ONE CARIBBEAN MEDIA (OCM) has exceeded its profits target for 2006.

Chief executive officer Craig Reynald said the media group surpassed the TT$100 million (BDS$31.6 million) net profit target set for the financial year ending December 31, 2006 by TT$15.6 million (BDS$4.9 million).

Commenting on the regional company's performance in the just-released 2006 annual report, Reynald said: "It was particularly exhilarating to witness the growth in economic value-added (EVA) in the Express Newspapers, Starcom and the Grenada Broadcasting Network, and the overall growth achieved by the Nation Corporation of 29 per cent."

He told shareholders it was important to improve the operating efficiencies of the merged entities and it was done across all profit centres and companies in the group.

"Our key ratios, in terms of net profits before tax – the current ratio, return on capital employed, and EVA – all showed improvement in the profit centres over 2005," he told shareholders.

"It was important that we begin the process of rationalising our costs at the group level, following the merger of CCN and the Nation. We began this in Barbados by centralising financial accounting, human resource management and internal audit," he noted.