Rupununi Development Company Limited

What it is

The Rupununi Development Company was established in 1919 as a British entity backed by colonial and Booker McConnell interests, securing a long-term lease over grazing lands south of the Kanuku Mountains. Today it operates Dadanawa Ranch, the largest and one of the most isolated cattle ranches in Guyana, covering roughly 1,700 square miles — about 1.1 million acres — of savannah.

Dadanawa is one of the most remote ranches in the world, carrying around 6,000 head of cattle. The company sells beef to the local Guyanese market and also offers ecotourism services from the ranch, though the absence of an internationally certified abattoir has blocked it from expanding revenue through beef exports.

Who owns it

Three substantial shareholders — each holding at least 5% of the voting shares — together control roughly 73% of the company (our calculation from the 2024 Annual Report). Hand-in-Hand Mutual Fire Insurance Company Ltd, Guyana’s longest-established property insurer, is the dominant force, holding 208,232 shares; the Trust Company (Guyana) Limited holds 47,900 shares; and Hand-in-Hand Mutual Life Assurance Co.

Ltd holds 29,300 shares.

All three are part of or associated with the Hand-in-Hand Group of companies, making that group the effective controlling bloc. The remaining roughly 27% constitutes the free float on GASCI.

Who runs it

The 2024 Annual Report was signed by Paul A. Chan-A-Sue, C.C.H., F.C.A., serving as Vice-Chairman and delivering the Chairman’s review; the board also includes directors Keith Evelyn, Omadatt Singh, and Peter Fraser.

Ronald Stanley, F.C.C.A., C.P.C.U., M.Sc. serves as Company Secretary and Accountant. No separate CEO or CFO title is disclosed in available sources — the board structure appears to carry management responsibilities directly.

The money, in plain words

In 2024, the company’s cattle business came almost to a standstill: total revenue — all the money that came in — collapsed 83% to GYD 2.8M (USD ~13,300), down from GYD 17.5M (USD ~84,000) the year before. The 2024 Annual Report attributes this to “a pause in beef sales resulting from the reorganisation of the cattle management process.”

Against that near-zero income, running costs stayed at GYD 31.4M (USD ~151,000), producing a net loss — what owners actually lost — of GYD 22.0M (USD ~106,000), versus a GYD 8.5M (USD ~41,000) loss in 2023. Accumulated losses have entirely wiped out shareholders’ equity, which stands at a negative GYD 59.4M (USD ~286,000); in plain terms, the company owes more than it owns.

Its main creditor is Hand-in-Hand Mutual Fire Insurance itself, which has lent GYD 151.9M (USD ~731,000) on demand and over various maturities.

The share price has held at G$510 (USD ~2.45) through the first half of 2026 — implying a total market value of roughly GYD 199.6M (USD ~960,000) — but with losses per share of GYD 69.69 (US$0.34)and no earnings, the price-to-earnings ratio is simply not applicable. No dividend has been paid in at least six years.

Total assets rose 11.6% to GYD 96.0M (USD ~462,000), driven largely by the rising book value of the cattle herd itself, which counts as a “biological asset” under accounting rules.

What it is doing now

The board’s stated strategy is to diversify operations beyond pure beef sales and to adopt sustainable land-management practices; a reorganisation of cattle management — the direct cause of the 2024 revenue collapse — is in progress. Tourists already use Dadanawa as a base for journeys into the South Rupununi, and tourism is cited alongside cattle as a segment, though tourism revenue was zero in both 2023 and 2024 per the segment table in the annual report.

The Annual General Meeting for fiscal year 2024 was scheduled for 24 June 2025, with Keith Evelyn and Peter Fraser standing for re-election. No dividend was proposed, consistent with the board’s practice since at least 2019.

What to watch

• Beef sales restart: whether the cattle management reorganisation translates into material revenue in 2025 — any return toward the GYD 17.5M (USD ~84,000) 2023 level would transform the loss picture.
• Abattoir certification: the absence of an internationally certified abattoir has been the structural ceiling on export revenue for years; progress here would be the single biggest value unlock.
• Debt pressure: GYD 28.6M (USD ~138,000) of the Hand-in-Hand loan is repayable on demand — a related-party creditor who is also the dominant shareholder, creating a concentrated conflict of interest worth monitoring.
• Going concern: auditors PKF Barcellos Narine noted no material uncertainty as of December 2024, but the company burns cash against negligible revenue; the 2025 results will be decisive.
• Guyana’s oil boom context: Guyana registered GDP growth of 33% in 2023, and the livestock sector grew 27.1% in 2024 per the chairman’s review — the macro tailwind is real, but RDL has yet to capture it.

This is news, not investment advice.