DIGICEL JUMPSTART CLINICS OFF TO A GREAT START

BVI’s players and coaches learned invaluable skills and techniques from the NBA coaches during the Digicel Jumpstart Clinics

Friday 28^th August 2015 – Kingston, Jamaica: Young basketballers from the British Virgin Islands (BVI) showed tremendous skill and class during the Digicel Jumpstart Clinics which visited the island for the first time this week.

As the aspiring young players ran up and down the court at a frenetic pace, the official NBA coaches were impressed by the athletes’ level of technical ability and basketball IQ. Senior Director of International Basketball Operations at the NBA, Troy Justice, said; “The boys were smart, fast and very athletic. They played a fast-paced style offense but were still technically sound and kept to their fundamentals. The point guards were instinctive and distributed the ball all around the court. We were impressed.”

The local basketball coaches in the BVI were also given an opportunity to learn from and share ideas with the NBA coaches. Troy Justice commented; “It’s always good to share ideas with other coaches. The coaches were open to learning new ideas, both offensively and defensively. I also bounced some ideas off them and learnt a bit myself. It was my pleasure working with them.”

The Digicel Jumpstart Clinics is a once in a lifetime opportunity for young players to showcase their talent and learn from official NBA coaches. It also teaches importance of work ethic, values, proper sportsmanship and motivates children to be the best they can be on and off the court.

The Digicel Jumpstart Clinics launched in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and saw the island’s best basketball players being put through their paces by NBA-certified coaches

At the end of the Clinics, BVI’s top five players were selected to represent their country at the Elite Camp to be held later this year in Trinidad and Tobago

ABOUT DIGICEL

Digicel Group is a leading global communications provider with operations in 33 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific. After almost 14 years of operation, total investment to date stands at over US$5 billion worldwide. The company is renowned for delivering best value, best service and best network.

Digicel is the lead sponsor of Caribbean, Central American and Pacific sports teams, including the Special Olympics teams throughout these regions. Digicel sponsors the West Indies cricket team and is also the presenting partner of the Caribbean Premier League. In the Pacific, Digicel is the proud sponsor of several national rugby teams and also sponsors the Vanuatu cricket team.

Digicel also runs a host of community-based initiatives across its markets and has set up Digicel Foundations in Haiti, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea and Trinidad and Tobago which focus on educational, cultural and social development programmes.

The NBA coaches said the players in BVI showed great technical ability and tenacity on the court

The Digicel Jumpstart Clinics seek to unearth basketball talent across the Caribbean and the players from BVI did not disappoint

Visit www.digicelgroup.com for more information.

GRACEKENNEDY HALF YEAR REVENUES UP $5.6b OR 16.5% OVER PRIOR YEAR ( - Company says performance better than planned; cites factors which had adverse impact )

KINGSTON, JAMAICA, July 31 

The GraceKennedy Group is reporting a ‘better than planned’ performance for the second quarter of 2015. Unaudited results show the Group achieving revenues of $39.3 billion, a 16.5% or $5.6 billion increase over the corresponding period.  Net profit declined by $380.9 million or 20.1% compared with the corresponding period of 2014.       The expectation is that there will be improved profitability for the rest of the year. Among the factors which negatively impacted the business are the transition of its new US Food operations – GraceKennedy Foods USA LLC, recognition of the total asset tax liability in the period, lower foreign exchange gains and higher finance costs.

GraceKennedy Group CEO noted, “The performance of our Foods business in Jamaica is the best it has been in many years, both in revenue and in profit.”  The ‘Grace on The Move’ campaign in Jamaica was credited with driving volumes for both the company’s manufacturing and distribution arms in Jamaica. The company’s Canadian and UK operations continue to expand distribution through prominent retailers in Canada, Germany and The Netherlands.  

Overall, the Food Trading segment was negatively impacted by the integration of the company’s US operations. “We made the investment in this acquisition and we knew that we were investing for growth. We knew that there will be challenges but we have the strategic and execution plans in place to ensure that our objectives are met,” said Mr Wehby. He noted that revenues have been good, and that the focus for the rest of 2015 is margin management and expense control.  “I remain very optimistic that this acquisition will be a game changer for the GraceKennedy Group,” he said.

First Global Bank recorded increased profits, delivering higher net interest and non-interest income, supported by growth in its loan and deposit portfolios. The Money Services segment had higher revenues as a result of higher remittance transactions in Jamaica. Profits were however flat due to investments in technology and efficiency reviews during the period. These investments are expected to yield even more benefits in the future.  The segment also received regulatory approval for a pilot of Mobile Wallet, an electronic payment service that will allow for payment transactions to be conducted via cellular phones, to be launched in September 2015.

In May 2015, GraceKennedy re-branded Jamaica International Insurance Company Limited and First Global Insurance Brokers Limited in Turks and Caicos to GK General Insurance Company Limited and GK Insurance Brokers Limited respectively. The Insurance segment had increased revenue, with GK General Insurance delivering higher underwriting results largely due to an improvement in claims. The segment was however impacted by lower foreign exchange gains.

Mr Wehby disclosed that as part of the Group’s strategic focus of expanding in the Food and Financial Services sectors, the decision was taken to sell its shares in Hardware & Lumber Limited. The GraceKennedy Group now comprises four business segments – Food, Finance, Insurance and Money Services - in keeping with the growth drivers of GK.   

Group CFO Frank James disclosed that on July 30, 2015 the Board of Directors approved a second interim dividend of 83 cents per stock unit to be paid on September 30, 2015, an increase of 6.4% over the corresponding period in 2014.  

In speaking to the results, the Group CEO said that GraceKennedy has invested for growth, and is confident that the investments will pay off.  “We have made significant strides in our goal of becoming a Global Consumer Group, as we continue to expand our reach in the North American and African food markets and our financial services division continues to offer innovative solutions to customers in the Caribbean region. We remain focused on ‘winning customers’ hearts and minds through great people’ and we thank all our stakeholders for their continued support, as we continue to be guided by our values of honesty, integrity and trust.”