September 18, 2023
Express Catering Limited (ECL) for the year end ended May 31, 2023, reported a 49% increase in revenue totalling US$21.20 million compared to US$14.24 million in the corresponding period last year. Revenue for the fourth quarter had a 31% increase to close at US$6.05 million compared to US$4.63 million for the comparable quarter of 2022.
Cost of sales amounted to US$7.43 million (2022: US$5.00 million), this represents an increase of 49% year over year. Consequently, gross profit increased by 49% to US$13.77 million compared to US$9.24 million for the year end ended May 31, 2022. The company booked gross profit of US$3.88 million for the fourth quarter versus US$2.90 million reported for the similar quarter of 2022.
Total expenses for the year end ended May 31, 2023, amounted to US$8.61 million, a 27% increase relative to US$6.80 million reported in 2022. This was largely due to administrative expenses, which increased by 46% from US$4.02 million in 2022 to US$5.88 million in the period under review.
Operating profit for the year end ended May 31, 2023, amounted to US$5.16 million, a 112% increase relative to US$2.43 million reported in 2022. Operating profit for the fourth quarter amounted to US$1.56 million (2022: US$1.23 million).
Finance income decreased by 89% to close at US$489 (2022: US$4,551), while finance cost totalled US$2.25 million, a 9% increase from the corresponding period last year (2022: US$2.07 million).
Foreign exchange gain for the year end ended May 31, 2023, amounted to US$34,167, a 324% increase relative to US$8,059 reported in 2022. Foreign exchange gain for the fourth quarter amounted to US$48,436 (2022: US$10,493).
Profit before tax for the year end ended May 31, 2023, had a 168% increase to reach US$2.94 million (2022: US$1.10 million).
Following taxation of US$235,776 (2022: nil), profit for the year being total comprehensive income for the year amounted to US$2.70 million, a 146% increase from the US$1.10 million reported in 2022. For the fourth quarter, profit being total comprehensive income was US$775,757 (2022: US$732,296).
Consequently, earnings per share for the year end amounted to J$0.26 (2022: J$0.10), while EPS for the quarter remained at J$0.07 year over year. The number of shares used in these calculations was 1,637,500,000.
Notably, ECL’s stock price closed the trading period on September 15, 2023, at a price of J$4.80 with a corresponding P/E ratio of 18.67x.
Balance Sheet Highlights:
The company’s assets totalled US$42.19 million (2022: US$40.49 million). This upward movement was largely due to ‘Property, plant & equipment’, which increased by 48% to US$6.11 million (2022: US$4.12 million) followed by ‘Due from related companies’, which grew by 17% to US$12.47 million (2022: US$10.66 million).
Shareholder’s equity was US$6.04 million (2022: US$3.34 million), representing a book value per share of J$0.57 (2022: J$0.32).
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