Jun 2015 Financial News

Berger invests $60 million in plant upgrade (Jamaica)

Jun 24, 2015

The listed company Berger Paints Jamaica Ltd invested $60 million in upgrading its factory production line during its financial year.

The company also lauded the country's improved macroeconomic indicators except for the prevalence of crime.

"Investments of J$60 million during the year facilitated upgrading of our production capabilities. The expenditure covered the acquisition of a new filling line, tinting machines and a palette lifter. The palette lifter and the upgrading of the fire alarm system, which was replaced with advanced smart technology, have helped to improve employee safety in the plant and at our depot in Montego Bay," stated Mustafa Turra, general manager, in his statement accompanying the results. "We have also invested in the improvement of point-of-sale counters at dealer outlets to make them more customer-friendly and better-equipped to guide consumers in making informed product choices."

Additionally, the company installed new customer relationship management software, which establishes customer profiles and facilitates service delivery.

The local operation made $67 million net profit on revenues of $1.8 billion for the year ended March 31, 2015 or 22 per cent higher profit year on year. The company is a subsidiary of Berger International Limited which in turn is a subsidiary of the Asian Paints Group, a conglomerate which ranks among the top four decorative coating companies in the world.

During the year, the local operations also launched new paints including Berger Royale Satin described as a "virtually odourless" interior emulsion paint that is stain-resistant and environmentally friendly. It also made improvements to its flagship Berger 303 Flat Emulsion and Berger 404 Gloss Oil Paint.

"We have also reduced volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in all our premium products, in keeping with international environmental standards for the paint industry," Turra added.

He reasoned that the "progress" and reforms in Jamaica under the ongoing International Monetary Fund programme has attracted positive response from both the local and international business communities.

"This reflected improved country ratings from prestigious publications including the World Bank's Doing Business 2015 Report, the Global Competitiveness Index and the 2014 Forbes Best Countries for Business Report. Berger Paints Jamaica Limited is poised to take advantage of the new opportunities for growth in the environment; however, we still have some concern regarding the high crime rate and social development agenda which is not in keeping with the other positive indicators," he said.

The company holds roughly $572.5 million in total shareholders' equity as at March 2015.

Source:
BY STEVEN JACKSON
Business reporter|
jacksons@jamaicaobserver.com
Wednesday June 24, 2015    

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Berger-invests--60-million-in-plant-upgrade-_19152601