May 2017 Financial News

ANSA Merchant defies the odds...boosts income in declining economy

May 26, 2017

ANSA Merchant Bank was able to increase its net operating income by 8 per cent for the year ending December 31, 2016 - even though the local economy contracted last year. The profit before tax also increased from $297 million in 2015 to $322 million in 2016, for a year-over-year increase of 8.4 per cent, which is the second highest in its history.

According to the chairman’s report, despite the cyclical nature of economies which move from boom to bust cycles, T&T’s strengths go beyond its natural resources and so T&T’s well-educated workforce, its stable political environment and civic mindedness are values that give ANSA Merchant Bank the optimism for the future despite the “day-to-day vagaries of the market.”

ANSA Merchant Bank held its annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday at the Radisson Hotel, Port-of-Spain.

The chairman’s report said: “We have shared over the years that the principal reason for the strength and stability of ANSA Merchant Bank is that we manage and operate our company with a consistent set of business principles and core values. As we move forward in these uncertain economic times, we believe that shareholders will benefit from our commitment to continue doing the right thing.”

According to the managing director’s Report, ANSA Merchant Bank’s consolidated results reveal an “outstanding performance” in 2016.

The report stated that in October 2016, ANSA Merchant Bank acquired Consolidated Finance Co Limited (CFC) of Barbados.

“This was one of the several new opportunities that we are capitalising on at this time and represent the first step in deepening our regional footprint. Many of the strategies that we employed a few years ago have safely positioned our business for the very challenges we face today.”

The managing director’s report stated that ANSA Merchant Bank and its subsidiaries, TATIL, TATIL Life, and now CFC reported earnings per share that increased from $2.89 in 2015 to $2.94 in 2016.

Timothy Hamel-Smith, a board member of the ANSA Merchant Bank paid tribute to the late Dr Anthony N Sabga at the AGM saying it was he who laid the foundation for the successes of ANSA Merchant Bank and the Group.

“I came to know Dr Sabga in 1999. This started as a small bank and without his vision we would not be where we are today. Dr Sabga had an innate knack for businesses that one cannot learn in a book. That is now in the DNA of the ANSA McAL Group,” he said.

Sabga was chairman of ANSA Merchant Bank until his death on May 3.

Source:
Rapheal John-Lall
Trinidad Guardian
Friday May 26, 2017

http://www.guardian.co.tt/business/2017-05-26/ansa-merchant-defies-odds