Managing Director of Scotiabank Trinidad and Tobago Limited, Gayle Pazos, Has Released The Following First Quarter January 2023 Results

Scotiabank Trinidad and Tobago Limited (The Group) realised Income after Tax of $189 million for the quarter ended 31 January 2023, an increase of $4 million or 2% over the comparable 2022 period.

The improvement in profitability has resulted in an increased Return on Equity from 17.27% to 17.35% as at 31 January 2023. Return on assets decreased slightly from 2.68% to 2.63% over the same comparative period due to higher asset growth. The increase in income after taxation was driven by strong growth in loans to our customers across all segments.

Commenting on the results, Managing Director of Scotiabank Trinidad and Tobago Limited, Gayle Pazos, remarked:

“I am pleased to announce that our first quarter is off to a good start, demonstrating the strength of our retail and commercial business lines. Loans to Customers grew by $1.5 billion or 9%, with $501 million in the last quarter.

This growth has fuelled total revenue of $498 million, an increase of 5% over the same period in 2022, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. This loan enhancement is supported by increase in deposits of $1.1 billion or 5%, highlighting the trust and confidence our customers continue to have in us as their financial partner.

We are proud to announce that, this quarter, we were awarded Bank of the Year 2022 by The Banker magazine. This was awarded to us in recognition of our successful digital strategy, including, among other things, our Scotia Caribbean App enhancements, and the increased engagement of our customers on our digital platforms. Digital transactions for the quarter ending 31 January 2023 stood at 1.4 million, an increase over last year, with a digital adoption rate of 51.1%.”

Revenue
Total Revenue, comprising Net Interest Income and Other Income, was $498 million for the period ended 31 January 2023, an increase of $23 million or 5% over the prior year. Net Interest Income for the period was $340 million, an increase of $41 million or 14%, driven by growth in Loans to retail and corporate/commercial customers combined with higher yields on The Group’s investment portfolio. For the quarter ended 31 January 2023, Other Income of $157 million decreased by $18 million when compared to 2022.

Notwithstanding the decrease during the first quarter, Other Income remains an important component of our financial performance and we continue to see increases in key lines such as credit card revenue and other activity-based revenue lines.

Non-Interest Expenses and Operating Efficiency Total Non-Interest Expenses for the period ended 31 January 2023 was $188 million, an increase of $15 million when compared to the same period in 2022.

We continue to be challenged by rising price inflation and its impact on expenditure. However, managing The Group’s operational efficiency remains a strategic priority. Our productivity ratio of 37.7% as at 31 January 2023 remains the lowest within the domestic banking industry.

Credit Quality
Net impairment losses on financial assets for the quarter ending 31 January 2023 were $23 million, an increase of $6 million or 33% over the prior year.

We continue to adopt an appropriate credit risk methodology that takes into consideration various factors such as the geopolitical uncertainty and its potential to impact the local economy. Our credit quality has improved with the ratio of non-performing loans as a percentage of gross loans, reducing from 1.90% as at 31 January 2022 to 1.84% as at 31 January 2023.

Balance Sheet
Total Assets were $29 billion as at 31 January 2023, an increase of $1.3 billion or 5% compared to the prior year. Loans to Customers, the Bank’s largest interest earning asset, was $17.8 billion as at 31 January 2023, an increase of 1.5 billion or 9%. This growth occurred in all segments in which we operate and is indicative of the continued economic recovery that we are seeing in the local economy.

Investment securities and Treasury Bills stood at $6.4 billion as at 31 January 2023, a decrease of $399 million when compared to 31 January 2022. Despite the decline in balances, we realised increased investment income due to the positive impact of the rising USD interest rate environment.

As at 31 January 2023, Total Liabilities increased by $1.3 billion to $24.7 billion or 5% over the same comparable period in 2022, mainly arising from an increase in Deposits from customers of $1.1 billion or 5% to $21.8 billion. The continued economic growth, coupled with our focus on attracting core deposits from both the retail and corporate/commercial customers, continues to provide a steady source of funding to continue our credit expansion.

Shareholders’ Equity
Total Shareholders’ Equity closed the period at $4.3 billion, an increase of $63 million or 1% when compared to the balance as at 31 January 2022. The Bank’s capital adequacy ratio stood at 17.24% as at 31 January 2023, which continues to be significantly above the minimum capital adequacy ratio under new BASEL II regulations of 10%.

Dividends and Share Price
We continue to provide very healthy returns and capital appreciation for our shareholders. We have declared total dividends of 70c per share for the quarter, an 8% increase over the prior year’s first quarter dividend of 65c per share. Our dividend payout ratio continues to be healthy at 65% and our improved financial performance during 2022 has led to an 8% increase in our share price over the prior year. Our overall dividend yield remains consistent at 3.6%.

For More Information CLICK HERE

Mark St. Hill, Chief Executive Officer For FirstCaribbean International Bank Limited Has Released the Following Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements For the three months ended January 31, 2023 (expressed in thousands of United States dollars)

The Bank delivered solid results in the first quarter reporting net income of $68.1 million, up $22.9 million or 51% from the first quarter’s net income of $45.2 million a year ago. After adjusting for $0.8 million of operating expenses relating to previously announced divestitures, adjusted net income was $68.9 million.

The uplift in financial performance can largely be attributed to higher US interest rates, which positively impacted our Bahamas and Cayman operating companies and our other US dollar denominated businesses.

The ongoing economic recovery across most of the Bank’s operating footprint has also contributed to our performance. However, operating expenses of $106.1 million were up from the first quarter a year ago due to ongoing strategic initiatives, employee-related costs, and the effects of inflation.

While credit losses are up from the same quarter last year due to a lower level of releases, the Bank continues to maintain strong risk management and credit quality across all its portfolios.

We anticipate a slower pace of global economic growth for 2023 vs. 2022, which will have spill over impacts for our region in terms of tourism and foreign direct investment. However, we expect to see some easing of conditions towards the end of the fiscal as inflation cools and prices stabilize.

In an economic environment that remains fluid, the Bank continues to make steady progress in executing its client-focused strategy.

Our investment in digital transformation is providing us with strong momentum to serve our clients better, while offering best-in-class products and services. This was recently recognized when we were named the “Best Digital Transformation Bank 2022” by The European, a London based global publication who expertly covers a broad spectrum of business affairs, including digital banking.

At the end of the first quarter, the Bank’s Tier 1 and Total Capital ratios remain strong at 15.5% and 17.2% respectively and in excess of applicable regulatory requirements.

The Board of Directors approved a quarterly dividend of $0.0125 per share which will be paid on April 21, 2023, to shareholders of record on March 23, 2023.

For More Information CLICK HERE

John Aboud Chairman Of Endeavour Holdings Limited Has Released The Following Report For Nine Months Ended 31 January 2023.

The post-acquisition Statement of Comprehensive Income and Statement of Financial Position of Endeavour POS Properties Limited (EHLPOS) (formerly Massy Properties (Trinidad) Limited) have been consolidated into EHL’s books as at 8 July 2022 and is reported in our financial statements.

EHL’s Profit after tax increased by $50.3M from $21.4M in January 2022 to $71.7M in January 2023. This includes a gain of $43.8M which was recognised on the acquisition of EHLPOS.

Operational profit excluding the acquisition gain is $27.9M increasing by $6.5M as compared to January 2022.

Revenue from contracts with customers increased by $3.7M from $59.9M as at January 2022 to $63.6M as at January 2023 due to the inclusion of revenue from EHLPOS.

Rental expenses decreased by $6.7M from $24.1M as at January 2022 to $17.4M as at January 2023. This decrease is primarily credited to the reduction in rental discounts (primarily made available by the Company to tenants during the Covid-19 pandemic) from $8.9M as at January 2022 to $1.1M as at January 2023.

Administrative fees increased by $3.6M from $1.2M in January 2022 to $4.8M in January 2023 because of increased management and legal fees combined with EHLPOS expenses. There was an increase in operating expenses by $427K from $217K in January 2022 to $644K in 2023.

The Company’s Corporation Tax rate, Business Levy and Green Fund Levy are at zero percent (0%) due to amendments under the Finance Act 2020 granted to listed SMEs and 30% for the subsidiary company.

The net profit of the newly acquired subsidiary for July 2022 to January 2023 was $3.9M.

The increase in Investment Properties of $106M as at January 2023 represents the EHLPOS properties at $90M, fair value adjustment made in the April 2022 year-end financials of $12.2M and in addition building improvements at Price Plaza.

Trade and Other Receivables remained at the $12M level.

Trade and Other Payables increased by $91 1 K from January 2022, due to the inclusion of EHLPOS trade and other payables.

Borrowings increased by $16.8M, which reflects the net result of principal repayments of $28M and the related party loan of $45M for the acquisition of EHLPOS.

Dividends of 40 cents per common share were declared on 30 November 2022 and paid in December 2022.

In looking forward, the Company expects to refinance its bond balloon payment at the end of March 2023, funding for which has already been secured by the Company, and CinemaOne Ltd’s Multi Cineplex is expected to open in Price Plaza North in May 2023.

For More Information CLICK HERE

Peter Clarke Chairman of Guardian Media Limited has released the following audited results for the twelve months ended 31 December, 2022.

The steady contribution of our newspaper was re-enforced by our hugely popular special publications and increasingly popular digital presence. Combined, these campaigns stimulated increased activity and advertising spend, and drove the reversal of Guardian Media Limited’s Q3 year to date loss before taxation of $6.5M, and the delivery of its full year result.

In similar fashion to 2021, the final quarter’s performance was very strong. In 2022, for the quarter ended 31 December, Guardian Media Limited reported profit before taxation of $10.3M, just behind last year’s fourth quarter result of $11.5M profit before taxation. These results were driven primarily by our successful 2022 FIFA World Cup Finals campaign.

For the year ending 31 December 2022, Guardian Media Limited reported profit before taxation of $3.9M compared to a $6.5M profit before taxation in the prior year.

Revenues reported for the year were $117.8M ($104.7M – 2021) reflecting an increase of $13M or 12.5% in advertising revenues.

Operating expenses increased year over year due to our efforts to stimulate commercial interest, and in order to fund growth strategies across all business segments.

The year 2022 opened without the much-anticipated levels of commercial recovery and activity. The Russia-Ukraine war, supply chain challenges and financial market pressures forced businesses to focus on survival instead of advertising campaigns.

As part of our 105th year celebrations, we at Guardian Media Limited, spared no effort to re-connect advertisers with their customers by investing heavily in irresistible content, whilst continuing to be the trusted media partner across all platforms.

During the year our branded Radio campaigns included the Caura Fest, Sangeet Premier League, bar crawls and other outside broadcasts, through which our loyal listeners were again able to connect with their favourite on-air personalities. After introducing our citizens to iconic global motivational speaker Sadhguru in August, we covered the 2022 Caribbean Premier League, and acquired the rights for the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar, as well as the English Premier League.

In spite of the challenging commercial environment, we remain resolute in our
conviction that the business is well positioned to face the future. It has bravely weathered the pandemic, stabilized its operations and re-defined its strategic objectives to achieve delivery of enhanced shareholder value.

Your Board of Directors is pleased to announce a final ordinary dividend of 4 cents per share (2021 – 7 cents). Preference shareholders will receive a final dividend of 3%. Dividends will be paid on 15 June, 2023.

In accordance with section 110(1)(a)(i) of the Companies Act 1995, the Directors have fixed 22 May, 2023 as the Record Date for payment of this final dividend. The Register of Members will be closed on both 25 May and 26 May, 2023.

For More Information CLICK HERE