May 2012 Financial News

Tringen declares US$75m dividend

May 01, 2012

Tringen, the ammonia-producing company that is 51 per cent owned by National Enterprises Ltd (NEL), yesterday declared profit after tax of $562.5 million on net sales of $2.6 billion for the year ended December 31, 2011, according to the company’s financial report. Tringen’s sales revenues in 2011 were $466 million or 21 per cent higher than in 2010 due to higher ammonia prices, according to the chairman’s report by Carl Chatoor. As a result of the higher sales revenue, the company was able to generate profit before taxes of $870.7 million compared to TT$839.5 million in the previous year, an increase of $31 .2 million or 4 per cent. “During this period the effects of natural gas supply curtailments resulted in a production shortfall of 3 per cent equivalent to approximately $35 million lost in profit before taxes,” according to the chairman’s report. The company declared a dividend of $480 million (US$75 million) for the 2011 fiscal year, of which 51 per cent goes to NEL. This means that Tringen is paying out 85 per cent of its profits in dividends. It can do this because it became debt-free in 1997, after Tringen I was commissioned in 1977 and Tringen II commissioned in 1988.

Outlining Tringen’s contribution to the T&T economy between 2009 and 2011, the chairman’s report says that the company made direct payments including corporation taxes, Green Fund, property taxes and PAYE of $283 million annually. Its indirect payments include natural gas payments to NGC as well as payments to WASA, TTEC and other local contractors which average TT$1,229 million annually. Foreign exchange earned for the period amounted to US$1 billion. Direct employment was 200 permanent employees with an average of 20 trainees annually. Tringen said: “The outlook for 2012 appears favorable within the limitations of normal world business and trading condtiions, however the international ammonia market has proven to be very volatile given the global political and economic uncertainties.” Concluding the chairman’s statement, Chatoor declared: “Tringen is a success story and it is a model that can be adopted to encourage investors to participate in the development of the nation's resources.” Tringen is a joint venture between the Government of T&T and Yara Caribbean (2002) Ltd in which GORTT, through NEL, is the majority shareholder wit 51 per cent and Yara Caribbean (2002) Ltd holding 49 per cent.


Source:
Trinidad Guardian
Tuesday May 1, 2012

http://www.guardian.co.tt/business/2012-04-30/tringen-declares-us75m-dividend