Massy expanding local operations, share ownership
Published:Sunday | July 24, 2022 | 12:07 AM
Massy Holdings Limited, a Trinidad-based conglomerate with regional scope, has so far this year, expanded the capacity of its gas operations in Jamaica, a move which the company says is aimed at offering its more competitive pricing. At the same time, the company is reporting that the cross-listing of its shares on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, JSE, in January this year has increased local share ownership close to 90-fold.
“We increased our LPG storage capacity in Jamaica in the second quarter of 2022 by completing the installation and commissioning of four additional liquid petroleum gas, LPG, storage tanks with a capacity of 360,000 gallons,” Massy said in a recent investor update on its quarterly results to March 2022.
“This gives us the ability to import larger volumes of LPG and will allow for more competitive pricing to our existing and potential customers,” according to the company statement.
Massy, through its Gaspro brand, which it acquired from marketing company Shell in 2006, is a major supplier in Jamaica of LPG. Consumers and businesses mainly use LPG for cooking, but it is also evolving as a fuel source for motor vehicles.
The Jamaica gas operations earned revenues of US$27 million in the quarter, or 23 per cent of the group’s gas revenues, which totalled US$117 million in the quarter. The group operates gas businesses in Trinidad, which earned 32 per cent of segment revenue, followed by Colombia, at 29 per cent, and Guyana, at 16 per cent. Massy operates many segments, and its gas operations comprise 13 per cent of group revenue.
In 2020, Massy announced that it was contemplating entering into the liquefied natural gas, LNG, distribution market in Jamaica. That market is controlled by New Fortress Energy as the sole supplier of natural gas to Jamaica. Massy did not give investors any update on its stated plans to sell LNG.
On the matter of the listing of the stock, Massy said its shareholder in Jamaica grew 88-fold with the cross-listing. Specifically, the shareholder base grew from 23 persons to over 2,035 by May 3. Some Jamaicans would have previously held shares through local brokers with access to the Trinidad market.
“We can see that the accessibility of Massy’s shares has improved, if we look at the shareholder base of the group,” the Massy update said.
It added that most of the shareholders holding Massy stocks locally are small investors, with less than 2,000 units.
“This generally supports the view that a significant number of retail investors have bought Massy stock,” according to the company.
Up to May, 2.7 per cent of Massy’s issued shares are traded on the JSE, with the remaining 97 per cent listed on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange.
“In addition to listing on the JSE, the exposure Massy has received in the Jamaican market has widened the company’s options for various forms of capital,” the company’s management said.
Massy was cross-listed on the JSE on January 27 and subsequently executed a 20-to-1 stock split on March 9. The group operates across the Caribbean and in Latin America.