First Citizens, NIF companies record multi-million profits

First Citizens has recorded a $395 million after-tax profit for the first half of the financial year (up to March 2019), a 7.6 per cent increase over the previous year. The bank, which is just over 60 per cent owned by the state, published its half-year financial results yesterday. The bank’s pre-tax profit was $573 million. The bank attributed its growth to a $1.6 billion increase (ten per cent) in its customers’ loans portfolio and a $1 billion (six per cent) increase in investments.

Also releasing their statements was One Caribbean Media, parent of the Trinidad Express newspaper and television station, TV6. The media company made a $7.4 million profit for the first three months (ending March) for 2019, down 40 per cent from the same time last year. “We continue to operate in a challenging environment, both on the economic and industry fronts,” chairman Faarees Hosein said in a statement. Notwithstanding this difficult environment, the company has seen positive developments, especially in Barbados.

Trinidad Generation Unlimited, which is 100 per cent owned by the state, but whose shares have been places in the National Investment Fund, reported a US$42 million profit, a 5.5 per cent increase from 2017’s US$39.5 million, and US$1 million more than projected. The company’s long-term bond credit rating remained BBB- (lower medium investment grade) from two international ratings agencies, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch. The company had issued a US$600 million bond in November 2016, and paid $31,500 in interest expense. The remaining $10 million was declared as dividend paid to the shareholder, that is, government via the National Investment Fund Holding Company Ltd (NIFHCL).

Yesterday, Republic Financial Holdings declared a $783 million half-year profit. The state owns just about 25 per cent of RFHL shares, which have also been deposited into the NIF, so the dividends from those shares, as well as those from its 23 per cent shareholding in OCM will also be deposited into the NIFHCL. Other companies in the NIF are Witco (5.4 per cent government shareholding), which made a $405 million profit last year, and Angostura (29.9 per cent government), which made a $130 million profit last year. With the exception of TGU, all NIF component companies were acquired through the liquidation of Clico Investment Bank last year.