April 16, 2024

Paramount Trading (Jamaica) Limited (PTL) for the nine months ended February 29, 2024, reported a 23% decrease in revenue totalling $1.27 billion compared to $1.63 billion in the corresponding period last year. Revenue for the third quarter had a 8% decrease to close at $400.88 million compared to $438.11 million for the comparable quarter of 2023.

Direct expenses amounted to $790.25 million (2023: $1.09 billion), this represents a decrease of 27% year over year. Consequently, gross profit decreased by 13% to $476.12 million compared to $548.67 million for the nine months ended February 28, 2023. The company booked gross profit of $146.94 million for the third quarter versus $140.70 million reported for the similar quarter of 2023.

Other operating income for the nine months decreased by 3% to close at $34.76 million (2023: $35.71 million), while total expenses for the nine amounted to $342.47 million, a 1% decrease relative to $344.33 million reported in 2023.

Operating profit for the nine months ended February 29, 2024, amounted to $168.40 million, a 30% decrease relative to $240.05 million reported in 2023. Operating profit for the third quarter amounted to $45.21 million (2023: $47.57 million). Net finance costs totalled $44.22 million, a 34% increase from the $32.95 booked in the corresponding period last year.

Pre-tax profit for the nine months ended February 29, 2024, amounted to $124.19 million, a 40% decrease relative to $207.11 million reported in 2023. Pre-tax profit for the third quarter amounted to $26.22 million (2023: $35.73 million).

Taxation for the nine months ended February 29, 2024, had a 14% decrease to reach $24.25 million (2023: $28.06 million). Net profit for the nine months amounted to $99.93 million, a 44% decrease from the $179.04 million reported in 2023. For the third quarter, net profit was $18.35 million (2023: $30.37 million).

Earnings per share (EPS) for the nine months amounted to $0.06 (2023: $0.12), while EPS for the quarter totalled $0.01 (2023: $0.02). The twelve-month trailing EPS was $0.11, and the number of shares used in these calculations was 1,542,467,080.

Notably, PTL’s stock price closed the trading period on April 15, 2024, at a price of $1.45 with a corresponding P/E ratio of 13.45x.

Balance Sheet Highlights:

The company’s assets totalled $2.05 billion (2023: $1.91 billion); a 7% rise year over year due largely to a 68% uptick in receivables.

Shareholder’s equity was $1.15 billion (2023: $1.09 billion), representing a book value per share of $0.75 (2023: $0.71).

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