AS Bryden logistics hub for central Trinidad
Published:Friday | February 23, 2024 | 12:20 AMNeville Graham - Financial Gleaner Reporter
SEPROD SUBSIDIARY AS Bryden Holdings (ASBH) is banking its future growth on a new logistics hub in central Trinidad.
CEO Richard Pandohie says this facility is expected to be operational by December 2025. He says the new logistics and distribution facility will facilitate the future growth of AS Bryden in an efficient manner.
The company recently signed off on a US$30-million investment.
Pandohie says the present arrangement, using a warehouse in Port of Spain, along with rented space at several locations, is proving to be inefficient and costly. The new facility will sit on 220,000 square feet of space with about 35 feet of headroom, and is suitable to stack pallets five or six rows high.
The Seprod Group CEO says the move is a follow-through on the amalgamation with Seprod, which was completed in 2022, with operational and legal steps fully closed out.
“Our focus now is extracting synergies and building out the regional platform,” Pandohie told the Financial Gleaner just after the release of the company’s fourth-quarter 2023 results.
For the three months ended December 31, 2023, the Bryden Group earned revenue of TT$757.1 million, an increase of TT$127.9 million, or 20.3 per cent, over the corresponding period in 2022. Net profit was TT$35.3 million, an increase of TT$6.9 million, or 24.4 per cent, over the corresponding period in 2022.
The 2023 fourth quarter closed out the first full year for the company in the post-amalgamation period. The annual numbers for 2023 can only be compared to the seven-month period ending December 2022.
For the 12-month period ended December 2023, the Bryden Group earned revenue of TT$2.6 billion, an increase of TT$1.3 billion over the seven-month period ended December 2022.
The company says the year-to-date net profit of TT$140.0 million represents an increase of TT$70.4 million, or 101 per cent, over the seven-month period ended December 2022.
Regarding the performance in the 2023 fourth quarter, Pandohie said, “The three-month period October-December 2023 reflects the peak-season performance for the very important premium alcoholic beverages division of the group, as customers stocked up for Christmas, and ahead of the following year’s carnival season.
“It is also a big period for the food business with Divali (big Hindu period) and Christmas,” Pandohie said, cautioning that despite the significant uptick, the expectation for the full year does not equate to an extrapolation of the fourth-quarter results.
Pandohie says for the time being, the business at AS Bryden is on an even keel, with bills being paid and other obligations being met. He says apart from organic growth, there is room for expansion through growing the export business in Guyana, Suriname and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.
In addition, he says, ASBH has a small pharmaceutical manufacturing outfit that offers exciting prospects for more business at the company.
“We see big opportunities to invest in pharmaceutical manufacturing to drive business growth and reduce waste in the government health ecosystem,” Pandohie declared.