Factories Corporation to Improve Profitability this Fiscal Year

The Factories Corporation of Jamaica will be carrying out several activities to improve its profitability in the financial year 2007/2008. As contained in a Ministry Paper outlining the Corporation’s performance, which was recently tabled in the House of Representatives by Minister of Industry, Technology, Energy and Commerce, Phillip Paulwell, the agency will maintain its focus on sectors with proven growth potential, and has proposed to rationalize its existing assets, mainly by offering idle lands for sale/lease to industrial investors. As such, factory number 4 in the Montego Bay Free Zone will be refurbished, and factories, 5, 7 and 8 will be leased, while additional warehouse space will be created in the corporate area with a new building constructed.
“The FCJ will continue managing its inventory of land and buildings to facilitate industrial and commercial activity across the island,” the document stated.
Outlining profit targets, the Ministry Paper stated that the agency was targeting a minimum nine per cent net profit; improve occupancy of rental space to 80 per cent; reduce trade receivables to 30 days; lower interest cost by securing international funding for capital projects; and negotiating for reduction in interest rates on existing loans.
The Factories Corporation’s has a capital budget of $139.1 million for the current fiscal year and recurrent expenditure of $399.3 million.