The West Indies Oil Company convened its first Annual General Meeting on
Thursday since going public just over two years ago with the Chief Executive
Officer, Gregory Georges assuring shareholders that they made a good choice to
invest in the company.
Scores of shareholders attended the AGM in person at the John E St. Luce
Business Centre on Factory Road or online by virtual connections. The company
went public in March 2021 and more than nine hundred and fifty individuals and
institutions took the opportunity to purchase shares.
Reporting on the financial year that ended on December 31, 2022, Georges used
graphs to show that the company’s profits have been growing since the
government’s take-over in 2015. He noted that growth has remained constant
except for the COVID-19 pandemic years. Between 2021 and 2022, profits
increased by over one million dollars.
He revealed that the company made a strategic decision to diversify its operations
several years ago and to turn to storage as a source of revenue. He added that this
decision proved to be a sound one as during the pandemic when revenues in other
sectors fell, it was the revenues from the storage that helped keep the company
afloat.
“We did not have to lay off a single worker. We did not have to cut anyone’s
salary. That was because of the decision to diversify. We have a high retention rate
as practically all of our workers we had during the pandemic remained with us,
even today,” he disclosed.
Looking ahead, Georges said the company will continue to invest in additional
storage capacity and that it plans to manage the transition from fossil fuel to
renewables. Contrary to what some may think, the CEO assured the shareholders
that renewables are no threat to the existence of WIOC.
“In fact, we are looking to set up a solar farm to produce electricity for APUA and
we are working along with the Environment Division on a number of initiatives
that will secure growth into the future. I assure you, the transition to renewables is
no existential threat to WIOC, if anything, it opens up a world of possibilities,” he
declared.
He said the company will continue to invest in its staff and invest in safety as these
are critical areas to the success of the organization.
