May 17, 2023
Berger Paints Jamaica Limited (BRG) reported total revenues of $717.51 million, a marginal decline relative to $719.01 million reported for the comparable period in 2022.
Cost of sales for the period totalled $476.23 million, an increase of 5% relative to the $454.72 million booked in 2022. The company noted, “higher costs of raw material and supply chain costs continue to negatively impact cost of goods and gross profit margins in 2023.”
BRG added, “The consumer demand across the Hardware network and Retail Channel has been lower than the prior year. However, volumes in Automotive and Projects have recorded strong growth of 21% and 12% respectively over the prior year Q1 2022.”
The Company reported other income of $5.06 million, up 27% from the $3.98 million reported last year.
The Company recorded a 17% increase in operating expenses to $354.33 million (2022: $303.57 million). BRG noted that, “The increases were related to repairs and maintenance, charges related to technical support from our sector and head offices inclusive of the cost for upgrading of Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) and implementation of our new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform. These costs are all geared towards delivering an improved performance in 2023.”
Consequently, losses before tax for the period amounted to $38.82 million, relative to profit before tax of $22.71 million recorded for the comparable period in 2022.
There was a taxation credit of $3.40 million relative to taxation charge of $5.62 million for the corresponding period last year. Consequently, net loss for the three months ended March 31,2023 totalled $35.43 million when compared with a net profit of $17.09 million reported for the corresponding period in 2022.
Consequently, loss per share for the three months ended March 31, 2023 amounted to $0.17 relative to earnings per share of $0.08 the same quarter last year. The trailing twelve-month loss per share amounted to $0.24. The total number of shares used in the calculations amounted to 214,322,393 units. Notably, BRG’s stock price last traded on May 16, 2023 at a price of $7.75.
The Company highlighted, “we expect that over the next two quarters, additional charges may be incurred as this is necessary to improve our operations and performance for the long-term future. We are confident that our strong Balance Sheet will support this growth agenda.”
Balance Sheet Highlights:
The Company, as at March 31, 2023 recorded total assets of $2.58 billion, an increase of 7% when compared to $2.40 billion recorded last year. This was mainly attributable to ‘Trade and other receivables’ which increased to $765.52 million (2022: $491.62 million).
Total Stockholders’ equity as at March 31, 2023, closed at $1.19 billion, a 10% decline from $1.32 billion for the corresponding period last year. This resulted in a book value per share of $5.55 compared to the value of $6.14 as at March 31, 2022.
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