NEL records net profit of $511.4 million

Published: Tuesday July 1, 2008

National Enterprises Limited (NEL) has declared a net profit of $511,417,000 for its financial year ended March 31,2008 compared with $252,042,000 for the financial year ended March 31, 2007.

In published financial statements, NEL chairman Jerry Hospedales, said profits attributable to shareholders had increased from $278,355,000 in March 31, 2007, to $532,063,000 at March 31, 2008, an increase of $253,708,000 or 91.1 per cent.

He said: “The increase in after-tax profits was supported by NEL’s share of the after-tax profits TSTT which moved from a loss of $121.9 million in 2007 to a profit of $81.8 million in 2008.”

Hospedales said NEL’s dividends amounted to $57.33 million or 14.6 per cent more than the company received in its financial year ending March 31, 2007.

He said that in keeping with the company’s policy of paying out at least 90.0 per cent of dividends (net of expenses) NEL would pay a final dividend of 48 cents per share ($288.0 million). He said when this was added to its interim dividend of 19 cents per share ($114.0 million) which had been paid in December 2007, shareholders would receive a total dividend of 67 cents per share ($402.0 million) for the financial year, which was eight cents more than they received in 2007.

On NEL’s future prospects, he said the company’s medium-term outlook was “broadly satisfactory” since TSTT has begun to benefit from its restructuring and would continue restructuring efforts while “continuing buoyant gas and petrochemical product prices, in addition to the competitive strategies pursued by TSTT and NFM to address the increasing liberalised environment, our existing investments will continue to provide enhanced shareholder value and adequate dividends in the coming years.”


Source: Trinidad Guardian Newspapers
http://www.guardian.co.tt/business2.html