Hope for better year-end results

A GODDARD Enterprises Limited (GEL) senior manager is optimistic that with the emergence of COVID-19 vaccines, the pandemic will fade during the second half of this year.

Managing Director Anthony Ali gave this outlook as he and other company officials pointed to the negative impact the pandemic has had on the operations of the GEL Group during the 2020 financial year.

However, Mr. Ali remarked that there remains uncertainty around how soon the vaccines can be distributed and when confidence to travel will be regained.

Ali said that as GEL looks to 2021, there will be a three-pronged focus that will be undertaken.

One involves cost reduction and cash management, another the development and growth of the Group’s Manufacturing and ABSS Divisions, and the third, the diversification in the Catering and Ground Handling Division to reduce the dependence on the airline catering business.

For the financial year to September 2020, GEL posted revenue of $826.1 million, down from $868.3 million at September 2019. Net income for the year under review was $7.1 million. The Group’s directors said that the impact of the pandemic was immediate and dramatic.

GEL is a major Barbados and regional business entity with operations here and in the Caribbean and Latin America. Businesses span across a wide area of activity – services, manufacturing, finance, and information technology.

Ali said that in the best case scenario, the Barbados economy will start to rebound in early 2021. In the worst case scenario, the road to recovery will be protracted.

“In either scenario, we view the structural changes that we have made to our businesses in 2020, to preserve cash and streamline operations, as key components to ensuring our continued success in those markets we serve and where we have a strong brand recognition and customer loyalty,” according to the GEL official.

‘We are mindful that an achievement of growth in the Category and Ground Handling Division will be challenging given the projections that airline volumes will take years to recover to pre-COVID-19 levels,” he added.