May 16, 2024

Expressed in TT$ unless stated otherwise

A.S. BRYDEN & SONS HOLDINGS LIMITED (ASBH) for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024, reported an 8% increase in turnover totalling $629.79 million compared to $584.70 million in the corresponding three months last year.

Direct expenses amounted to $457.39 million (2023: $432.14 million), this represents an increase of 6% year over year. Consequently, gross profit increased by 13% to $172.40 million compared to $152.56 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023.

Other income decreased by 94% to close at $233,000 (2023: $4.09 million), while Administration and other operating expenses increased by 18% from $107.02 million in 2023 to $126.78 million for the three months. As a result, Operating Profit for the first quarter amounted to $45.85 million, an 8% decrease relative to $49.63 million reported in 2023.

Share of results of Associate for the three months amounted to $234,000, a 71% decrease relative to $802,000 reported in 2023. Finance costs totalled $13.92 million, a 33% increase from the corresponding period last year. (2023: $10.51 million).

Profit before Taxation for the first amounted to $32.16 million, a 19% decrease relative to $39.93 million reported in 2023.

Taxation for the three months was $13.42 million (2023: $9.86 million). Net profit for the three months amounted to $18.75 million, a 38% decrease from the $30.06 million reported in 2023.

Consequently, Earnings Per Share for the three months amounted to TT$0.01/J$0.31 (2023: EPS: TT$0.02/J$0.48). The twelve-month trailing EPS was TT$0.09/J$2.11 and the number of shares used in these calculations was 1,389,683,010.

Notably, ASBH’s stock price closed the trading period on May 15, 2024, at a price of $38.35 with a corresponding P/E ratio of 18.15x.

ASBH noted, “Our results this quarter relative to last year were impacted by non-recurring items in the first quarter of 2023 and weaker than expected performance in our premium beverage operations this quarter due to a shorter Carnival season.”

Balance Sheet Highlights

The company’s assets totalled $2.10 billion (2023: $1.86 billion). This was mainly attributed to a 35% uptick in ‘Trade and other receivables’ closing at $669.22 million.

Shareholder’s equity was $677.06 million (2023: $587.74 million), representing a book value per share of TT$0.49/J$11.13 (2023: TT$0.42/J$9.48).

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