April 15, 2024

Express Catering Limited (ECL) for the nine months ended February 29, 2024, reported a 23% increase in revenue totalling US$18.67 million compared to US$15.15 million in the corresponding period last year. Revenue for the third quarter had a 17% increase to close at US$7.09 million compared to US$6.04 million for the comparable quarter of 2023.

Management noted that “Total passengers accessing the post security departure lounge of the Sangster International Airport during the Third Quarter was 705,116. This generated revenue of US$7.09 million for a spend rate per passenger of US10.05. For the similar Quarter in the prior year, 639,275 passengers spent a total of US$6.04 million for a spend rate per passenger of US$9.44.”

Cost of sales amounted to US$6.17 million (2023: US$5.26 million), this represents an increase of 17% year over year. Consequently, gross profit increased by 26% to US$12.50 million compared to US$9.89 million for the nine months ended February 28, 2023. The company booked gross profit of US$4.75 million for the third quarter versus US$4.03 million reported for the similar quarter of 2023.

Total expense for the nine months ended February 29, 2024, amounted to US$8.46 million, a 34% increase relative to US$6.31 million reported in 2023. The increase was largely attributed to administrative expenses, which grew 47% to reach US$5.97 million (2023: US$4.07 million).

Operating profit for the nine months ended February 29, 2024, amounted to US$4.02 million, a 12% increase relative to US$3.60 million reported in 2023. Operating profit for the third quarter amounted to US$1.78 million (2023: US$1.75 million).

Finance costs totalled US$1.92 million, a 16% increase from the corresponding period last year (2023: US$1.66 million).

Foreign exchange losses for the nine months amounted to US$22,990, a 61% increase relative to the US$14,269 reported in 2023. For the third quarter, the company booked a foreign exchange gains of US$405 (2023: US$9,413).

Profit before tax for the nine months ended February 29, 2024, had an 8% increase to reach US$2.09 million (2023: US$1.93 million). There were no taxation charges for the review period; hence, net profit amounted to US$2.09 million, an 8% increase from the US$1.93 million reported in 2023. For the third quarter, profit was US$1.06 million (2023: US$1.15 million).

Earnings per share (EPS) for the nine months amounted to US$0.0013/J$0.20 (2023: US$0.0012/J$0.18), while EPS for the quarter totalled US$0.0006/J$0.10 (2023: US$0.0007/J$0.11). The twelve-month trailing EPS was J$0.27 and the number of shares used in these calculations was 1,637,500,000.

Notably, ECL’s stock price closed the trading period on April 12, 2024, at a price of $3.90 with a corresponding P/E ratio of 14.19x.

Balance Sheet Highlights:

The company’s assets totalled US$46.28 million (2023: US$42.19 million); a 10% rise year over year due largely to a 36% uptick in ‘Owing by related companies’.

Shareholder’s equity was US$8.13 million (2023: US$6.04 million), representing a book value per share of US$0.005/J$0.78 (2023: US$0.004/J$0.57).

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