Date: May 28, 2018
The Chairman of Supreme Ventures Group, Mr. David McConnell, began the proceedings at the Annual General Meeting by highlighting that the company has acquired 800 new shareholders. He further went on to introduce the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Supreme Ventures, the first female to occupy such a position in this capacity, Mrs. Ann-Dawn Young Sang who took up her position in October 2017.
Subsequent to her introduction, Mrs. Young Sang gave her review of SVL performance in 2017 accompanied with an insight for what is to come. As the company celebrates its “sweet sixteen” or its 16 years of operations, the CEO mentioned that this was the best performing year of the history of Supreme Ventures. Supreme Ventures Limited acquired the ‘Caymanas’ Park in 2017, now known as the Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited (SVREL) and acts as a subsidiary to the SVL Group. This entity was established as the premier Horse Racing and Entertainment Facility in the region, and one of the finest in the Caribbean.
The CEO noted that, “the historic 2017 has paved the way for an even more historic first quarter of 2018, the best we have ever experienced since the commencement of operations.” Mrs. Young Sang asked the question, “What can $10 can buy?” She answered by stating that, “This $10 was used by SVL to start a business proposition that started us along our journey.” Over the past years, the company has expanded its lottery portfolio from its two beloved ‘Cash pot’ and ‘Lucky 5’ and with the addition of over 10 new lottery products. These accomplishments gave a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12%.
The company achieved its 5 main objectives outlined at the start of 2017. The lottery game enhancements overall revenues grew over the year by 25%, with lottery growing by approximately 14% which was achieved with the innovative product ‘Mega Ball’. The CEO continued with a turnaround in VLT profitability; “the company for the first time in over 5 years posted a profit in VLT operations.” Sports Betting segment recorded a 79% improvement which was achieved through product innovation and consolidating the retail network and chain. The Group embarked on a cost efficiency program which allowed the maintenance of operating expense ratio of 5.54%. SVL continues to diversify with the acquisition which all resulted in a “record breaking revenue year of $56 billion.”
The CEO stated, “The company reported net profit of $1.2 billion which is after a one-time impairment of $471 million in non-cash, non-routine adjustments related to investment properties and VLT gaming licences.” Total assets increased by 14% which was primarily attributed by the acquisition of ‘Caymanas’ Park and early settlement of a long-term receivables of loan arrangement with ICE Jamaica Limited. In addition, the CEO acknowledged that, “Total dividend pay-out amounted to $2.2 billion, the highest SVL has ever paid out in a single year.” Approximately, “98% of SVL’s earnings went back into the Jamaica Economy to help drive growth and stimulate day to day activities.” Mrs. Young Sang then noted that ,”Of this amount, $31 billion was paid out to winners from over 92 million winners in 2017.”
Outlook
For the financial year 2018, the company has ascertained that the online gaming has been increasing and as such sees it as a key market drive. SVL company plans to focus on four strategic pillars:
Growth and Sustainability
- This will be achieved by realigning and strengthening
- Through different mergers and acquisitions
- Ensuring growth in all areas
- Focusing on sports betting and football tournaments
- Improving product and customer offerings
Operational Excellence through Innovation and Market Leadership
- More effective engagement of technology
- For lottery, innovative promotions namely Mega Pot
- For Sports Betting, expanding into various channels
- Expansion into Guyana
Results Driven Organization
Create a customer Octopus Focus
- To deliver a consistent high-quality customer experience
- Implementation of an Analytics Intelligence Unit to increase knowledge and understanding of all customers
- Focus on (Corporate Social Responsibility) CSR program
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