CariCRIS

Caribbean Information and Credit Rating Services Limited (CariCRIS), the Caribbean regional credit rating agency, has assigned a rating of CariA- (Foreign Currency Rating) and CariA (Local Currency Rating) in its Caribbean regional rating scale, and bbA on the Barbados national scale to the debt issue (notional) of the size of USD 16 million of Williams Industries Inc. (WII) of Barbados. The ratings indicate that the level of creditworthiness of this obligation, adjudged in relation to other obligations in the Caribbean[2] and within Barbados is good. The above ratings for Williams Industries Inc. (WII) reflect the group's dominant market position in jos_t of its businesses which are predominantly in the manufacture and distribution of commodity products used in the construction industry. This business strength is supported by WII's favourable financial profile characterized by comfortable gearing, good debt protection measures and return on capital employed (ROCE) as well as a progressive and competent management. These rating strengths are partly tempered by the company's relatively high concentration in construction related business in Barbados, which is inherently cyclical, and the relative lack of competitive advantage for manufacturing activities in Barbados. Its investment in the utility type business serves to partly smoothen out the peaks and troughs in the construction sector. About the company: Williams Industries Inc. (WII) is a diversified group of companies founded by Ralph (Bizzy) Williams in 1972 and is headquartered at Warrens, Barbados. The group operates over 20 companies spanning myriad industries that can be classified into manufacturing, trading, services and investments. Over the years, WII has grown through organic and inorganic strategies and has formed business relationships with established international entities. The number of wholly-owned subsidiaries has grown and there are eleven (11) affiliated companies and numerous investment entities in the group. jos_t of the group's ...