February 10, 2022
Jamaican Teas Limited (JAMT) reported a 2% decline in revenues to total $596.10 million (2020: $610.56 million). JAMT stated, “Our first quarter results were modestly down from the prior year. Sales improved in all the divisions except the Real Estate division. Sales in the local manufacturing division rose 19.5 percent but export sales were slightly down for the period in Jamaican dollars following two years of strong growth. Our latest real estate development is slated for completion this year with sales expected to commence during the June quarter.”
Cost of sales however rose by 2% to $449.54 million (2020: $442.58 million), in which gross profit fell by 13% to close at $146.56 million (2020: $167.98 million).
Total investment income amounted to $128.83 million, relative to total investment income of $143.67 million reported as of December 2020.
JAMT reported other income of $38.36 million versus loss of $2.34 million reported in the prior year’s corresponding period. JAMT noted, “This mainly reflects the impact of higher unrealized exchange gains on the foreign currency shares and other foreign currency denominated assets owned by group member companies compared with a year ago and is a direct result of the recent devaluation of the Jamaican dollar.”
Administrative expenses increased 42% to $88.73 million for the three months ended December 2021 relative to $62.57 million for the same period of 2020. Sales and Marketing costs rose 12% totaling $9.82 million (2020: $8.76 million). Management noted, “Part of this increase arose from the sharp increases in ocean freight costs as well as increases in raw materials costs and the effects of the depreciation of the Jamaican dollar. Price increases effected in all our markets in January 2022 are expected to assist in recovering the erosion in gross margins seen in 2021.”
Finance cost for the period under review amounted to $8.05 million relative to $7.08 million reported in 2020, reflecting a 14% uptick year over year.
Profit before taxation amounted to $207.16 million relative to the of $230.90 million in 2020. Tax expenses of $39.54 million was booked for the quarter compared to a taxation of $49.93 million for the comparable quarter of 2020.
Net profit for the quarter closed at $167.62 million relative to a net profit of $180.97 million recorded for the corresponding quarter of 2020. Net profit attributable to shareholders closed the quarter at $113.63 million compared to $116.59 million booked for the same quarter of 2020.
Consequently, earnings per share totaled $0.054 compared to $0.055 for the period ended December 2020. The trailing earnings per share amounted to $0.18. The numbers of shares used in the calculations are 2,118,250,377 units. JAMT last traded on February 10, 2022 at $4.19 with a corresponding P/E ratio of 23.11 times.
JAMT stated that, “While QWI’s share portfolio continued to outperform the local stock market, its total gains for the quarter were 13 per cent below last year. Combined with some expense increases, QWI’s profit contribution to the group was lower than in the 2020/21 quarter.”
Balance Sheet Highlights:
As at December 2021, the Company total assets amounted to $4.40 billion, a 21% increase when compared to the $3.62 billion reported as at December 2020. This increase was driven primarily by a 30% increase in ‘Investments’ from $1.71 billion in 2020 to $2.21 billion for the period under review. This was tempered by a 47% decline in ‘Cash and cash equivalent’ which totalled $167.69 million (2020: $317.82 million).
Shareholders’ Equity totalled $2.20 billion as at December 31, 2021 (2020: $1.80 billion), resulting in a book value per share of $1.04 (2020: $0.85).
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