One Caribbean Media Limited

What it is

One Caribbean Media (OCM) is a holding company based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, engaged primarily in media services, technology and broadband services, wholesale distribution, and property management throughout the Caribbean region.

It operates across four business lines: a Media arm selling advertising on television, print, and radio; an ICT arm selling technology and broadband services; a Head Office treasury function; and an “Other” segment covering wholesale appliance distribution, solar energy installation, and property management.

OCM describes itself as the largest and most diversified media organisation in the Caribbean, with operations in Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, Grenada, and St. Lucia.

Its household brands include the Trinidad Express newspaper, CCN TV6, and the Nation newspaper and Starcom Network radio in Barbados.

Who owns it

The National Investment Fund (NIF), a government-owned company, holds 23% of OCM’s shares — making the Trinidad & Tobago state the single largest disclosed shareholder. The remaining free float is widely held across retail and institutional investors in both T&T and Barbados.

The NIF has at times formally requested a full list of OCM’s shareholders, signalling that the ownership map below the NIF stake is not entirely transparent to even its largest investor.

Who runs it

The chairman is Faarees Hosein; the chief executive officer is Dawn Thomas; and the chief financial officer and company secretary is Karlene Ng Tang.

The board comprises nine directors, none classified as independent — a governance feature that investors in smaller Caribbean markets should weigh carefully.

The money, in plain words

In 2024 OCM brought in TT$301M (~US$44.3M) in sales, down from TT$318M (~US$46.8M) in 2023 — a revenue decline of about 5.3% (our calculation). The underlying business — before a one-off write-down — earned TT$17.1M (~US$2.5M) before tax, but that too was well below the TT$37.2M (~US$5.5M) earned on the same basis in 2023.

The headline number was a TT$61.7M (~US$9.1M) net loss for the year ended December 31, 2024, entirely caused by a large impairment charge — essentially, OCM wrote down the value of an investment in one of its associate companies because a long-outstanding debt on that company’s books had to be recognised as at risk. In 2023, by contrast, OCM had reported TT$30.4 (US$15)M in after-tax profit, giving a net margin of 9.6% (our calculation) — respectable for a Caribbean media group.

On the balance sheet, total assets stood at TT$794.2M (~US$116.8M) at end-2024. Despite the loss year, OCM’s dividend was well supported by cash flow, with a trailing yield of 6.0% — high relative income for shareholders who held through the turbulence.

What it is doing now

For the nine months ended September 30, 2025, consolidated revenue was TT$221.4 (US$111)M, broadly flat versus the same period in 2024 — a sign of stabilisation after 2024’s difficult year. Chairman Hosein noted that the group’s diversified non-media portfolio — spanning ICT, manufacturing, and real estate — delivered consistent revenue and profit growth, absorbing the continued softness in traditional advertising.

Flexipac (packaging manufacturing) and Green Dot (cable and internet services) both achieved healthy profitability growth in 2024, underscoring OCM’s deliberate move beyond newspapers and television. The annual report for the year ended December 31, 2025, was published in May 2026 and is available on the company’s website — full-year 2025 figures are expected to show whether the recovery is real.

What to watch

• Impairment resolution. The write-down related to a long-outstanding receivable at an associate company; management expects a favourable outcome that will ultimately benefit shareholders. If that reversal materialises, the reported loss swings back to profit.
• Barbados grid problem. Capacity challenges with Barbados’s electrical grid continued to hurt OCM’s renewable energy company’s financial performance in 2024. Until the grid is fixed, that segment bleeds.
• Trinidad forex squeeze. Foreign-currency shortages in Trinidad seriously affected OCM’s distribution business and strained supplier relationships. T&T’s chronic hard-currency scarcity is a structural risk, not a passing one.
• Digital pivot. OCM is placing strategic emphasis on continued growth in digital media and leveraging its regional radio network. Execution speed here will determine whether the legacy media base is a strength or a millstone.
• Governance. A board with no independent directors and a 23% state shareholder warrants watching; minority investors have limited structural protection.

This is news, not investment advice.