Good afternoon

 

The headlines

 

 

 

 

At last week’s meeting of Executive Council, it was decided that a director of human resources be appointed for the government.

 

MLA Dick Sawle says the appointment is a follow up action from the review of the review of government.

 

 

The future staffing of Stanley prison was also considered at the meeting. A paper was submitted recommending a temporary prison manager for 12 months, together with the appointment

 

MLA Sawle says there will be further debate on the issue.

 

 

You can hear a full round-up of the meeting on today’s Spotlight.

 

 

Falkland Islands Holdings saw a slight increase in its pre-tax profits for the year to the end of March.

 

Pre tax profits were £3.29million which was up by 1.9% from the previous year.

 

Group revenue increased by 4.4% to £35.6million with the company’s cash balances totaling £11.4m.

 

For the Falkland Islands Company, retail profits were maintained and fishing activity was at reasonable levels but the company said tourism declined following disruption to cruise schedules. Additional management and consultancy costs of £200,000 for the FIC were said to have been incurred in planning for the future.

 

David Hudd, Chairman of Falkland Islands Holdings said that they are pleased to report another encouraging year of trading for the group and that they ended the year in a strong financial position. Mr Hudd said that the group is now well positioned for the growth the Falkland Islands will experience in the build-up to oil production.

He added that the Falklands economy is on the threshold of a decade of dramatic growth with the development of the Sea Lion discovery and that they are focussed on ensuring that the group is able to exploit the resulting opportunities.

 

Chairman David Hudd stated that the FIC will participate in the growth in a number of ways. Mr Hudd said that they are investing the cash raised last year in developing their property assets and with their construction partners they are tendering for infrastructure contracts. Mr Hudd noted that the new port planned for Port William represents a significant opportunity for the company as they own 300 acres adjoining the site.

 

Mr Hudd concluded by saying that Falkland Islands Holdings has an exciting future in prospect.

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, the Falklands football team defeated a British Forces side in a match played at MPA on Saturday.

 

In the latest of a series of matches played between the two sides, the Falklands took the lead after only a few minutes when defender Martyn Gilson Clarke headed the ball home from a free kick delivery by Andreas Balladares.

 

However, some defensive errors and questionable offside decisions saw the Falklands fall 3 – 1 behind to the military side minutes later. Steven Aldridge made it 3 – 2 before the military benefitted from a disputed offside decision to make it 4 – 2. Steven Aldridge scored a second goal from a tight angle to make it 4 – 3 at half time to the military.

 

The Falklands improved their performance dramatically in the second half with Rafa Sotomayor scoring twice before Wayne Clement rounded off the scoring in the match to give a final result of 6 – 4 to the Falklands.