DDL records profit of $984M

-group committed to $1.4B capital programme this year

Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) recorded profit of $984M for 2012, down from $1.1B the year before.

The company’s annual report noted that the 2011 profit had been driven higher by a one-off dividend from the now wound-up seafood business, BEV Processors of $288M. Stripped of this,  Chairman Yesu Persaud in his report contained in the company’s annual report noted that the profit for DDL in 2012 would have been higher than in 2011 by 12%.

Profit for the DDL group was also down from $1.5B in 2011 to $1.3B in 2012.  Persaud pointed out that turnover for the group rose from $14.6B in 2011 to $15.8B in 2012 (up 8%). For the company, turnover climbed from $9.5B in 2011 to $10.6B last year.

Taxation for the company in 2012 totalled $324M compared to $185M mainly due to a deferred tax charge of $230M as opposed to $65M in 2011. For the group, the tax charge for 2012 was $604M compared to $463M in 2011.

Basic earnings per share in dollars declined for the company from 1.55 in 2011 to 1.28 last year and for the group from 2.01 to 1.74.

A final dividend of 40 cents per share in addition to the interim 12 cents paid out is being proposed for the company’s Annual General Meeting scheduled for April 26 at Plantation Diamond at 4.30 pm.

Yesu Persaud
Yesu Persaud

The group has committed $1.4B towards its capital programme this year which will see upgrades to its power generation facility, production equipment, its fleet and storage facilities.

The Chairman said that the results were a “remarkable achievement”  in an environment where the global economy was still recovering from the financial crisis of 2008-9.

He also cited a turnaround in results for fruit juice company TOPCO which saw a profit for 2012 of $16M compared to a loss of $16.4M in the previous year. Distribution Services Limited saw its pre-tax profit grow by 12% from $438M in 2011 to $490M last year.

The Chairman noted that Demerara Shipping Company saw profit after tax of $146.3M for 2012 compared to $159M in 2011. Persaud said that the operations of the company were affected by the irregular sailing of one of its lines.

Despite the Eurozone crisis, Persaud said that the company’s European operations performed “creditably”.  Profit for the European operations was $143.7M in 2012 compared to $186M in 2011. Demerara Distillers Limited (USA) Inc saw profits inch up from $31.5M in 2011 to $32.6M last year. DDL’s St Kitts subsidiary saw profits jump from $13.7M in 2011 to $22.1M last year.

Persaud however said that National Rums of Jamaica has a difficult 2012 as a result of challenges faced from the disposal of effluent.  Its pre-tax profit in 2012 was $45.6M compared to $56.3M in 2011.

Diamond Fire and General Insurance Inc saw its after-tax profit decline from $78.9M in 2011 to $75.9M in 2012. Demerara Distillers Ltd – Hyderabad saw a loss of $24.8M in 2012, adding to its losses of $25.5M in 2011.

The group’s bank overdraft rose to $2.7B in 2012 compared to $2.1B in 2011. Loans on its books decreased from $4.1B in 2011 to $3.2B in 2012.

Revenue from its  manufacturing segment rose from $12.5B in 2011 to $14.2B in 2012.
At its AGM Ahmad Amzah is to be recognized for 30 years of service.