The shaky performance of state companies under the umbrella of the National Enterprises Ltd (NEL) was a major topic of concern for shareholders, who vented their concerns at the group’s annual general meeting on Thursday at the Trinidad Hilton, Port of Spain.
NEL is a holding company which has shares in seven companies, four of which are in the energy sector.
These companies include Trinidad Nitrogen Company Ltd (Tringen), NGC NGL Ltd, Pan West Engineers and Constructors LLC, NEL Power Holdings Ltd (NPHL), the Telecommunications Services of TT (TSTT,) and National Flour Mills (NFM).
Ordinary shareholder Gokool Seemungal pointed out to the board, the bad financial position of companies under NEL in the energy industry, and noted that another company outside of the energy industry may be in dire need of a leadership audit. He feared that as a result, dividends, which was voted on to be at 24 cents per share, may be irregular.
“I noticed that NGC LNG is in a bad financial position, from my estimation, dividends from that company may be a long while coming – maybe ten years,” Seemungal said.
He also raised concerns with the lack of performance from Train 1, which chairman Ingrid Lashley assured was not written off.
He spoke of his concerns over leadership in light of TSTT’s recent issues with cyberattacks and the resulting sacking of then TSTT CEO Lisa Agard and the controversies surrounding the company at the time.
He also raised concern over the involvement of Government in TSTT.
“When politics is involved in business, they don’t strive,” he said. “In most of these companies that we have here there is a significant inflow of politics.”
NEL said, in its annual report for 2023, that the Minister of Finance held 66.05 per cent of the shares of the holding company.
Lashley pointed out that over 60 per cent of NEL’s investments are in the energy sector, which is seeing significant volatility at the moment. She said the company has a goal of paying out dividends on a quarterly basis, but it also has a mandate to make a payout of 90 per cent of dividends less expenses.
[caption id="attachment_1088413" align="alignnone" width="915"] NEL chairman Ingrid Lashley during the AGM. - ROGER JACOB[/caption]
“We adhere to the philosophy that cash in the shareholders’ hands has greater value than in ours. Sometimes in our committee, we have to weigh our mandate, vis-à-vis holding back some of the cash to ensure that we have cash flow for the next quarter,” she explained.
“We manage the investments, primarily, of the Government. We are exposed to the vagaries of that sector. When it is high, it is very high; but when it is low, it is very low. That is why the investments are long-term investments, because (it helps) manage flows over an extended period of time.”
NEL general manager Charles Maynard in sharing details of the statements for the FY (financial year) 2023 said while NEL recorded an operating profit of $391 million, up 32 per cent from the prior 18-month period, its net losses amounted to $455.1
