On Friday, RTC news carried a story that the CDC has given the green light for cruise ships to begin in July with stipulation, good news for ports such as the one at the Grand Turk Cruise Center. With no cruise ships arriving at the Grand Turk Cruise port in over a year, the port with many shops,stores & the famous Margaritaville (Turks), MTL is reporting that it incurred a third-quarter US$261,014 or ($39.2 million) in losses, with its cumulative loss for the nine months to February 28 totalling US$1.1 million or ($159.9 million).
MTL which provides food, beverage, and entertainment services — has been one of the businesses most impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic. The absence of the cruise ship industry and lack of general tourism have left the island of Grand Turk at a stand still & Margaritaville business to only record its inventory at cost to avert spoilage. As a result, MTL has only been recording expenses with no revenue to its name. Even with expenses being a fraction of their normal levels, the operating loss for the nine months that stood at US$1.1 million, compared to the operating profit of US$617,831 generated before the pandemic.
With no incoming cash from normal business, MTL’s parent company Margaritaville Caribbean Limited has fully repaid a related party balance of US$815,457 ($122.3 million) and advanced US$12,567 as MTL explores suitable financing options. MTL had US$9,612 of cash with no bank overdraft nor external debt at the end of the quarter RTC is learning.
Even with the increased levels of vaccinations and relative reopening of global markets, the report, which was signed by Ian Dear and John Byles, stated: “The location is in standby mode for commencement of cruising activities. All remedial work necessary has been identified and work plans prepared. According to Byles & Dear, they are awaiting timelines when cruise companies will announce their call dates into Grand Turk either befoer or after July based on the CDC’s new announcement.”
While RTC News did not obtain a profit or loss update from other businesses at the the port, the total assets registered declined by 22 per cent to US$4.2 million or ($627.3 million) as MTL’s current assets shrunk by 47 per cent to US$1.1 million. Total liabilities fell by eight per cent to US$953,959 while equity decreased by 25 per cent to US$3.2 million according to a report publised recently.
Source-JO
