THE long outstanding payments to former shareholders of the Jamaica Flour Mills from an insurance claim lodged following Hurricane Gilbert 12 years ago this month, are to be made some time next week.
In a notice published in yesterday's edition of The Gleaner, the Flour Mills said arrangements are being finalised to begin a payout.
The company said the payment would be mailed to the addresses of shareholders on record at Scotia Trust and has advised those who have changed their addresses to contact the Trust at Scotia Bank Centre in Kingston.
Managing director of the Flour Mills, Jack Cwach, was unavailable for comment yesterday and a spokeswoman said she was unable to say the total sum which would be paid to the former shareholders.
Over the past months, former shareholders have been agitating for a firm date as to when the payments would be made.
However, about two months ago, the Flour Mills said it had hired chartered accountants and management consultants Ernst & Young to calculate the sums to be made.
The insurance claim arose from the destruction of two silos at the Flour Mills plant in eastern Kingston as a result of Hurricane Gilbert, which ravaged the island in September 1988.
In an effort to obtain a settlement, the Flour Mills had launched legal action against a consortium of its insurers led by West Indies Alliance Insurance Company for both material and consequential losses. The matter was contested up to the final appeal court, the United Kingdom Privy Council, which made its ruling in May 1998.
Before the ruling, the company has reportedly told former shareholders that settlement of the claims could total some $400 to $800 million, resulting in their getting as much as $1.37 per share. However, the Privy Council judgement was for $51.1 million, with interest of some $223 million. This means the amount to be paid to shareholders will be substantially less than was initially anticipated.
Mr. Cwach, who heads the local arm of ADM Milling company, which acquired 90 per cent of the shares of the Flour Mills in late 1997, was quoted a few months ago as suggesting that the total payment to former shareholders would be less than $100 million.
