Basseterre, St. Kitts – The 50th anniversary celebration of the St. Kitts Nevis Anguilla Trading and Development Company Limited (TDC) officially began on Sunday 5th February 2023, with a Thanksgiving Service, at the Antioch Baptist Church.

The grand occasion marking the significant milestone featured presentations in song, dance, and a sermon from staff members across the diversified Group.

In his address to mark the golden anniversary, Chairman Earle Kelly gave the impressive details of the company’s start up and growth and paid tribute to the promoters Warren Tyson, Michael King, Jacques Cramer, and Mary Moore, who were joined by Dr. Arthur Lake and Mr. Samuel Hunkins to be the first directors.

The Chairman also highlighted the company’s enormous social contribution principally in education with the Warren C Tyson Memorial Scholarship Fund, which began in 1981, and has contributed to the education of over 250 students in the Federation. He noted with pride that one the most outstanding Warren Tyson Scholars, is the current Prime Minister, the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew.

The Company also provides scholarships for university study by non-employees through the Michael King Scholarship Grant. Internally, the Michael King Advanced Scholarship Fund has funded education for many members of its staff up to Master’s degrees as well as professional designations such as C.P.A, for Accountants, and C.I.A. for Auditors.

In Sports, the company has been the principal and named sponsor of the TDC Inter-School Track and Field Championships for forty five (45) years, and the TDC Runako Morton Primary School Cricket Tournament for twenty seventy (27) years.

Chairman Kelly closed his remarks with the announcement that there will be a calendar of yearlong activities, which will be held under the theme: “Your Neighbour. Your Partner. Your Future.”

Picture – TDC Group Staff and Directors pose a 50th Anniversary photo following the Thanksgiving Service

About the St. Kitts Nevis Anguilla Trading and Development Company Limited (TDC)

Established in 1973, TDC was the first trading company in the Federation to go public. All trading businesses before that were private and family owned.

Despite substantial skepticism, the promoters of TDC raised the necessary public capital and with strong customer support met the profits and dividend targets to get the company off to a strong start, from which it has not looked back.

The number of shareholders has grown to 2,334, with Shareholders Equity of EC$188 million and Assets of EC$450 million. The company has paid over EC$70 million in dividends to its shareholders, where the value of its shares has grown attractively over the years.

TDC is also a development company. It was formed with the business philosophy of investing in ventures which contribute to the growth of the economy and expansion of the local market. The company has branched out into businesses in both St. Kitts and Nevis across the spectrum of the economy, including real estate, construction, tourism, manufacturing, airline services, insurance, and finance. It has also participated in joint ventures locally and abroad and has expanded into the islands of Anguilla, Dominica, and the British Virgin Islands.

 



The TDC Group of Companies held its forty-eight (48) Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 16th November 2021, to report on the company’s performance for the period February 1st, 2020, to January 31st, 2021.

Presiding over the meeting, Mr. Earle Kelly, Chairman/CEO welcomed shareholders both virtually and in person to hear firsthand of the activities undertaken by the Group, against the backdrop of the COVID19 pandemic, which is still being experienced globally.

The Board of Directors reported, “the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March 2020 placed severe constraints on economic activities in the Federation. The TDC Group rapidly responded to the crisis by establishing a cross-functional COVID-19 Taskforce and have been exemplary in swiftly implementing strict health and safety protocols, by pivoting to embrace remote working by staff and adopting new technologies to enhance both the customer and the employee experiences.”

Addressing business performance, the Executives also noted, “changing consumer behaviours, adverse market conditions, and income losses among our customers put pressure sales in certain product lines and service areas, especially the tourism and hospitality operations. The trading and financial services companies feared better and returned commendable results.”

The Group generated Profit Before Income Tax from Continuing Operations of $11,225,417 and Profit After Income Tax of $8,007,277 compared to Loss of $2,218,547 and $4,450,896, respectively in the prior year. As a result of the year’s financial performance, the company paid shareholders a dividend of six and a half (6.5) cents per share, amounting to $3,380,000.

In speaking about the future, the company’s real estate and construction project will continue at Dewars on St. Kitts and the land exchange of 40,215 sq. ft. with a building at Budgeon Estate, Nevis, for two (2) acres at Farms Estate, earmarked for middle income housing.

“Our signature initiative has been the recent launch of our online shopping website: shoptdcgroup.com. This is expected to be a gamechanger for the TDC Group. While we pursue technology-enabled initiatives to engage our stakeholders, personal interactions and relationships remain as valuable as the utility of the tools that we make available.”

The Group’s good corporate governance agenda is focused on the delivery of a strategic plan. This companywide project includes a transformation process, which began in early 2020, to ramp up Human Resource development and engagement, IT initiatives using emerging technological trends, and Data Analytics.

At the close of the meeting, the Executive recorded its profound appreciation to its dedicated and committed staff who contributed significantly to ensuring that the Group has survived the vagaries of the pandemic.

“We take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the entire team of the TDC Group of Companies. Our ability to operate safely and seamlessly throughout the pandemic-induced disruptions, restrictions and lockdowns is a test of our resolve and strength as a Group. It also testifies to our collective efforts, proactive leadership and genuine care for our employees and customers, to whom we are most grateful and appreciative. We must, and we will continue to work together for the benefit of all our shareholders and other stakeholders in keeping with our motto: Together We Succeed.”

The Corporate event was held at the Caribbean Credit Corporation Union Headquarters at Fortlands in Basseterre.

Picture 1: TDC Group of Companies Board of Directors pose for a photo following the 48th Annual General Meeting