Shareholders revolt ousted directors and Chief Executive officer at Trinidad Cement, at a special meeting on August 19th called to make changes to the directorship.
The former directors of the company decided to fight a battle that they could not win in an attempt to stave off the appointment of some new directors and removal of others. In December last year, IC Insider in an article on the debacle between some disgruntled minority shareholders and Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) indicated, that it’s a fight that the directors were not likely to win. The effect of their intransience is a costly legal battle in which has cost the company unnecessarily.
IC Insider went on to say “in a battle with some local shareholders who want representation on the company’s board of directors and requested that the annual general meeting that should have been held on Friday July 12, 2013 to be put off pending court hearing as to whether a resolution to nominate them should be put on the agenda for consideration. The request by the minority shareholders to seek to nominate directors and have their names included as such on the notice calling the annual general meeting is reasonable, but that would have to be done ahead of the notice period which is usually 21 days ahead of the meeting. Information from the Guardian newspaper suggest that the company was formally informed of the request well ahead of the deadline date and the shareholders seem well within their right to have sought to prevent the AGM from going ahead without their names being put on. In all probability, the minority shareholders will win their initial battle with the company but it’s left to be seen if they will succeed at the general meeting of 2013 which now seems likely to be held in 2014 instead.”
At the special meeting called to change directors following a failed attempt to get the courts to block such a meeting the disgruntled shareholders who managed to garner more than 50 percent of the votes ousted to dissident directors including the CEO. The changes are likely to have repercussion of the board of Caribbean Cement as subsidiary of TCL. Bryan Young Chairs that board and it would be hard to see the new board accommodating him in the critical chairmanship position in Jamaica, Francis and Bertrand also serves of the Jamaican board.
Prior to the meeting Andy Bhajan, Rollin Bertrand, Brian Yopung, Leonard, Carlos Hee Houngand Bevon Francis resinged. At the meeting Wilfred Espinet, Alsion Lewis, Christopher Drehring, Michael Glenn Hamlel-Smith, Francisco Aguilera Calos Alberto and Nigel Edwards wefre appointe ddirectors.
The move should no pave the way for the legal battle now in the courts to be withdrawn and put the company in a psoitioon to hold the general meetings for 2013 and 2014 which were postpone pending the outcome of the court action.

Trinidad based, Massy Holdings rebranding and change of name, from Neal & Massy Holdings, to Massy Holdings has cost the group TT$59 million according to information included in the group’s nine months results to June.
The amount helped pulled the net profit for the quarter below that of the similar period in 2013, from $128 million to $99 million. Most of the companies within the sprawling group now carry the Massy name except in Guyana and St Lucia, the company stated in their report to shareholders.
The company’s former name came out of the merging of two companies operated by their founders, Harry Neal and Charles Massy that carried the individual names which were combined to form Neal & Massy. According the group’s 2013 annual report “In 1933, rising to the challenges of survival and growth, two entities concluded an historic merger, and became one – Neal & Massy Engineering Company Limited. They were responding both to world economic conditions of the Great Depression, and to the promptings of shrewd local bankers.”
According to information accompanying the nine months results, half of the rebranding cost relates to signage and painting for all Massy buildings, many of which were due for a face lift. The rest of the cost relate professional services training materials, advertising and events.