Date: December 24, 2018
Barita Invested Limited’s (BIL) interest income declined 10% to $1.02 billion relative to $1.13 billion for the previous year. Interest expense declined at a faster rate by 29% to close at $598.18 million compared to $847.44 million in 2017. As a result, net interest income for the year increased by 47% to $422.29 million relative to $286.87 million in 2017. Net interest income for the fourth quarter amounted to $115.33 million compared to $68.70 million in 2017.
Dividend Income rose 54% for the year to total $31.78 million compared to the $20.59 million earned in 2017. Gains on sale of investment declined by 47%, to $136.45 million (2017: $259.32 million). Income from Fees & Commissions however rose by 6%, to close at $505.21 million (2017: $475.73 million). Management noted fees and commission income, “continues to benefit from growth in our managed funds”.
Foreign exchange trading and translation gains climbed to a total of $187.95 million for the period, compared to $45.48 million recorded for the previous year. BIL reported other gains of $20.99 million versus an income of $22 million reported in 2017. As such, net operating revenue amounted to $1.30 billion, 18% above last year’s $1.11 billion. Net operating income for the fourth quarter improved 63% to close at $462.93 million relative to $284.17 million in 2017.
Staff costs for the year amounted to $385.41 million, increasing 13% from $340.58 million in 2017. Administration expenses also climbed 11% to total $375.57 million (2017: $337.50 million), due to increases “in asset tax, Barita Education Foundation expenses and bad debt provisioning”.
Notably, BIL reported no Impairment of available-for-sale investment relative to the $100.16 million reported in 2017.
As such, the company booked profit before taxation of $543.69 million, a 64% increase on the $331.74 million documented in 2017. Profit before tax for the quarter amounted to $243.48 million compared to $85.36 million in 2017.
Consequently, the company reported net profits of $363.24 million, an increase of 79% relative to the $203.02 million booked in 2017; this followed taxation of $180.45 million (2017: $128.72 million). net profit for the fourth quarter jumped to $182.68 million versus $46.64 million for the same quarter of 2017.
Total comprehensive income for the year amounted to $686.99 million compared to $330.69 million twelve months earlier.
Earnings per Share for the year totalled $0.81 relative to $0.46 in 2017. The EPS for the fourth quarter amounted to $0.41 compared to $0.10 for the prior year. The number of shares used in our calculations amounted to 445,876,824 units. Notably, BIL closed the trading period on December 24, 2018 at a price of $46.40.
BIL noted, “we anticipate that the Jamaican economy will continue to be viable for investors in a landscape underpinned by local dollar volatility and interest rates at historic lows. As such we position ourselves to exploit as much of the opportunities to be derived as possible, while working tirelessly to satisfy the group we serve.”
Balance Sheet at a glance:
As at September 30, 2018, total assets amounted $18..88 billion (2017: $15.85 billion), a $1.08 billion or a 20% improvement. This increase was primarily attributable to ‘Pledged Assets’ which increased by $1.59 billion to total $9.88 billion (2017: $8.03 billion).
Shareholders’ Equity amounted to $3.07 billion relative to $2.78 billion in 2017 resulting in a book value per share of $6.88 relative to $6.23 in 2017.
Disclaimer:
Analyst Certification -The views expressed in this research report accurately reflect the personal views of Mayberry Investments Limited Research Department about those issuer (s) or securities as at the date of this report. Each research analyst (s) also certify that no part of their compensation was, is, or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specific recommendation (s) or view (s) expressed by that research analyst in this research report.
Company Disclosure -The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, however its accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. You are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. Mayberry may effect transactions or have positions in securities mentioned herein. In addition, employees of Mayberry may have positions and effect transactions in the securities mentioned herein.
