SOME “KEY” EMPLOYEES of one of Barbados’ oldest companies will be getting another chance to own a piece of it.
Fresh from turning an $8.3 million net loss in 2013 to a $3.1 million net profit last year, Cave Shepherd & Company Limited is inviting its shareholders to vote on a resolution that will give senior management and “key management employees of its subsidiaries and associated companies” access to a Key Employee Stock Option Plan, with an allocation of 900 000 of its common shares from January 1, 2016.
The company is also seeking approval for the “allocation of up to 100 000 common shares for the purpose of enabling eligible employees to acquire shares in the company in part payment of an annual Profit Sharing Bonus Scheme as permitted under the Income Tax Act”.
Shareholders will also be asked to approve the “issue price for eligible employees to acquire shares in the company as permitted under the Income Tax Act . . . to be the full market price at the time of allocation”.
A notice from group corporate secretary Hanna Chrysostom said the vote on the required resolution would take place when the 108-year-old company holds its annual general meeting tomorrow at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre. The intention is to renew the share plan for another five years.
The original share plan was approved by Cave Shepherd shareholders on April 23, 2009 and became accessible on January 1, 2011. In its resolution, the company said with one year remaining on the existing plan’s term, “667 000 options were granted, 20 000 of which expired and no options have yet been exercised by key employees during the period”.
It also said that its board of directors “considers the extension of the plan to be in the best interest of the company and its shareholders as whole”.
Meanwhile, Cave Shepherd said an annual performance evaluation of its board of directors “confirmed that the board is operating effectively”. The 2014 review “addressed the performance and effectiveness of the individual directors and the board’s performance as a whole”.
The evaluation was “delegated” to the board’s Corporate Governance & Nomination Committee, assisted by Chrysostom.
