Date: September 05, 2018
Carreras Limited’s (CAR) Chairman, Oliver Holmes, hosted the Company’s 56th Annual General Meeting (AGM) today. The Chairman of the Board commenced proceedings by welcoming shareholders and the introduction of the Board. Subsequent to the introductions, the following resolutions were voted on:
- To receive the Audited Financial Statements and the Reports of the Auditors and the Directors for the year ended March 31, 2018.
- To appoint Auditors and authorize the Directors to fix the remuneration of the Auditors
- To elect Directors
- To confirm the remuneration of the Non-Executive Directors
- To approve and ratify dividends
Afterwards, Mr. Marcus Steele, Managing Director, gave an update on the Company’s performance. Mr. Steele mentioned that, “The Company recorded a reduction in sales, driven by unbroken years of excise increases levied by the Government, with the most recent being the $3 increase in the Special Consumption Tax on cigarettes implemented in March 2017.” Mr. Steele also noted that, “The illegal cigarette trade remains as a resilient competitor to the legitimate tobacco industry in Jamaica, fuelled by the frequent and excessive excise increases which have resulted in the prices of legitimate cigarette brands being significantly higher and therefore unable to compete with the prices of illicit brands that evade payment of these taxes.”
However, despite the legal and external affairs, the Company delivered a strong performance for the fiscal year 2017/2018. The Company’s market capitalization amounted to $51.5 billion, a significant 43.4% increase year over year as at the end of the financial year ended March 31, 2018. Carreras, in light of an increasingly competitive environment, remained focused on capitalizing on their Route to Market (RTM) strategy and decreasing costs, while increasing productivity. Mr. Steele highlighted that, “There was a decrease of 10.3% in the cost of operating revenue, moving from $6.25 billion. Administrative, Distribution and Marketing Expenses increased by $0.01 billion or 0.43%, which after considering a 4% inflation rate, can be regarded as negligible.”
It was emphasized that the marketing team for Carreras, continues to push exciting marketing campaigns in an effort to keep their “tried-and-true” brands at an optimum level for marketing leadership.
On a different note, Carreras continues to make contributions to the achievement of Jamaica’s 2030 vision, by providing further access to tertiary education through their scholarship programme. Mr. Steele mentioned that, “This year the company awarded 43 scholarships to students from over 400 applicants. Additionally, 14 bursaries were awarded, 3 SEEK scholarships, 7 Teacher’s College scholarships, 7 scholarships tenable at Community Colleges, the College of Agriculture, Science and Education, 4 visual and performing arts scholarships. Also, there was 7 HOPE scholarships given to the children of Officers who has passed on from the Force and 1 Post Graduate Scholarship 2017-2019.”
Lastly, the Managing Director concluded by stating that, “Our commitment to being a responsible tobacco company is not only reflected in our careful marketing and distribution activities, but in our commitment to the social and economic development of Jamaica.”
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