Ansa doubles profits for 2023

IN keeping with Ansa McAl Group’s 2X initiative, through which it plans to double its size, scale, returns and impact by 2027, the company almost doubled its profits before tax for the year ending December 31, 2023.

The group’s audited consolidated financial statements reported a profit before tax of $842 million, as compared to $448 million the year before.

The group’s profit after tax was $594.4 million, as compared to $265 million for the same period the year before.

It also reported its highest-ever revenue of $7 billion for the year, up from $6.39 billion the year before, and its total assets grew to $18.8 billion, as compared to $17.5 billion the year before.

Chairman A Norman Sabga, in his remarks at the year-end financial results and investors presentation on Wednesday, said the beverage, manufacturing and automotive businesses demonstrated growth, with input costs going down and efficiency going up.

Banking and insurance operations also showed growth, with interest and income returning to pre-2019 levels. Investments also produced non-cash mark-to-market growth, reversing the non-cash losses reported in 2022.

The company also made a record investment of $736 million, which included the state-of-the-art returnable bottling line at Carib Brewery Trinidad; a bottle-washer at Carib Brewery, Grenada; a minority interest acquisition of The Bahamian Brewery and contract brewing in Canada and Greece.

While it showed growth in a majority of its business segments, its media, retail services and parent company segment, which contributes about five per cent of overall revenue, saw a half-million dollar loss, which was compared to a $117 million loss the year before.

Speaking on one particular company in that segment – Guardian Media Ltd – Sabga III said the way the public consumes media is changing and plans are being made to have GML pivot along with the changing times.

“The country, for all intents and purposes, is substantially media-heavy, with three major media houses competing for what is a substantial decrease in how media is purchased by the public,” he said. “We are in no way immune to that.”

He said the company plans to continue expanding its digital platforms and develop greater commercial differentiation.

“We expect this will see us ultimately thrive and return to a level of performance in the media industry,” he said.
GML reported a $9.8 million loss for the year ending December 31, 2023.