Salada Foods Jamaica Ltd. (SALF) for the year ended September 30, 2023, reported a 5% increase in revenue totalling $1.40 billion compared to $1.34 billion in the corresponding period last year. Revenue for the fourth quarter had a 17% increase to close at $435.70 million compared to $372.82 million for the comparable quarter of 2022.

Cost of sales amounted to $975.93 million (2022: $924.44 million), this represents an increase of 6% year over year. Consequently, gross profit increased by 3% to $424.96 million compared to $412.00 million for the year ended September 30, 2022. The company booked gross profit of $136.26 million for the fourth quarter versus $118.17 million reported for the similar quarter of 2022.

Other operating income increased by 177% to close at $2.07 million (2022: $746,000).

Selling and promotional expenses increased by 30% from $51.86 million in 2022 to $67.22 million in the period under review, while administrative expenses amounted to $150.77 million, a 13% increase relative to $133.01 million reported in 2022.

Operating profit for the year ended September 30, 2023, amounted to $209.04 million, a 7% decrease relative to $223.96 million reported in 2022. Operating profit for the fourth quarter amounted to $90.66 million (2022: $82.88 million).

Net finance income totalled $20.71 million, a 207% increase from the corresponding period last year (2022: $6.75 million). This was largely due to improvements in interest income, gain on investment in ECL and foreign exchange gain.

Profit before taxation for the year end decreased slightly to $229.75 million relative to $230.71 million reported in 2022. Profit before taxation for the fourth quarter amounted to $96.93 million (2022: $82.43 million).

Taxation for the year ended September 30, 2023, had a 10% decrease to reach $49.98 million (2022: $55.30 million). Net profit for the year amounted to $179.77 million, a 2% increase from the $175.42 million reported in 2022. For the fourth quarter, net profit was $80.15 million (2022: $64.21 million).

Earnings per share (EPS) for the year remained at $0.17 year over year, while EPS for the quarter totalled $0.08 (2022: $0.06). The number of shares used in these calculations was 1,038,832,900.

Notably, SALF’s stock price closed the trading period on November 29, 2023, at a price of $2.85 with a corresponding P/E ratio of 16.47x.

Balance Sheet Highlights:

The company’s assets totalled $1.34 billion; a marginal decline from the $1.35 billion booked in 2022. This downward movement follows declines in inventories (-21%) and cash and cash equivalents (-51%), tempered by a 56% increase in trade and other receivables.

Shareholder’s equity was $1.09 billion (2022: $1.05 billion), representing a book value per share of $1.05 (2022: $1.01).

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