Page 27 - Neal and Massy Holdings Annual Report 2012

25 forward focused
Neal &Massy Automotive LTd. (NMAL) continued to pursue
further improvements in Customer Service at our three branches in
Trinidad, and Tobago Services Limited in the sister isle. “First On
Customer S ervice” (FOCUS), our customer service philosophy was
developed and implemented with participation from every employee.
We introduced this year our new Customer Service vision statement,
“Driving you to love life”, as well as the “Men in White” - a team
of highly trained technicians who greet and analyse problems which
customers bring to our Morvant location. These new initiatives are
already positively impacting the overall customer experience and
the quality of the outcome.
Our National Car Rental and Alamo Rent-A-Car franchise was
successfully launched in April. Within the six months of opening
we have received hundreds of reservations. We are also pursuing
expansion of these brands in several other countries and will be
opening five additional locations in 2013.
Tracmac is proud to have hosted PACDA 2012, the annual
conference of the Pan American Caterpillar Dealers Association
in Trinidad. This conference brought together senior Caterpillar
executives and dealer principals of all the Caterpillar dealerships in
South and Central America as well as the Caribbean. The conference
blended strategic business sessions with a social aspect, where
Trinidad and Tobago was showcased in all its glory. In all aspects, it
was a great success for our Group and our country.
The Automotive & Industrial Equipment Business Unit continues
to support the communities in which we operate. Neal & Massy
Caledonia AIA Pro League Football Club had a highly successful
year; Tracmac’s CSR Team continues to give time and funding to
the children of the Jaya Lakshmi Home; and NMAL is helping to
renovate the basketball/small goal court in Mon Repos, Morvant.
In 2012 the Business Unit achieved growth in revenue and
profitability, 24 percent and 19 percent respectively. The Business
Unit also managed to reduce debt and interest costs. Working capital
has improved and our balance sheet is strong.
At NMAL, the Hyundai Elantra, Hyundai Tucson and Nissan Navara
models played an important role in our sales success. Awards were
received from Hyundai for Most Improved Market Share Growth
in the Latin American region. Nissan also grew its market share
despite being the leader. Improving customer service continues to
be our major priority. Further showroom and customer service facility
improvements are planned for 2013. The parts department exhibited
record revenue levels in 2012, as our customer service initiatives have
led to increased throughput in our service department and a greater
propensity for purchasing genuine parts from NMAL. Recently a new
feature of our phone system, called Customer Touch was activated.
This will allow automated text, email and voice messages to be sent
updating customers about their vehicle that is being serviced. The
long-term lease rental fleet also grew by approximately 10 percent.
Tracmac Engineering Limited’s (Tracmac) revenue increased
by 43 percent due to infrastructure projects in construction which
started in 2012. The margins on these sales are lower than usual in
the current competitive market. Tracmac also improved its working
capital margins significantly in 2012. In 2012, Tracmac also initiated
the implementation of the Group’s Customer Service Management
System. We have formed a strategic alliance with Louisiana
Machinery and we seconded from them a Senior Executive in After
Sales to lend support to our local operations for at least one year.
The Pres-T-Con Group (Pres-T-Con, Rabco and Pres-T-
Con Equipment) managed to marginally improve its financial
performance in 2012. Many construction projects, which were
scheduled to be on-stream this year, have been deferred. At this
time however, Pres-T-Con has several contracts in hand as many
projects have resumed. We are expecting that 2013 will show
greater improvement.
Automotive Components Limited (ACL) suffered some
reductions in profitability for 2012. ACL achieved marginal sales
growth in the local market due to competition from imported
batteries, however declining sales in the export markets negatively
impacted our expected results. Our plans for 2013 are to recover our
market share in both the local and export markets with an increase
in our sales force and additional retail presence.
Best Auto Limited has been focused on making Customer
Service improvement a top priority. The consistent supply of its most
popular models continues to be an area of concern but the Jetta
has grown in popularity in the market, with a moderate increase in
sales and positive customer reviews. The profitability of Best Auto
has improved as expected.
Tobago Services Limited (TSL) continues to improve in financial
performance and remains the market leader in Tobago. We have
completed renovations of our facilities which were opened during