Camilo Thame, Business Reporter

Dr. Damien King making his presentation during the PSOJ's Chairman's Club Breakfast Meeting at the Terra Nova Hotel on July 19. - Ian Allen/ Staff Photo grapher

A year after Dyoll Group's board set out to rebuild the entity stripped of its insurance arm, the ailing company's plan to enter into real estate development and property management remains stalled for the remainder of 2006.

Insurance was the Dyoll group's mainstay, its assets were eaten away by the devastation of Hurricane Ivan in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands two years ago.

Now, the company says the $150 million cash windfall that will ensue from the sale of property owned by St. Ann-based Drax Hall Limited, "will not take place until later in the calendar year (2006)," according to acting chairman Damien King.

"The obstacles we are faced with are sufficiently minor and it is likely to be overcome this year," King told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting held yesterday at Medallion Hall Hotel, St. Andrew.

Under a favourable judgement in the local courts, Dyoll was given an order for the sale of land owned by Drax Hall Limited to recover a US$1 million ($66 million) loan issued in February 2007 and interest accrued, which made up the majority of the $85 million accounts receivable held on its balance sheet up to the end of June this year.

But having sold its 51 per cent stake in Dyoll/Wataru Coffee company for $25 million in the three months ending June 30, enabling the company to lower its accounts payables from $54 million as of March 31, 2006 to $39 million during the quarter, while increasing its cash balance by nearly $3 million to $15.7 million at the end of June, the company is awaiting the sale of Drax Hall land to move forward.

"We are trying to move from a vision to a plan," said King. "But the difficulty lies in the length of time to realise the Drax Hall asset."

Importantly, Dyoll needs to get into an income earning position soon to offset the $4 million to $5 million its spends quarterly on expenses, before its cash position diminishes even further.

Dyoll used $2 million from the sale of the coffee interest to achieve a $300,000 loss during the quarter, but it impacted little on the $80 million accumulated deficit attained over the 21 months to June 30.

Going forward, the entity plans to raise capital through a private placement and debt financing to re-establish Dyoll as a real estate development and property management company, and has already brought on real estate expertise such as Coldwell Banker's Andrew Issa on to the board.

But those plans are unlikely to have any real effect before 2007.

King says once the company is ready to implement its plan, it will first focus on rental property to establish an income stream in the first stages of the redevelopment plan.

camilo.thame@gleanerjm.com