Date: August 14, 2018
Blue Power Group Limited’s (BPOW) AGM was held today August 14, 2018 and was hosted by Dhiru Tanna, Chairman of Blue Power Group Limited who started the proceedings by the usual welcoming and introductions.
Major Dawes, the Managing Director, highlighted the financial performance of the company for the last financial year ended April 30, 2018. “The financial year shows overall sales for the twelve months are up by 8% from $1,395 million to $1,508 million with the Lumber Depot Division showing an increase of 12% while the Blue Power Division matched its performance for last year,” said Mr. Dawes. Additionally, he mentioned that, “the overall sales increase for this year was not accompanied by any gains in net finance income afforded by the exchange rate, which was roughly $21 million in 2016/17 and almost zero for this year.” This further translated into a decline of net profits by 16% to close this financial year at $102 million.
The Managing Director stated that the company’s gross profit declined due to the effect of price cutting in exports. He further elaborated that, “to enter and maintain markets, we have had to offer very attractive prices which have resulted in the substantial improvement in export performance which is now 21% of our Blue Power Division sales. The increase in export sales over the previous year was 34%.” The company has used exports as a driving catalyst to maximize its sales from in its Soap Division to many Caribbean countries as well as to the USA and the UK.
In addition, “Group Investment increased from $15.2 million in 2017 to $63.7 million in 2018 because of the acquisition of two properties which house the Blue Power Division which were rented in the past,” explained by the Managing Director.
Lastly, Mr. Dawes highlighted that, “Apart of today’s AGM was the decision of the board for a stock split. This is expected to increase share capital of the group and to propose a one in ten stock split of no par value and is an on our agenda.”
Future Strategies
Growth in customer base in both Divisions
• Go for larger percentage of market share
• Increase product options for manufacture and distribution
Market Research to support strategic decisions
• Understand the uniqueness of each territory
• Stay on top of industry trends
Strategic purchases
• In Both divisions
Manufacturing
• Develop other areas
• New products
Staff training
• Product knowledge
• Customer service