ALMOST four months after acquiring an associated interest in Caribbean Producers (Jamaica) Limited (CPJ), AS Bryden and Sons Holdings Limited (ASBH) will make further changes to the management of CPJ (St Lucia) Limited in its ongoing integration process and simplification.

Richard Du Boulay, who has been managing director of CPJ (Saint Lucia) since December 2016, will move into the new role of head of business development on 1 November. Gerard Conyers, who is the managing director of Micon Marketing Limited, will be interim managing director for the next six months until a suitable replacement is appointed. Ainsley Alleyne, Warehouse Operations Manager at AS Bryden & Sons (Trinidad) Limited, will be seconded to CPJ (St Lucia) for a six-month assignment focused on streamlining the company’s warehouse and logistics operations.

Adam Conyers will succeed Gerard as Managing Director of Micon Marketing. Adam has spent the last 23 years working with Micon Marketing and its related subsidiaries, his most recent role being Director of Sales. Also, Scott Fanovich, senior brand manager for Micon Marketing, will be appointed to the role of commercial manager to oversee sales and marketing. These changes follow the recent promotion of Sheena Constantine to Divisional Director, Food and Grocery at AS Bryden & Sons (Trinidad) on 10 July.

These moves to shake up CPJ (St. Lucia) come after the full-service fresh wholesaler had a difficult year. CPJ (St. Lucia) saw a five percent increase in revenue to $26.45 million, but saw a change from a net profit of $985,467 to a net loss of $577,949. However, the company had $3.88 million in capital investments in its operations, which were funded through cash flow and debt subfinancing activities.

CPJ (St. Lucia) began as a joint venture in October 2014 between CPJ and Du Boulay’s Bottling Company, in which CPJ owned 51% of the entity. This venture was made at a time when Sandals International invited CPJ to serve it in that market. Sandals International is led by its executive chairman, Adam Stewart, who also runs this publication.

CPJ, as an independent entity, reported a two percent increase in revenue to $121.79 million, which the company attributed to new product lines and growth in existing sales channels, including e-commerce. However, CPJ’s hospitality segment – ​​which accounts for three-quarters of its business – rose five percent to $90.89 million, while its retail and export businesses contracted.

With expenses relatively flat year over year, CPJ’s operating profit rose 17% to $11.05 million. Even with lower finance costs and higher fees, CPJ was able to grow its net profit by 23% to $6.94 million for the financial year (FY) June 2024. However, CPJ made one-time expenses settlement to certain government agencies last year, totaling $1.589 million. If these expenses were removed, CPJ’s normalized net profit for fiscal 2024 would have fallen four percent, compared to an adjusted net profit of $7.22 million in the prior period.

CPJ’s consolidated asset base rose nine percent to $98.39 million, with inventory up eight percent to $42.15 million and cash to $9.92 million. Total liabilities and equity attributable to shareholders were $59.74 million and $35.55 million, respectively.

AS Bryden acquired 44.89%, or 493,798,863 ordinary shares, on July 9 for $10.50 per share for a transaction value of $5.18 billion ($32.93 million). Since that acquisition, Nicholas Hospedales has been appointed chief executive officer (CEO) of CPJ, and AS Byrden CEO Richard Pandohie has been appointed chairman of the newly formed board. AS Bryden has indicated that it intends to acquire control of CPJ at a later stage, a process which must go through regulators.

“In light of the new investment from AS Bryden and the appointments at the highest levels of management, CPJ will undergo significant strategic adjustments – however, we want to reassure stakeholders that these changes will not have a significant impact on CPJ’s day-to-day operations . Our core business model remains solid, and the leadership transitions are designed to enhance our capacity for growth and expansion while maintaining the continuity of our operations,” said the outlook signed by Pandohie and Hospedales in CPJ’s FY 2024 preamble.

CPJ’s share price closed Tuesday at $8.94, or 15% below the purchase price. CPJ was co-founded by Anthony Mark Hart and Thomas “Tom” Tyler in April 1994 with a deep focus on the hospitality sector through wines, meats and other products.

ASBH common shares closed at $33.80/$0.2273 on Tuesday, making the stock up more than two percent year-to-date, with a market cap of $46.97 billion. ASBH’s shares are not yet listed on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange (TTSE), with effectively two months left in 2024. ASBH and CPJ’s quarterly reports are due by November 14, and CPJ’s annual report is due today.

ASBH will pay a dividend of $0.015, totaling $306,045, to preferred stockholders, which will be paid on November 12th to shareholders of record beginning on November 1st. This is the second preference share dividend declared this year, with the company paying the Trinidad & Tobago Dollar Equivalent (TTD) of TT$8.32 million in 2023. Keskidee Limited (connected to the Bryden family) holds 9,642,009 preference shares; Ambergate Limited (connected to the Fitzwilliam family) holds 6,016,805 preference shares; Fairchild Limited (related to the Maingot family) holds 2,773,031 preference shares; and Summit Investments Limited (related to the three families and other directors) holds 1,970,155 preference shares.

ASBH Class A Preferred Shares (6.00%) have not yet traded since listing in November 2023 and currently remain at $1. This is due to the lock-up period, which runs from June 2022 to June 2025, and prohibits the owners of those shares from trading those shares. AS Bryden may redeem those preference shares in multiples of 50 on the last business day following the 15th anniversary of the date of issue. If the preference shares are not redeemed during this period, they may be redeemed in each successive three-year period. These terms of the Preference Shares in terms of redemption are similar to those of Productive Business Solutions Limited’s September 2022 Perpetual Redemption Preference Share Offer.