Laparkan Financial Services ceases business under Financial Institutions Act

The Bank of Guyana in a notice in today’s issue of Stabroek News says that approval has been granted to Laparkan Financial Services Limited (LFSL) to voluntarily cease conducting business for which it was licensed under the Financial Institutions Act 1995.

Therefore, it said that the licence issued to LFSL is revoked pursuant to Section 11 (1) (b) of the Financial Institutions Act.

No other details were provided in the notice. The operations of Laparkan Financial Services, part of the Laparkan Group of Companies, included money transfer and cambio services. These services have been hit in recent years by declining remittances and increasing competition. The company’s profits had been down based on the last year of results which had been seen by Stabroek News.

A news item in the June 4, 2010 edition of Stabroek News on the 2009/2010 results for the company follows:

Laparkan Financial Services Ltd (LPSL) has reported a significant net reduction in after–tax profits for the financial year 2009/2010. The company has also reported a reduction in its income over the year ended January 31, 2010.

An abridged financial statement made public recently indicates that LPSL’s net profits dipped from $2,544,649 at the end of the previous financial year to $88,382 for the year ended January 2010. The company’s gross income for the financial year also dropped to $180,792,637 from $201,340,335 at the end of the previous year.

The company’s statement of income for the year ended January 31, 2010 reflects payment of taxes totaling $3,501,193 for the year ended January 2010 compared with $4,676,429 for the previous year.

The company recorded a marginal increase in retained earnings from $19,386,817 at the end of January last year to $19,475,199 at the end of January 2010.

The statement lists the company’s liabilities at the end of January 2010 at $2,253,564,786, up from $2,207,311.625 at the end of the 2008 financial year. According to the statement, LFSL’s current liabilities include $385,239,976 in loans, a reduction on the $438,691,252 in loans secured by the company in the previous year. Additionally, LPSL’s outstanding liabilities to other creditors at January 31 this year stood at $1,696,002,080 while a secured bank overdraft stood at $184,866,540.

The operations of Laparkan Financial Services include money transfer and cambio services and the company’s reduced profits at the end of January 2010 reflects the general decline in remittances to Guyana resulting from the global financial and economic crisis. According to the company’s financial statement its operating costs for the year ended January 2010 also fell from $84,594,929.99 at the end of January 2009 to $79,172,170 at the end of January this year.