By McPherse Thompson, Staff Reporter
William McConnell
A $245 MILLION gain realised on the sale of more than 200 million shares in Kingston Wharves helped the Lascelles, deMercado Group to achieve a net profit of just under $1.2 billion for the year to September 2002.
According to the consolidated audited results released a week ago, the company's net profit attributable to members rose by just over $230 million from $965.3 million in 2001. Sale of the Kingston Wharves shares was recorded as an extraordinary item.
According to the Group income statement, profit before taxation and extraordinary item fell from just over $1 billion to $984.4 million.
The company's operating revenue rose by about $1.2 billion to $11 billion from $9.8 billion in 2001, while operating profit fell to $673.9 million from $749.5 million the previous year.
Earnings per ordinary stock unit before extraordinary item fell to $9.90 from $10.05 in 2001, but rose to $12.46 after the extraordinary item.
The activities of the Lascelles, deMercado Group include cane cultivation, sugar manufacturing, distillation, blending, bottling, distribution and export of alcohol, rums, wines and other liquor-based products.
The Group is also involved in the holding of investments, general insurance, distribution of food and consumer supplies, aircraft handling, manufacture and distribution of pharmaceutical preparations, tours in the hospitality industry, distribution of motor vehicles and spares, and servicing and repairing of motor vehicles.
Lascelles, deMercado's sale of the 200 million shares, in an "off the exchange transaction" and at a discounted price in September, created controversy with Grace, Kennedy and Company, the largest shareholder in Kingston Wharves, saying the sale should have been made on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) as it had an interest in acquiring the stocks.
The company sold the shares to a consortium of shipping interests comprising Transocean Shipping, the Jamaica Producers Group Pension Fund, Kingston Port Workers Superannuation Fund, Shipping Association of Jamaica Property, Lannaman and Morris, Jamaica Freight and Shipping Pension Fund, and Maritime and Transport.
Group managing director of Lascelles, deMercado, William McConnell, said then that the shares were sold in furtherance of a decision the company took eight years ago not to continue in the shipping business.
Grace, Kennedy's chairman and chief executive officer, Douglas Orane, said last month that the consortium which bought the Lascelles shares were apparently acting in concert to acquire and consolidate Kingston Wharves into the hands of a small group of persons.
