The newest Goddard Enterprises Limited (GEL) board director has resigned as the Barbados conglomerate investigates the circumstances which led to a possible $38.7 million loss on cocoa futures.
This relates to the operations of Ecuador Kakao Processing Proecuakao S.A. (Ecuakao), a cocoa processing company which GEL has owned and operated in Ecuador since March 2018.
In an April 7, statement to shareholders on behalf of the GEL board, chairman Charles Herbert informed them that “Matthew Goddard has resigned from the board effective March 7, 2025”.
“Mr Goddard indicated that his decision was due to his concern with the current decision making of the board with respect to the independent investigation into the losses at Ecuakao. We thank Mr Goddard for his contribution to the board and wish him well,” he said.
Herbert contacted GEL shareholders again on May 9 to elaborate on Goddard’s departure from the board, stating that “for further clarity and at his request, below is a copy of the original resignation letter tendered by Mr Matthew Goddard”.
Goddard’s March 7 resignation letter was addressed to the GEL chairman and board of directors and stated: “I hereby tender my resignation as a member of the board of directors of Goddard Enterprises Limited, effective immediately, due to my concern with the current decision-making of the board with respect to the independent investigation into the losses at the company’s subsidiary, Ecuakao Group Ltd, which was communicated to shareholders at the company’s last shareholder annual general meeting.
“I also hereby release the company from any claim which I may have as a director to any claim for compensation,” he added.
Herbert said: “The board hopes this clears up any misunderstanding regarding Mr Goddard’s resignation from the board of directors and apologises for any confusion caused.”
Goddard, who was born in Barbados but resides in Canada, was elected when GEL held its annual general meeting in January. He is managing director and global head of ETF and futures trading, head of crypto and digital currency opportunities at BMO Capital Markets.
As reported in this publication in February, GEL has lost millions of dollars on cocoa futures. Futures are contracts where two parties agree to buy or sell an asset at a pre-determined price on a specified future date.
In his April 7 communication to shareholders, which along with the May 9 statement – including Goddard’s resignation letter – are published on the group’s website, Herbert pointed to Ecuakao’s performance as detailed in GEL’s published first-quarter financial report.
“While the business would have posted an operating profit thus exceeding its target, included in the cash flow hedge in the statement of comprehensive income for the quarter, was an unrealised mark-to-market loss of $29 million related to unmatched cocoa futures,” he said.
“The board decided to cap this loss at a cost of $9.7 million, which means that the company’s maximum loss from this exposure would be $38.7 million.”
The chairman said that in an effort to provide clarity the board noted the following:
The purchase of unmatched futures was outside of company policy and not in line with board decisions.
The independent members of the audit and risk committee of GEL have engaged external consultants, PricewaterhouseCoopers Caribbean, to investigate what transpired and to establish a strategy to mitigate its recurrence. The review has begun and a report is expected within
four to six weeks.
The board decided to purchase a “call option” for $9.7 million which ensured that the mark-to-market loss could not increase beyond $29 million if prices rose but would reduce if the market fell.
As of March month-end, the mark-to-market exposure had been reduced to a net unrealised loss of approximately $9.54 million.
Herbert said that “some shareholders have reached out to the board raising questions about this situation and whether there may have been a breach of Ecuakao’s hedging policy”.
“We acknowledge their call for clarity and uphold the principles of transparency and accountability. The board will, however, allow the review to be completed and the report submitted, before discussion on this matter,” he said.
Herbert added that “as demonstrated in the quarter one highlights, GEL continues to perform well, posting increasing profitability”.
Cocoa futures have been going through a volatile period. In its June Cocoa Market Report, the International Cocoa Organisation (ICO) said that in early June 2025, nearby cocoa futures surged by eight per cent in London and New York markets. Nearby futures are the contracts with the closest settlement dates.
“Prices climbed from US$8 566 to US$9 245 per tonne in London and from US$9 436 to US$10 175 per tonne in New York,” ICO reported.
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