Jul 2015 Financial News

Tim joins TCL

Jul 21, 2015

FORMER Senate president, Timothy Hamel-Smith, joined the Board of Directors of Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) and immediately expressed his optimism in the company’s future, at yesterday’s AGM at the Hilton Trinidad, St Ann’s.

“It was almost a bankrupt organisation compared to what it is today, where expectations are that it will make $200 million by the end of the year,” Hamel-Smith told Newsday. “So to come from almost folding up to being a profitable organisation is a tremendous achievement,. TCL has done a marvellous job in reconstructing this company.”

The three other new directors voted into office were CEMEX director, Jose Bavaro; National Insurance Board deputy chairman, Reuben Mc Sween; and Trinity Exploration chief financial officer, Bryan Ramsumair.

The meeting also re-elected existing directors Wilfred Espinet (chairman), Christopher Derring, Nigel Edwards, and Francisco Aguilera.

Shareholders also agreed to a motion to delist the company from the Stock Exchanges of Barbados, Guyana and the Eastern Caribbean, on the premise that the cost of maintenance of the listings was not justified by the minimal, sporadic and nominal trading there.

TCL CEO Jose Seijo Gonzalez, in his address, urged all to work together to take care of customers. “If we at TCL don’t take care of our customers, somebody else will,” he warned.

Chairman Espinet said under the board sworn in last year the company’s debt has been reduced from US$298million to US $245 million, while also having a “reasonably healthy” cash generation. Yet, he warned that while TCL’s six months results showed the company had done well, they had also included the benefits of a one-off gain derived from the company’s restructuring, but which would need to be matched in the future by “a lot of work”.

He urged TCL to change the way it has traditionally seen itself — as a protected company operating in TT — to one that is competitive in the wider world.

In the question session a shareholder, one Dr Elias, praised the Espinet-led board for now showing the true figures that had been paid as directors fees in the past by their predecessor(s). He claimed the old auditors had refused to give him such details in reply to his query, saying it was none of his business.

In the TCL Annual Report 2014, Espinet in the Group Chairman’s Review, spelt out the past year’s successes and challenges.

The company had raised US$50 million in new equity by a rights issue, and had tackled debt by negotiating a two percent reduction in interest rates, forgiveness of penalty interest, and a discount on the principal repayment of between 10 percent and 20 percent. “In the incredibly short period of seven months, employees, lenders and shareholders have come together in an unprecedented exercise that has rescued TCL from what was undoubtably a misguided course of destruction of wealth and livelihoods,” said Espinet.

He said Group revenues were $2.1 billion, an eight percent rise over 2013, with operations in both Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica showing better year-on-year performances in both volume-increases and price-increases.

Source:
By SEAN DOUGLAS
Newsday
Tuesday July 21, 2015

http://www.newsday.co.tt/business/0,214462.html