L.J. Williams Limited – Preference Shares

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What it is

Established in 1925, L.J. Williams Limited is one of Trinidad & Tobago’s — and the region’s — oldest companies.

It engages in merchandising, manufacturing, distribution, and ship chandlery across Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.

The company is listed on the First Tier Market of the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange with three classes of shares: LJWA (Ordinary A), LJWB (Ordinary B), and preference shares LJWP. LJWP carries a $5 par value at an 8% fixed rate — meaning the share pays TTD $0.40 per year regardless of how the company performs, which is its chief attraction as a fixed-income-style instrument.

The group runs four main businesses: food and allied products (distribution of branded goods), a shipping division, a manufacturing arm, and The Home Store — a retail chain for home furnishings and hardware, now operating in Trinidad and Guyana.

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Who owns it

The Williams family is the founding and controlling presence. Managing Director Thomas Jay Williams studied at the University of Guelph in Canada, then joined the LJ Williams group in 1993, working first as a Business Development Manager before taking on responsibility for running the Beverage facility.

Adam Jay Williams serves as Company Secretary, and Paul Jay Williams sits on the board — three generations of the founding family in active roles.

Not published: the exact percentage stakes held by the Williams family and any other substantial shareholders are not disclosed in the 2024 Annual Report posted on the TTSE or on the company’s investor-relations page. Trinidad’s Securities Act 2012 (Section 67) requires listed companies to file audited annual reports but does not compel disclosure of individual ownership percentages in the summary report; detailed Director’s Interest disclosures appear in the Annual Report but do not state aggregate family holdings as a single percentage.

A 2007 analyst note observed that “approximately 57 per cent of the issued share capital is held by substantial interests,” but no updated figure from a primary source is available to confirm current levels.

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Who runs it

Lawford Dupres, a director of the company since 2002, was appointed Chairman effective January 1, 2024. He has had a long career in the energy sector, having previously served as President of Petrotrin and Chairman of Lake Asphalt TT.

His predecessor, Dr. Krishna Bahadoorsingh, resigned after serving on the board for 27 years. Bahadoorsingh had joined the board in 1996 and was appointed chairman in 2001, after the passing of former chairman Ronald Jay Williams.

Thomas Jay Williams remains Managing Director; the 2024 Annual Report lists the full board as Dupres (Chairman), Thomas Jay Williams, Paul Jay Williams, Michal Andrews, Mariano Browne, and Aliyah Hamel-Smith. Not published: a CFO or Chief Accountant is referenced in the management sign-off of the 2024 Annual Report but is not named in available public filings.

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The money, in plain words

For its financial year ended March 31, 2024, the group brought in TTD $171m (US$25.4m) in sales — but kept almost nothing of it as profit. After paying all costs, it earned just TTD $275,000 (US$41,000), a net profit margin of 0.16% (our calculation), compared to TTD $5.9m the year before.

That is a 95.3% decline in after-tax profit.

The culprit is The Home Store retail division. The decline in discretionary spending hurt The Home Store as consumers focused mainly on essential items; sales were lower than the prior year despite a full year of trading from the Trincity branch, and margins were squeezed by promotional activity to clear excess inventory.

The food distribution and shipping divisions held up better.

For preference shareholders — the focus of this profile — the financial performance of the group matters only as a solvency question: as long as the company can meet its obligations, the TTD $0.40 annual dividend on each LJWP share is payable. At a current price of TTD $3.79 (US$0.56), that implies a running yield of 10.55% (our calculation) — high by any regional standard, and reflecting both the fixed-income nature of the instrument and the thin trading volumes on this share class.

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What it is doing now

Chairman Dupres confirmed the group closed two Home Store Trinidad branches — Westmall and C3 in San Fernando — at end of December 2024, as part of a restructuring, with further changes targeted for completion by end of March 2025. The Guyana operation is performing better: the Amazonia Mall store had a profitable nine months, and a second Guyana store opened in Goedverwagting in October 2024.

For the nine months ending December 31, 2024, the group recorded a profit after tax of TTD $2.422m, compared to TTD $3.813m for the same period a year earlier. Group sales for that period were TTD $129.7m with profit before tax of TTD $3.145m, versus TTD $138.9m and TTD $4.537m for the prior period.

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What to watch

• Home Store Trinidad restructuring: Whether closing weaker branches restores group margins, or whether weak consumer sentiment in T&T keeps dragging on results.
• Guyana expansion: Recent operational changes include the consolidation of its retail footprint in Trinidad to focus on higher-performing locations and the continued expansion of its profitable Guyana operations. Success there is the clearest near-term growth lever.
• Preference dividend coverage: With group after-tax profit near zero in FY2024, preference-share investors should watch whether FY2025 results — due around mid-2025 — restore comfortable coverage of the $0.40 annual preference dividend.
• Foreign exchange: Foreign exchange shortages and logistical issues will continue to challenge the business in 2025.
• Ownership transparency: No updated controlling-shareholder percentage has been published; any future regulatory push for fuller TTSE disclosure would sharpen the picture for investors.

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This is news, not investment advice.