Companies recorded a very commendable performance for the year ended December 31, 2008. Net income for the year
amounted to US $125.2 million for the Group and US $96.1 million attributable to shareholders. This compares with US
$108.7 million for the Group and US $86.3 million to shareholders for 2007.
others signalled to the global market that the financial world had changed, and changed dramatically. In the United States,
reduced or non-existent access to credit, together with widening credit spreads, produced historic mark-to-market losses,
which threatened to disrupt the operations of many otherwise viable institutions, as their capital came under strain. In the
United Kingdom, the government made significant capital injections into its major financial institutions in order to ensure
that they had the capital to withstand the ravages of the crisis. Similar approaches were adopted throughout Europe.
already weak economies, the weight of the financial crisis eventually pushed these economies into recession. Late in the
year, it was confirmed that the US and UK were in recession. Caribbean economies have all shown evidence of a slow down
and may already also be in recession.
are experiencing adverse conditions. Internationally, many debt securities and mortgage-backed securities are trading at
prices well below where they were on January 1, 2008. The equities markets around the world have all declined appreciably.
In 2008, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 34%, and the NASDAQ Composite Index declined by 41%. In the
currency market, the UK pound sterling declined by 28% against the US dollar during 2008.
Local Index declined by 12%, while the Jamaica Stock Exchange Market Index declined by 35%. The Trinidad and Tobago
Stock Exchange Composite Index also declined by 14%. In Jamaica, interest and inflation rates have continued to rise, and
the Jamaica dollar has declined by 13% against the US dollar.
and currency market developments. The impact manifests itself in two ways. The declines in asset values and foreign
currency rates have reduced our equity reserves. However, the decline in asset values has been offset in part by a
consequential reduction in long-term liabilities. Had the reduction in asset values been reflected through the income