Point Lisas Industrial Port Development Corporation Limited

What it is

PLIPDECO runs two interlocked businesses in Trinidad and Tobago: it operates the Port of Point Lisas and manages the surrounding industrial estate. It owns and landlords the 869.55-hectare Point Lisas Industrial Estate — home to roughly 88 tenants that include methanol, ammonia and urea plants, two steel facilities, a power plant, and smaller manufacturers.

The port is Trinidad’s second-largest, 32 km south of Port of Spain, positioned on the west coast where it handles shipping moving between North and South America, Europe, the UK, and the Far East. The three core activities are port operations, warehousing and logistics, and industrial estate management.

Who owns it

PLIPDECO is 51% owned by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago; the remaining 49% is held by private shareholders including banks, insurance companies, financial institutions, company employees and the general public. The company trades on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange.

The TTSE classifies it in the Property Sector of the First Tier Market. The government’s majority stake means the state ultimately controls board appointments and strategic direction — an important context for any private investor.

Who runs it

The 2024 Annual Report lists a new chairman — Annette Wattie — who replaced Daniel Dookie in October 2024. The seven-member board for FY2024 comprised Wattie as Chair alongside Richardo Garcia, Stephen Harris, Ricardo Lewis, Cindy Manson, St.

Clair O’Neil and Ayanna Miguel.

The executive suite has been in flux. In July 2024, Dookie placed then-president Ashley Taylor on administrative leave, and Dr Averne Pantin was appointed acting president.

By mid-2025, Ramnarine Persad had been appointed the new board chairman as a 13-member board was installed. Dr Curtis Dennie, who had taken on the presidency, tendered his resignation effective December 31, 2025.

Acting vice-presidents are currently running day-to-day operations.

The money, in plain words

In 2024 the company collected TTD 393m (USD 58.4m) in revenue, up 7% from TTD 366m (US$54 mn) in 2023 — a gain driven by a tariff increase and a 5% rise in container volumes that set a new port record of 239,032 boxes handled. The underlying business — stripping out gains from revaluing the industrial land — produced a profit before tax of TTD 61m (USD 9.1m), more than three times the TTD 19.9m (US$3 mn) earned in 2023; the underlying profit-before-tax margin of roughly 15.5% (our calculation) is respectable for a port-and-estate operator.

The group carries no net debt: cash exceeds borrowings entirely. The total-liabilities-to-tangible-net-worth ratio stood at just 0.03 at year-end 2024, and the debt-service-coverage ratio was 6.02 — meaning it generates six dollars of operating cash for every dollar of debt service, a fortress balance sheet.

The board declared a final dividend of TTD 0.40 (US$0.06)per share for 2024, a 300% jump from 2023’s TTD 0.10 (US$0.01)and the highest payout in over a decade; at the current share price of TTD 7.00, (US$1)that yields about 5.7% (our calculation).

The stated earnings per share of TTD 4.90 (US$0.73)imply a price-to-earnings ratio of just 1.4× (our calculation) — but that number is distorted by TTD 153m (US$23 mn) of unrealised gains from marking the industrial estate land to market value. Those gains are accounting entries, not cash.

The more honest read is the underlying profit, which still grew sharply year on year.

What it is doing now

The most immediate story is leadership. With Dennie gone and Persad leading a newly enlarged board, the company is in a governance reset — its third chairman in little over a year.

Senior management currently comprises acting vice-presidents for port operations, technical services, and business services. Stability here matters because large tenant lease renewals and capital projects depend on consistent executive direction.

On the operational side, the rehabilitation of the port’s rubber-tyred gantry crane bays began in September 2024 and is due to complete in 2026 — the main infrastructure investment cited in the annual report as the lever for future productivity. PLIPDECO won the Caribbean Shipping Association’s Port of the Year Award for 2024, its fifth such win, which matters commercially when competing for shipping-line calls.

In the first quarter of 2026 the company reported revenue of TTD 103.3m (US$15 mn) (down 2% on Q1 2025) but net income of TTD 47.3m (US$7 mn), up 7.8%, with a profit margin of 46%.

What to watch

• Leadership resolution. Who becomes permanent president, and how quickly, will set the pace for the 2025–2026 capital plan and tenant negotiations.
• Steel plant restart. PLIPDECO signed a lease with TT Iron and Steel Company for the former ArcelorMittal plant on the estate; TT Iron plans to refurbish and restart it. A running steel plant would boost both port throughput and estate rental income.
• Property valuation. The auditors flag the gap between market capitalisation and the carrying value of net assets as a recurring audit focus. If land values soften, the revaluation gains that dominate reported earnings could reverse.
• Gas-reserve dependency. The petrochemical tenants that anchor the estate need locally available gas. Any decline in Trinidad’s gas output is an existential question for the estate’s long-term occupancy.
• Dividend trajectory. After the 300% dividend increase for FY2024, investors will be watching whether the board can sustain or grow the payout as underlying profits continue to recover.

This is news, not investment advice.