Dennise Williams, Staff Reporter
From left, Paul Hoo, chairman; Brian George, president and chief executive officer, and Ian Levy, chairman of Supreme Ventures, insert the Supreme Ventures strip on the Jamaica Stock Exchange listing at the exchange's downtown Kingston office on Tuesday, February 28-2006. - RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
SUPREME VENTURES Limited (SVL) listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) yesterday, losing 73 cents from its original $4.81 on light trading.
The trading tripped the JSE's circuit breaker, dropping 15 per cent, which is the maximum amount that a share is allowed to drop in any one trading day. Amid the tepid investor response, Brian George, president and chief executive officer of SVL, stated that the best way to earn investor confidence was for the company to show good performance.
"We have a mandate from our shareholders to deliver in terms of profits and dividends and this is what we plan to do," he said.
And beyond building investor confidence, the company has several other challenges facing it.
One important growth possibility is the company's foray into the operation Caymanas Park. Supreme Ventures is a partner in Caymanas Entertainment Limited, which was the successful bidders for the horse racing complex in St. Catherine.
'CAYMANAS PARK IS A NON-ISSUE'
Asked whether there was any truth to the media reports that the deal had come undone, Mr. George said, "Caymanas Park is a non-issue. Our interest in Caymans Park was put in the prospectus as part of disclosure but was not a part of our financial projections."
There are mixed views in the marketplace on SVL's involvement in the deal, Mr. George said.
"One view is that Caymanas Park will be a bonanza," he said. "Another view is that it is a quagmire. Horse racing is a challenging business and the cost to rebuild may well be understated because of the poor state of the infrastructure. Plus, the Government's tax policy is inconsistent."
Another challenge facing the company is its investment in the Acropolis Gaming lounge - an attempt to diversify beyond scratch and win type gaming. Mr. George stated that, "It has been very challenging. We made some mistakes but we have learned a lot and so we are taking corrective action."
Moving on to the issue of the share price, Mr. George said that, "Hindsight is 20/20. However, we didn't get up and pull the share price out of our heads. Our financial advisers determined the price of our shares. And at the time the decision was made the market was at a higher level. Now the market is in a different mode."
And the timing of the listing was a forced one, he said. "We were mandated by the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission to list. But one would argue that if we were less constrained, we would have deferred the listing until the company could get better traction in the market. Plus, we could then have given the market a chance to rebound."
