Sales dip at Ansa McAl
The conglomerate is seeking a stimulus package from the Government for exports and construction. McAl is eyeing Central America as there is a fall off in business in Caricom.
The Ansa McAl Group has taken in front and, of late, has been calling for the fashionable “stimulus” package as earnings take a dive.
Mind you, the conglomerate which is controlled by the Sabga family, is still doing quite well earning an after tax profit of $323 million for the first six months of the year. For the first three months, there was an 8.8 per cent decline when compared to the corresponding period last year.
However, according to Chairman A. Norman Sabga, this trend was reversed in the second quarter but while there were revenues of over $2 billion, this was 6.7 per cent below the corresponding figure for last year. There were declines in the group’s “manufacturing, automotive and media sectors.”
Gerry Brooks, McAl’s Chief Operating Officer, has been touting the question of a fiscal stimulus from Government, complaining that because of the international recession there was a great falloff in business in Caricom.
The conglomerate will now have to focus on Central America and wants fiscal concessions for exports and construction. Sabga, on the other hand, sounds an optimistic note, pointing out that while business does not match up to last year’s figures “profit margins have been maintained” and “we remain confident that our targets will be achieved.”