Durrant Pate/Contributor
One of the Caribbean’s largest conglomerates, Massy Holdings has spent US$244 million on three major acquisitions over the last six months, one of them being in Jamaica.
Massy chairman Robert Bermudez made the disclosure in a statement released along with the conglomerate’s unaudited consolidated financial highlights for the half-year ended March 31, 2023.
Bermudez described the first half of the 2023 financial year as a “very important period”.
Massy group, which is headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago with significant assets in Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean, Jamaica and Guyana, spent US$244 million acquiring controlling interests in three major enterprises, including one in the United States.
Massy, which was named Neal & Massy before its rebranding, acquired Rowe’s IGA Supermarkets in Florida for US$47 million in December last year; and a month later in January 2023, US$57 million was allocated to buy Air Liquide’s operation in Trinidad and Tobago, while it signed a major agreement to acquire IGL Jamaica for US$140 million.
Jamaican deal not yet approved
The Jamaican deal has not yet been approved by local regulators. If the IGL deal is approved by the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) in Jamaica, Massy will consolidate its position as the leading liquid petroleum gas (LPG) business in the Caribbean.
Bermudez, who is retiring as Massy chairman and will be replaced by Robert Riley, said approval of the agreement is expected and that the transaction should be closed in the third quarter of the current financial year.
“Financially, the group continues to perform commendably,” declared Bermudez, who indicated that “strategically, the group set out in 2019 to divest non-core businesses and assets and to focus future investments on its core portfolios on integrated retail, gas products, and motors and machines.”
He added that third-quarter group revenue from continuing operations grew by 11 per cent to US$1 billion. This was propelled by 16 per cent growth in revenue from integrated retail which is benefiting from its acquisition of Rowe’s IGA supermarkets in December 2022,” Bermudez outlined.
Group profit before tax from continuing operations grew by 17 per cent to reach US$77.2 million, while group after-tax profits from continuing operations increased by 19 per cent to reach US$52.5 million. As part of the group’s centennial celebrations, it has recommitted to an employee share ownership initiative to ensure that all employees are gifted US$100 in shares.
“The response has been tremendous,” Bermudez outlined in the chairman’s report, which accompanied the financials. He added that in Jamaica, all employees have already been granted their promised shares.
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