business@tribunemedia.net
MONDAY, MAY 5, 2025
$5.45 $4.90
OLD BAHAMA BAY
Licence issue set to reignite Old Bahama Bay takeover battle By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE takeover battle at Old Bahama Bay is poised to reignite after the necessary government licence was issued on Friday to the corporate vehicle seeking to assume the resort’s management. Daniel Baker, a representative for Lubert Adler-Old Bahama Bay (LRA-OBB), which owns the resort, told Tribune Business that the long-awaited permit has now been received and it is “co-ordinating with our team to implement the remaining transition” elements that
will see an affiliate take back responsibility for operating amenities such as the marina and restaurants. Any such move, though, threatens to trigger a new fight - and likely legal battle - with Island Ventures Resort and Club (IVRC), the entity formed by the 73 condo owners to keep the hotel open following Ginn’s 2011 default. John MacDonald, IVRC’s president, told this newspaper its position remains that it will resist LRA-OBB’s efforts to reclaim Old Bahama Bay’s management absent an eviction notice from the Bahamian courts. And he challenged whether
SEE PAGE B12
$5.46
$5.43
$5.55
$35m investor windfall as bank’s profits up 29% By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net COMMONWEALTH Bank’s shareholders are set to enjoy a near $35m total dividend payout during the 2025 first half after setting a new annual profits record last year via a 29 percent bottom line improvement. Tangela Albury, the BISX-listed lender’s chief financial officer, in a series of written replies to Tribune Business questions confirmed the $19.27m increase in total comprehensive income to a new all-time high of $85.9m for 2024 “exceeded” the bank’s expectations and “will be challenging” to repeat this year. The profitability leap from $66.338m in 2023 was entirely driven by an almost 11-fold increase in reversals of provisions
t $PNNPOXFBMUI QSPmU VQ BMNPTU N BU OFX N SFDPSE t SFQFBU ADIBMMFOHJOH ESJWFO CZ N QSPWJTJPO SFWFSTF t /*# DPTUT VQ mSTU DPOTFDVUJWF MPBO CPPL SJTF TJODF A for non-performing credit and loans. These reversals, or write-backs of impairment charges previously taken, surged massively from just $2.339m in 2023 to $25.578m last year, and Ms Albury acknowledged this was “unlikely to be repeated at the same scale” during 2025. However, she voiced confidence to this newspaper that “underlying growth in core banking operations” will still drive “strong results” for the current financial year, after $41m gross loan book growth
for 2024 represented the first time Commonwealth Bank’s credit portfolio has expanded in successive years since 2016. And, while the BISXlisted institution is closely watching the global economic turmoil and potential fall-out from Donald Trump’s tariff policy, Ms Albury asserted that it is well-positioned “to withstand external shocks” through a liquidity ratio and capital adequacy ratio that stand at 65 percent and more than 40 percent, respectively.
TANGELA ALBURY Commonwealth Bank’s impairment/loan loss provision reversals, while adding to the boost provided by net interest income and fee revenue increases in 2024, also more than offset the over $10m year-over-year increase in the bank’s general and administrative costs that acted as “a drag on profitability”.
SEE PAGE B10
Owner to ‘escalate’ rebuild of fire-ravaged properties By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net THE owner of two buildings devastated by Thursday night’s downtown Nassau blaze says the devastation has “escalated” his ambitions to renovate both properties. Delvon Ferguson, who also owns I Dream of Sugar, a candy store located across from the Straw Market on Bay Street, told Tribune Business he is committed to bringing more retail and entertainment attractions to the area east of East Street that has largely been
abandoned by commercial activity. He said about $3m was invested into his first Bay Street location, and he intends to begin work in the “near future” on the other properties hit by the fire. “Before this happened, we already had a plan in place, so it just escalated it to move even faster. We’ll work with the team that’s there to help clean it up and, in the near future, you have upcoming events,” said Mr Ferguson. “Right now, we already have something on Bay Street and we invested
SEE PAGE B6
‘Urgent’ mediation over cruise island labour fight By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Government’s labour chief last night voiced optimism that elements of a private cruise island dispute could be resolved “within seven days” with all sides set to attend an “urgent” mediation meeting this week. Howard Thompson, the Department of Labour director, in a statement to Tribune Business said his visit and investigation at Norwegian Cruise Line’s (NCL) Great Stirrup Cay had revealed there are “two sides to the story” following complaints from staff - including members of the island’s former management - about alleged
HOWARD THOMPSON non-compliance with Bahamian labour laws, along with unfair treatment. In particular, he hinted that questions had been raised by NCL over whether managerial staff are entitled to overtime
SEE PAGE B6