(Trinidad Express) One Caribbean Media posted a TT$89.6 million after tax profit last year in an increasingly difficult regional and global economic environment.

It is therefore important for shareholders of the company to recognise that there has been a “dramatic change in the environment in which we operate”, OCM chief executive officer Dr Terrence Farrell told stockholders on Thursday during the media group’s annual general meeting at Express House, Port of Spain.

OCM’s after tax profit in 2008 was marginally higher than the TT$88.3 million in 2007. OCM owns and operates the Trinidad Express newspapers and CCN TV6 as well as the Nation newspaper in Barbados and radio stations in Grenada.

Farrell said he was optimistic that the United States would recover from the economic downturn later in 2009 and the global economy might be back on track by 2011.

He said the OCM group remained in a strong financial position and was implementing short, medium and long-term strategies to maximise revenue during the time of global economic downturn.

He pointed out that newspapers around the world were in decline but OCM had synergies through its Caribbean assets to maximise revenue such as its regional news gathering capabilities.

In the longer term, Farrell said the group would “embrace” Internet and new media technologies in media operations.
With regard to insurance company Clico’s 23.1 per cent stake in OCM, Farrell told shareholders the stock remained in Clico’s statutory fund and the company-which has had to be financially rescued by Government- did not intend to sell its shares.

There was no control of the OCM stake by Government and there was no indication that the State intended to control or try to divest the Clico-owned OCM shares, Farrell said.

CCN chief executive Dawn Thomas was appointed a director on the OCM Board at Thursday’s meeting.
OCM’s directors agreed to pay shareholders a final dividend of 41 cents per share, bringing the dividend declared in 2008 to 67 cents, down from 72 cents in 2007.