I do not see any issue here. These men have had long successful careers on the force but they are old and it is time, maybe past time for them to retire and enjoy their remaining years left. The old makes way for the new, with younger officers filling the void. Too many civil servants hang on too denying the youth their opportunity.

Well cable Bahamas is the anthesis of Focol, it’s is fantastically overpriced based on the fundamentals. Indeed, the market has not priced in the very, very serious existential crisis Cable is in.

Reading the 2018 annual report is an exercise in deflection and distraction by management. Every paragraph mentions the tremendous increase in revenues to 250mill a year. One has to search in the fine print for the 50 plus million loss in net income.

Indeed cable lost over 50 million plus in the previous fiscal year 2017. There has been eight consecutive quarters of loses. It’s prospects are beset on all sides: the legacy business of cable, voice and internet is a non growth area with rivals seeking to poach a bigger slice on a non increasing pie, Florida has been a failure, and the savior Aliv while almost reaching projections for subscribers is still not profitable. It is anticipated break even is in the next few quarters at best. ARPU has fallen well short of projections.

The near term risk is Cable is down to just 18 million cash, last quarter was an 11 million loss, so two more similar quarters and cable is broke. Going back to the local capital market with another preference share offering is a non starter. Soon it will be time to either fish or cut bait.

Cable has promised to resume dividends by the end of fiscal 2019 (June). This is an impossibility, will be interesting to see how the market reacts when this reality sinks in. It is not currently priced in. Finally, cable has half a billion Debt, and has lost 100 million the last two fiscal years. Hard to see how it will ever be repaid. Will cable even survive to repay it?

Given these facts stating that cable is overpriced is the understatement of the year.

Dear Mr. Wilson,
I am a longtime Focol shareholder and I empathize with your incredulity at the undervalued share price. Relative to the market and particularly compared to Commonwealth Bank, Focol is tremendously underpriced. Commonwealth is a special case, trading at an absurd P/E multiple (based on fundamentals and its historical, traditional multiple Commonwealths share price should be half what it is now) for many reasons but particularly because they always put shareholders first and this is especially so in their dividend payout ratio which currently is at 80%. Focol’s ratio on the other hand is just 48%. This is too low. This is where your focus should be.

Buybacks help but the impact is limited and short lived. Save the millions used on the buyback and increase the dividend. Bahamians LOVE dividends and as the dividend yield increases so will the share price. Focol has more than ample room (net income) to comfortably increase the dividend, the payout ratio should be immediately increased to at least 60%. I would argue even more. Focol because of the stability of its product and cash flow as well as very low debt should have a higher yield than 48%! This will be much more effective and lasting than talking up the stock or using buybacks. Increase the dividend and the share price will take care of itself.

Great. More wasted money. The current government while in opposition lambasted Bahamasair. The current chairman and minister of tourism was the ringleader. Now in power they love Bahamasair. Yet the multi million dollars loses continue unabated and they dig the hole deeper. Of course they care not a wit about the now collective 500 million dollar aggregated losses of this disaster of an airline. Pathetic. Just like the PLP they love patronage and power and slackness. Either Bahamasair stands on its own and not subsidized on the backs of the Bahamian people or let the private sector fill the void. We voted for change not more of the same. No ideas, no change.

Mr D’Aguilar was all for privatization before he became chairman of Bahamasair. Once in charge he is a never ending litany of excuses for the miserable failure Bahamasair is. Just excuses with no solution in sight. Bahamasair recently cancelled my flight and took two days to complete my flight, all with no compensation or apology. The solution here is what you advocated before you became chairman, privatization. It is pathetic how intelligent, supposedly moral persons become whimpering patronizing excuse mongers. The Bahamian people elected this FNM government to make hard choices and to find solutions, instead it is more of the same pathetic dithering government more concerned with remaining in power than the welfare of the Bahamian people.

This is no way to run a country. My flight cancelled, tourists missing connecting flights. With no compensation from Bahamasair.

The Bahamian public did not really vote for him, it was overwhelming an anti PLP vote. He just happened to be the lesser of two evils. We were so sick and tired of the PLP anyone in opposition was going to win.

I thought the prime minister was tone deaf and living in a bubble before.... I am convinced of it now. I never feel safe anywhere in Nassau. Never.

Wait until they refinance that 500 million legacy debt. That will be an added charge on your bill, then you will be paying Vat on top of that. All to pay for chronic mismanagement and the most entitled, generously paid union in the country. BPL must be privatized or there is no hope for relief.

Thank God we have competition now. I live in a family island and my phone went down, called BTC and they told me they would make the service call in two days. I complained bitterly and told them point blank that we had Aliv now and that half of them were going to lose their jobs. They started stammering ( literally) on the phone and told me the island manager would call me. He called within 5 minutes ( gave me his cell# to follow up) and told me they would be by to fix my phone in an hour. 40 minutes later my phone was fixed! It shows what is possible if people really work.