LJ Williams reports $1.4m loss

LJ Williams, the parent company of The Home Store Ltd, reported a $1.4 million loss after tax for the six-month period ending September 30 2024.

This marks a reduction in losses compared to the same period the year before when it reported a $1.9 million loss.

In its unaudited financial statements, published on the TT Stock Exchange website, LJ Williams reported an earnings of $73.3 million in sales as compared to $78.7 million the year before.

The revenue was reduced to an operating profit of $1.6 million, as compared to $1.8 million for the same period the year before.

Finance costs pulled the company into the red, recording a loss before tax of $974,000 as compared to a loss of $1.5 million the year before.

For the 12-month period ending March 31, 2024, it recorded a profit after tax of $275,000.

Chairman Lawford Dupres in his remarks said the loss was due to slow sales at the company’s locations in TT.

He added that the company is also reviewing its business operations to deal with the strains of forex availability.

Dupres said while there have been slow sales in TT, sales in Guyana have grown.

"We expect this to continue for the rest of the year," Dupres said.

He said a second store was opened on the east coast of Guyana.

Certain segments in the company have also improved. Dupres said the food and allied division, as well as the hardware division, contributed to a six per cent increase in sales for the parent company.

In December 2023, Krishna Bahadoorshingh retired as director of the company after serving on the board for 27 years.

He was replaced by Lawford Dupres, a director of the company since 2002.