Dennise Williams, Staff Reporter
DEHRING, BUNTING & Golding has been profitable every year and every quarter of its 14-year existence, and executives had an upbeat view on the prospects going forward.
They were speaking to the public at an investor briefing at DB&G's new offices on Holborn Road on Wednesday.
Clearly buoyed by the track record along with new offices in Trinidad and Tobago, Peter Bunting, chairman and chief executive officer of DB&G, along with Garfield Sinclair, president and chief operating officer, presented the company's strategy to sustain its development.
"We have updated our strategic vision beyond serving the Jamaican market to serving the Caribbean market,"Mr. Bunting said.
Looking at the Jamaican market, Mr. Bunting noted that recently the company has been seeking to increase, albeit marginally, its staff complement. "Our branch in Portmore was what I would call a starter branch. Now we are in a new 5,000 square-foot building with adequate parking. With a bigger space, we expect the contribution of the Portmore branch to be much stronger. Before, we could only contain five to six staff members, but in our new branch we could accommodate 40 staff members, but we are looking to grow to 12 by the end of the year."
Additionally, the company is seeking to grow its merchant banking arm.
Mr. Bunting stated, "We have an advantage relative to our peer groups who don't have a merchant bank. While we are one of the smaller merchant banks now, but we certainly see it has a high growth area of our business."
Mr. Sinclair then spoke of what he terms the "durability of the company."
DIVIDEND
The company recently determined to pay dividends twice per year at a rate of approximately 15 per cent of net income for each six-month period.
Despite this, the stock price, like many others, has taken a beating on the Jamaica Stock Exchange in recent months.
Still, Mr. Sinclair points out that, "Compared to our cross listed peer groups like Capital & Credit Merchant Bank and Jamaica Money Market Brokers, from a base period of at December 31, 2004, DB&G's share price has been flat but everybody else's has fallen off over the year."
Performance Highlights
Leverage (As at September 30, 2005)
Total asset: J$ 27.1 billion (US$420 million)
Total liabilities: J$ 24.6 billion (US$385 million)
Total equity: J$ 2.5 billion (US$39 million)
Total equity/total asset: 9.25%
At a primary ratio of 9.25 per cent, DB&G significantly exceeds the six per cent primary ratio stipulated by the Financial Services Commission.
