds and a delayed audit, CAC 2000 Limited is positioning itself for a rebound in 2025, according to a recent report from Chief Executive Officer Gia Abraham.

In her address to stakeholders, investors, and customers, Abraham acknowledged a difficult start to the year, marked by external factors that contributed to a first-quarter loss. These included significant logistics delays that disrupted delivery schedules and invoicing, coupled with the impact of a delayed audit. However, she emphasized that the company remains anchored by a strong pipeline of projects and deep customer relationships.

“While we have faced some challenges, including logistics issues and a delayed audit, we continue the year with a very strong book of business,” Abraham noted, striking an optimistic tone despite the headwinds.

Strategic Response to Challenges

The report highlights CAC 2000’s proactive approach to overcoming its current operational hurdles. Management is placing a strong emphasis on enhancing operational efficiency and financial discipline, while also implementing innovative supply chain strategies to mitigate future disruptions.

“Our focus is on optimizing operations and improving financial discipline to ensure greater efficiency and cost management,” Abraham stated, outlining a clear roadmap toward recovery and growth.

Resilience and Growth Outlook

Notably, CAC 2000’s leadership remains bullish about the future. With a robust sales pipeline, the company anticipates an upward trajectory in revenue, reinforcing its resilience and adaptability in an uncertain environment. Abraham credited this optimism to the company’s continued investment in innovative solutions and its steadfast commitment to customer service excellence.

She also reaffirmed the company’s commitment to transparency, open communication, and long-term value creation for all stakeholders. These pillars, Abraham believes, will sustain CAC 2000’s growth ambitions and strengthen its market position.

Looking Ahead: Confidence in the Future

Despite recording a loss in Q1, the outlook for the remainder of the year remains positive. CAC 2000 is determined to streamline its processes, enhance financial management, and leverage its strengths to capture emerging opportunities in the market.

“By addressing current challenges and leveraging our strengths, we aim to strengthen our market position and deliver sustainable growth in 2025,” Abraham concluded confidently.

As CAC 2000 navigates the remainder of the year, the company appears poised to turn short-term challenges into long-term gains, reassuring stakeholders of its resilience and strategic focus.

For More Information on CAC 2000 Limited – Unaudited Financials Q1 for YE Oct 31, 2025 Click Here

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams, has expressed pleasure with the public take-up of the Government’s 20 per cent stake in TransJamaican Highway Limited (TJH).

The public offer for shares, which closed on March 18, attracted more than 22,000 applications, raising over $12 billion, exceeding the initial estimate of $9 billion.

Addressing a recent event held at Progressive Shopping Centre in St. Andrew to mark the successful conclusion of the offer, Minister Williams said the response of the public shows an increased understanding of the value of such investments.

“I feel very good about the reception of Jamaicans to this. It’s a great investment; something that they understand. They use the toll road every day going to and from work… . They see the potential of it because we are always going to be needing bigger and better roads,” she pointed out.

Minister Williams congratulated all the stakeholders involved in the initiative, including lead broker NCB Capital Markets and partner Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB).

“For all the persons who worked on it, all the financial institutions, I just want to say a big thank you to all of them. The timeframe that we gave them was very short but they delivered on time and the deal was oversubscribed,” she said.

Senior Vice President for Investment Banking, NCB Capital Markets, Christopher Buchanan, in his remarks, said consistent efforts to explain the benefits of the initiative paid dividends in getting public buy-in for the project.

“When you have an offer of this size you probably think the demand is not there unless its institutional. But I think what ended up happening is that the more we spoke about it, the more we gave the market information, and the more we spoke to regular persons about how it would affect them, what we saw was an absolute snowball,” he pointed out.

“We said to them ‘listen, the road naah go nowhere. The company (TJH)… will make money and pay you dividends. They have a long-term contractual agreement and they are looking to build out more tolls over the year. It’s here for the long-term and you can buy it for yourself’ and I think persons bought into that vision,” he shared.

In the meantime, General Manager for Public-Private Partnerships and Privatisation at the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), Denise Arana, noted that there are many more government-sponsored investment offers in the pipeline for members of the public.

“The Government’s privatisation programme is a deliberate and concerted effort to bring more Jamaicans into the economy to broaden the ownership base. So, we had Wigton (Wind Energy Limited), we had the first TransJamaican transaction…. then we have the Jamaica Mortgage Bank that’s coming.

“So, the Government really is looking at a broad spectrum of opportunities to bring them to the market for everybody to participate in that opportunity,” he added.

By: Vaughn Davis, JIS

For the third consecutive year, we have surpassed the billion-dollar revenue milestone, achieving total revenue of $1.06 billion, a 1% increase over the prior fiscal year. This continued growth underscores our resilience, strategic focus and ability to thrive in a dynamic market landscape.

Our international markets remain a key growth driver, with branded revenue increasing by $42 million (12%) year-over-year. This was fueled by a 6% rise in Bitters sales, contributing $17 million, and the successful launch of STR8 VYBZ Rums in November 2024. Additionally, Angostura® Chill recorded an impressive 29% growth across the Caribbean, adding $4 million to our revenue growth.

Revenue from our bulk and co-packing segment grew by $6 million (17%) year-over-year, reflecting our ability to capitalise on global demand. While international expansion fueled growth, the local market segments faced some challenges and our Standard Rums segment declined by 5%.

Angostura® Bulk Chill concentrate revenue decreased by $8 million (26%), primarily due to a pre-planned production line maintenance program. In yet another series of innovations, the launch of Correia’s new range of rums, including Hard Rum, Coconut Flavored Rum, and Real Hard Puncheon, in the local market contributed to a 5% growth in this brand.

In 2024 Angostura also introduced a new flavour- Pear and Bitters- into its Angostura Chill® range of products. Our retail arm, Solera Wines and Spirits, expanded its footprint in Trinidad by opening two (2) new stores in December 2024, one at East Gates Mall (Trincity) and the other at M6 Plaza (Chaguanas), positioning the Group for local revenue growth in 2025.

To mark our bicentennial anniversary, we introduced two exclusive products: • A limited-edition 200th Anniversary Bitters; and Angostura® Cusparia, a premium rum blend aged for a minimum of twenty-one (21) years. These special releases celebrate our rich heritage and our unwavering commitment to innovation.

Our production costs rose by 5% compared to last year, driven by increased demand in international markets and higher raw material expenses. Despite these challenges, we remained committed to offering competitive pricing to sustain our market presence.

Notwithstanding the increase of $7 million in revenue over the previous year, Angostura’s 2024 profits after tax was marginally affected by the Group’s strategic decisions to invest in brand-building efforts, including:
• our milestone 200th Anniversary Gala;
• the Global Distributors Conference – the Group hosted over seventy (70) international distributors, representing thirty-seven (37) markets worldwide, locally in Trinidad and Tobago; and
• launch activities, our completely new redesigned packaging and production line upgrades for our new Premium Rum Range.

These initiatives contributed to an 8% rise in selling and marketing expenses. At the same time, we streamlined operations, leading to a 7% reduction in administrative costs. As a result, our profit for the year reached $144.3 million, a 5% decrease from the previous year.

Our overall position remains strong with steady financial health and total assets growing by 6% to $1.9 billion.

Each year we consistently support the local banking sector with the injection of US currency. In 2024, we contributed US$20.7 million from our export earnings and placed significant US dollar investments into this sector.

We remain steadfast in our mission to create long-term value for our shareholders through strategic investments, innovation and operational excellence. As we move into 2025, we carry with us our innovative skills and look forward to increasing our portfolio with a new product range and increasing efficiency.

We are confident in our ability to seize opportunities and continue our legacy of success.

The Board of Directors recommends a final dividend of $0.28 per share for the financial year ended December 31, 2024, bringing the total declared dividend for 2024 to $0.38 per share, consistent with the prior year. If approved, this dividend will be paid on July 31, 2025, to shareholders on record as of July 11, 2025. To facilitate this payment, the shareholders’ register will be closed on July 10, 2025.

Mr. Terrence Bharath S.C. Chairman

For More Information on Angostura Holdings Limited – Audited Financial Statements for the year ended December 31st, 2024 Click Here

Unilever Caribbean Limited (UCL) is pleased to report a strong performance for the financial year ended December 31, 2024, with robust growth in both revenue and profitability, consistent with its strategic objectives.

The Company recorded Revenue of $229m for the year ended December 31, 2024, an increase of 11.8% compared to the prior year.

Operating Profit rose by 61.3%, closing at $41m in 2024 compared to $25.4m in 2023. This was mainly driven by the increase in revenue, improvements in efficiency and cost optimisation. Profit Before Tax for the year ended December 31, 2024, was $41.8m, up from $26.5m, which represented an increase of 57.8%.

Throughout 2024, revenue growth was primarily attributed to the Beauty and Personal Care (BPC) category. Leading this growth were the power brands Dove, Degree, Vaseline, and Axe. These brands delivered growth of 17.8% in 2024, which now constitutes 56% of total revenue, compared to 53% during the same period last year. This achievement is in line with the strategic objective of accelerating profitable growth for sustainable returns.

The Foods and Refreshment category reported a 16.6% increase, primarily driven by the Ice Cream segment.

In the Home Care category, the Company experienced positive volume recovery compared to the prior year, attributable to strategic reinvestments in our brands, which resulted in revenue growth of 2%.

As a result of the strong financial performance and cash generation, the Board of Directors approved a final dividend of $0.79, bringing the total dividend for the year to $0.93 with an Earnings Per Share of $1.10. This represents a 66% increase compared to the prior year.

UCL will continue to build on this performance with consistent focus on delivering value to our stakeholders through profitable growth and impactful innovations, for our most loved brands. We sincerely thank our customers, business partners, and shareholders for your continued support, and would like to recognise the unwavering commitment and efforts of our employees over the past year.

Daniela Bucaro Chairman

For More Information on Unilever Caribbean Limited – Audited Summary Financial Statements for the year ended December 31st, 2024 Click Here

The OCM Group for the year ended December 2024 reported Revenues of TT$301M / US$44.3M (2023: TT$318M / US$46.8M) and a NPBT and impairment of TT$17.1M / US$$2.5M (2023: TT$37.2M / US$5.5M).

In 2024, our Newspaper segment incurred restructuring costs and other one-off costs as management sought to develop business models better aligned to the current operating environments.

In Barbados, capacity challenges with the electrical grid persisted and impacted the financial performance of our Renewable Energy company. However, action has been taken to reduce the operating cost of the company while the relevant authorities seek a final solution.

In Trinidad, the forex shortages seriously affected our Distribution business and put a strain on supplier relationships. Efforts are being explored to mitigate this problem.

Positively, Flexipac (Packaging company) and Green Dot (Cable/ Internet services) were both able to achieve healthy profitability growth. In the case of Flexipac, the Company was able to double its regional sales and forex earnings and this growth trend is expected to continue with the introduction of new product offerings in 2025. Green Dot completed the rollout of the first phase of its fiber expansion program and is expected to launch the second phase during 2025. Both of these companies have been able to successfully progress their strategic plans to ensure the delivery of sustainable growth.

Our media assets in Barbados and Grenada were able to report profitability growth notwithstanding a contraction in advertising spend. This performance was realized due to the strategies implemented to achieve improved cost efficiencies and enhance our value proposition to customers. Additionally, our media assets across the Group were collectively able to report Digital Revenue growth over prior year with E-paper subscriptions growing by 36% over 3 years.

The Board has taken a conservative decision to impair its investment in one of its associates which has a long outstanding receivable due to it. Notwithstanding this impairment, it is anticipated that this matter will ultimately be favourably resolved and will redound to the benefit of all parties. The Board expresses its gratitude to the management and staff for their unwavering support and dedication throughout the year and we look forward to the Group returning to its growth path in 2025. Having regard to the Group’s performance and capital expansion plans, a dividend of TT$0.10 has been declared and will be paid on 31st July 20

Faarees Hosein Chairman 26th March, 2025

For More Information on One Caribbean Media Limited – Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31st, 2024 (Summary) Click Here