WIOC is an energy company whose core business is the storage and distribution of petroleum products. The Company’s dominant market position in Antigua and Barbuda and its strong retail base in the Commonwealth of Dominica provides the basis for future organic growth as well as the financial foundation for acquisitions and investments either consistent with its core business or in renewable energy opportunities.

WIOC provides storage and ancillary marine services and laboratory attestation services to various regional petroleum product suppliers at its Friars Hill Road terminal in Antigua and Barbuda. The company also has significant real estate reported on its Balance Sheet as Investment Property and Property Held for Development and Sale. In addition, the company is the sole importer and distributor of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, liquified petroleum gas (LPG), and heavy fuel oil to the Antigua and Barbuda market. It also has the largest retail distribution network for gasoline and diesel in Dominica.

The revenue generating storage and ancillary marine and lab attestation services; and the sales and distribution segments are supported by corporate services comprising executive administration, human resources, finance, information technology, marketing and procurement departments. Engineering, maintenance and terminal operations also support the revenue generating business segments.

Leadership

Raúl Licausi Chairman
Chairman Raul LiCausi is the Deputy Foreign Minister to Caricom for the government of Venezuela. He has a number of years of senior diplomatic experience and brings the great wealth of his extensive network of contacts with influential regional political and business leaders to his role. He has done undergraduate and postgraduate studies in International Affairs and Human Rights. He also holds a diploma in French from the Alliance Francaise De Rouen, Normandie, France.

Mr. Gregory F Georges, Chief Executive Officer
Gregory F. Georges was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of WIOC with effect from November 1, 2014. Prior to this, he served as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer from September 2004. He has been associated with WIOC for over twenty years as he was part of a professional team that provided audit and consulting services to WIOC.

Mr. Georges is responsible for leading the team in the delivery of WIOC’s strategic plan, building capacity and realising profitable growth. His financial acumen, results oriented approach, and ability to think strategically plays a pivotal role building on WIOC’s legacy and extending track record of innovation, while continuing to add value to all WIOC’s stakeholders.

Since his appointment as CEO, Gregory has successfully led the transformation of WIOC from a company whose core business has been the domestic supply of petroleum products in a regulated pricing environment to an increasingly more diversified business with the provision of client services playing a much larger role in the Company’s revenue base and profitability.
He has a track record of strong technical capability and leadership both inside and outside of WIOC. He also commands a wealth of knowledge and experience in the petroleum industry. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA).

Steadfast And Successful Stewardship Of The Company During 2023.

There has been continued strong interest in the WIOC share on the Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange (ECSE) from retail investors. This is a powerful endorsement of the Company’s performance, and we are mindful of our obligation to meet the expectations of our investors.

The company’s success is dependent on our relationships with key business partners who are integral to our operations and are valued customers. The relationships with our storage clients, inventory suppliers, customers and operations partners require consistent focus.
The Board and Management have invested significant time and resources to ensuring that WIOC optimises the returns on these relationships and that our partners continue to see WIOC as a partner of choice.

The operating earnings before tax of $37.5 million is the highest recorded by the Company since the fiscal year 2019. This reflects the recovery of the company’s financial performance from the depressed results of the 2020 and 2021 COVID-19 pandemic years. The recovery is broadly in line with that of the Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica economies where the primary and secondary geographic locations of the company’s operations are located.

There were critical developments with key business partners which required involvement of the Board and Executive Management. Firstly, the Antigua Port Authority increased its fees for some services provided to WIOC’s ship-handling and marine service department and introduced new fees resulting in a significant increase in the cost the marine ship handling services. The increases materially affected the cost of our client’s doing business with WIOC. The Executive Management negotiated the reduction in some fees and the revision of the terms under which some fees will be incurred.

Despite the concerns expressed by clients, the Executive Team have ensured that there was no significant loss of ship handling service clients. However, the increase in APA fees caused a loss of marine bunkering customers. The APA subsequently halved its bunkering services fee and there has been a recovery in bunkering volumes in 2024.

The company experienced organic growth throughout the overall business operations and favourable price/cost variances in some segments/ products, resulting in a 30% increase in consolidated profits after tax.

The Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) in 2023 began its transition to the use of newly installed electricity generation engines which have dual liquified natural gas (LNG) and diesel use. This resulted in a reduction in the consumption of high sulfur fuel oil (HFO) and an increase in diesel consumption. There were some uncertainties in respect of the timing of the transition resulting in disruption of the company’s inventory management and working capital policy.

Year-end inventory balances in particular for HFO and diesel were higher than average.

The company commenced the process of transforming its flagship service station to a state of-the-art modern service station with additional catering offerings as well as charging ports for electric vehicles (EVs). The company terminated the lease with the previous dealer who took legal action against the company. The company prevailed and is now operating the station under the name WIOC Friars Hill.

Application was made to the Minister of Finance in Antigua for an increase in wholesale margins for the company’s sales and distribution business segment. The application was denied. However, the company will make another attempt to get an increase from the Minister in 2024.

There has been a significant increase in operating costs due to the increase in APA fees referenced earlier and general inflationary pressures since the pandemic and the commencement of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. Further the primary source of funding the company’s capex program has been cash from operations. The increase in operating costs, the need for capex funding to maintain the safety and integrity of the company’s operations combined with stagnant margins has put pressure on the company’s working capital.

In Dominica on the other hand, the Ministry of Trade revised its pricing policy, resulting in a significant increase in the trading margins and the highest earnings after tax for the last ten years in fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. Indeed, the Dominica branch reported losses after tax for several years due to the unfavorable official price build-up. The improved wholesale margins and organic volume growth resulted in higher net income after tax in comparison to under $200K in 2022. The company experienced organic growth throughout the overall business operations and favourable price/cost variances in some segments/ products, resulting in a 30% increase in consolidated profits after tax.