FosRich signs agreement to offer project financing:
THE FOSRICH Group has signed an agreement with two Jamaican finance houses to provide financing for ventures to retrofit buildings or establish renewable projects, the organisation’s Chief Executive Officer Cecil Foster said this week.
The institutions are Mayberry Investments and GK Investments and according to Foster, the agreement is significant from the standpoint of home-grown institutions adding a new dimension to business and will add a fillip to his company’s growth plans.
“The signing of this agreement has now put the company in a position to finance and provide expertise for a variety of projects that clients may plan to complete,” he said, noting that the move was “in keeping with FosRich’s ongoing thrust to cater to the needs of clients in more meaningful and innovative ways”.
Foster said that following its recent listing on the Jamaica Stock Exchange and positive firstquarter results, the company, which is this year celebrating its 25th anniversary, is positioning itself to expand its offerings in a bid to supply quality goods and add more value to the services it provides.
One way in which FosRich is seeking to achieve its objective is to strengthen its partnerships with international suppliers “whose top-of-the-line, innovative products and services provide modern and smart solutions for Jamaica’s building, construction and energy needs,” he said.
Among the international partners are French firm Nexans, the world’s second-largest manufacturer of cables, and Germany-based Siemens, which is said to be the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe. Foster says the partnerships will bolster the project financing effort by providing the expertise and equipment necessary for innovation and growth.
FosRich generated first-quarter income of $271.8 million compared to $294.5 million during the corresponding period in 2017. The nearly eight per cent decrease was attributed primarily to downward product price movements.
The company said that while volumes may be steady or increasing, product prices have seen some downward movement on the international market.
FosRich posted profit after tax of $30.8 million, up $15.6 million or 103 per cent over the $15.2 million for the similar period ending March 2017.
Addressing a briefing at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, New Kingston, where he announced the partnership with Siemens and Nexans and the financing arrangements, Foster said that under the agreement, FosRich will effectively offer a vendor’s loan facility that can cover small home projects as well as large projects running into hundreds of millions of dollars.
“The signing of this agreement has now put the company in a position to finance and provide expertise for a variety of projects that clients may plan to complete,” he said.
Foster says both the international partnership and the finance facility are part of a deliberate strategy to build the FosRich Group, augment service and corner the market. He is also pointing to recent hires and organisational changes.
“There is no mistake to what we’ve done. We brought on engineers, added more technical people, expanded our transportation, and forged valuable partnerships with the likes of Siemens, Nexans, Philips and Current by GE. There is no mistake. We feel we can do a better job than what is being offered in the market right now,” Foster said.