business@tribunemedia.net
THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2019
$4.90 DPM: ‘Not reached’ business licence reform stage yet By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE deputy prime minister says the government has “not reached the point” of finalising business licence reform despite being “very sensitive” to the burden it imposes on the private sector. KP Turnquest, pictured, in a recent interview with Tribune Business, said the Minnis administration “fully understood” the challenges created by taxing a company’s top-line revenue but added that it had yet
to determine an “acceptable alternative” that would both address this and satisfy the government’s revenue needs. The Taylor Industries liquidator cited the business licence fee, and way in which it was assessed,
SEE PAGE 7
‘We have destroyed the tourism product’ By NATARIO MCKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net A WELL-KNOWN musician and entertainer yesterday argued that The Bahamas has allowed foreign investors to “dictate” its tourism identity, blaming the cruise lines and mega resorts for destroying “the Bahamian experience”. Fred Munnings, of Bahamas Events International and the Bain Town Advancement Association,
speaking during a Community-Based Tourism workshop at the University of The Bahamas, said: “We need to get back to the basics of sharing the culture of our people. “We have destroyed the tourism product over the years because we have allowed the foreign direct investors, through our representatives, to come and dictate to us what the tourism product is in our country; particularly the
SEE PAGE 6
Broker principal: US probe defeat ‘not a setback’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN broker/ dealer’s principal yesterday argued he had suffered “no setback” after his first bid to block a probe by US federal regulators was thrown out. Guy Gentile, head of Bay Street-based MintBroker International, the former Bay Street-based Swiss America Securities, said he had already filed similar arguments in other US federal courts against the Securities & Exchange
Commission’s (SEC) continued investigation. Speaking after the New Jersey federal court dismissed his action there, Mr Gentile told Tribune Business via e-mail: “The same argument is in Florida court, and the New Jersey court ruled the arguments should be in Florida, so I don’t see this as a setback at all. This is to avoid two different outcomes as the New Jersey judge also retired today.” The SEC’s Miami office
SEE PAGE 10
$4.95
$4.95
$4.95
Cable tells shareholders: ‘It’s only matter of time’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
C
ABLE Bahamas top executive yesterday reassured investors it was “only a matter of time” before double-digit revenue and operating income growth eliminated balance sheet imbalances. Franklyn Butler, pictured, the BISX-listed communications provider’s chief executive, told Tribune Business that “returning EBITDA margins back to where they used to be” was the best way to achieve profitability and erase the $33m “gap” between current liabilities and assets.
• EBITDA, revenue growth bucks global trend • CEO: Will cure balance sheet imbalance • Says BISX-listed provider ‘punching above weight’ • Losses cut by near-20% for first nine months
Speaking as Cable Bahamas unveiled its third quarter and nine-month results, Mr Butler said the
“triple play” operator was at “the beginning of a significant turnaround” with group EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation) up 56 percent year-over-year for the nine months to end-March. He described the group as “punching above its weight”, and bucking the global communications industry’s struggle to achieve organic growth, and described Cable
Bahamas as an organisation where all its dreams had become reality in terms of the US and domestic mobile expansion. Mr Butler then revealed that Aliv, the mobile provider in which Cable Bahamas holds a controlling 48.25 percent stake, is forecast to produce its “first positive contribution to EBITDA growth for the
SEE PAGE 4
Aliv: ‘No let up’ after 62% revenue growth By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net ALIV’S top executive yesterday pledged that the mobile upstart is “not letting up one bit” after year-todate revenues jumped 62 percent to hit $40.9m. Damian Blackburn told Tribune Business that the cellular provider aims “to plough forward with the same momentum” it has enjoyed to-date ahead of
DAMIAN BLACKBURN its anticipated first positive quarterly contribution to Cable Bahamas operating income (see other article on Page 1B).
Speaking as Aliv’s controlling shareholder unveiled its third quarter and ninemonth results for its 2019 financial year, Mr Blackburn said the first competitor to the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) had now enjoyed “ten consecutive quarters of market share growth” since its launch on November 2016. Aliv’s subscriber base now stands at 147,000, which it yesterday said enables it to claim 37 percent market
share. That is slightly higher than the 35 percent estimate given by BTC’s owner, Liberty Latin America (LiLAC), as the level where its subscriber loss will bottom out and Aliv’s gains will peak. Mr Blackburn, meanwhile, confirmed that Aliv was on target to deliver $60m in top-line revenues for the 2019 full-year, having exceeded the prior year’s
SEE PAGE 6