L.J. Williams Limited

What it is

L.J. Williams Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in merchandising, manufacturing, distribution, and ship chandlery across Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, running three operating segments: Manufacturing, Trading, and Shipping Services.

The trading arm handles grocery and hardware products; the manufacturing arm makes and installs curtain walls, shop fronts and partitions; and the shipping arm covers customs clearance, container haulage, bond processing and full logistics brokerage. Its retail brand, The Home Store, sells home furnishings and discretionary goods — the division that has caused most of the recent financial pain.

Who owns it

The ultimate parent of L.J. Williams Limited is Williams Holdings Limited, a private Trinidad-based family holding company bearing the Williams name.

The company is listed on the First Tier Market of the TTSE with three classes of shares: LJWA (Ordinary A), LJWB (Ordinary B) and LJWP preference shares.

The exact ownership percentage held by Williams Holdings Limited is not disclosed in available sources; the free float across the two ordinary share classes is thin, and the stock trades infrequently. Established in 1925, the company is one of Trinidad and Tobago’s oldest, and it is publicly listed on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange.

Who runs it

The board named in the audited 2024 Annual Report is: Lawford Dupres (Chairman), Thomas Jay Williams (Managing Director), Paul Jay Williams, Michal Andrews, Mariano Browne, and Aliyah Hamel-Smith. The company is in its 96th year having been formed in 1925; it was incorporated in Trinidad and Tobago’s year of independence, 1962.

The Williams family name runs through the board and the company secretary, Adam Jay Williams — a tight family governance structure typical of long-established Caribbean trading houses. PricewaterhouseCoopers serves as the group’s external auditor.

The money, in plain words

In its financial year to 31 March 2024, the group collected TTD 171 million (≈ US$25.7 m) in sales — down 4% from the year before — yet kept barely TTD 275,000 (≈ US$41,300) of that as profit after tax, a net profit margin of just 0.16% (our calculation). This was a 95.3% collapse in profit compared to the TTD 5.9 million (US$886 k) the company earned in its 2023 financial year.

The damage came from two directions at once: the parent company saw a slight decline in food and allied sales due to supplier price increases, while the shipping division’s sales were marginally lower, albeit with an improved profit. The Home Store had a difficult year, with the economy stagnant and consumers reducing discretionary spending — a sales drop that started in late 2022 and accelerated in the final quarter of FY2024.

What it is doing now

The group’s most recent public numbers — for the nine months to 31 December 2024 — show partial recovery but ongoing pressure. The group recorded a profit after tax of TTD 2.422 million (US$364 k) for that period, compared with TTD 3.813 million (US$573 k) for the same nine months a year earlier.

Group sales reached TTD 129.7 million (US$19 mn), with a profit before tax of TTD 3.145 million (US$472 k).

The clearest strategic move is a deliberate retreat in retail: the group started restructuring The Home Store and closed two stores — at Westmall and C3 in San Fernando — at the end of December 2024. At the same time, it is leaning into Guyana: The Home Store Guyana has continued to show growth and profit for the first nine months, with the Amazonia store performing profitably and a second store opened in Goedverwagting on 25 October 2024.

What to watch

• Home Store restructuring cost. Closing stores has up-front lease-break and inventory costs; whether the full-year FY2025 result (to 31 March 2025) turns positive will be the critical test.
• Guyana growth. Recent operational changes include the consolidation of the retail footprint in Trinidad to focus on higher-performing locations and the continued expansion of the profitable Guyana operations. If Guyana scales, it could offset a structurally smaller Trinidad business.
• Foreign exchange and freight. Foreign exchange shortages and logistical issues will continue to challenge the business in 2025. As an importer, the company is doubly exposed: tighter FX means fewer goods available, and port disruptions hit margins directly.
• Family governance and liquidity. With Williams Holdings as ultimate parent and three share classes, the free float is small and the stock rarely moves — a premium for patient holders, a trap for anyone who needs to sell quickly.

This is news, not investment advice.