February 04, 2020
Jamaican Teas Limited (JAMT) reported a 15% increase in revenues to total $433.08 million (2018: $378.23 million). JAMT stated that this increase was “due to increased export sales in the manufacturing business and a 9% increase in our supermarket business which became wholly owned again on October 1 2019 when Jamaican Teas Limited acquired the 50 per cent of Bay City Foods Ltd previously owned by Amalgamated (Distributers) Ltd.”
Cost of sales increased by 10% to $314.35 million (2018: $286.46 million), in which gross profit went up 29% to close at $118.73 million (2018: $91.78 million).
JAMT reported other losses of $81.07 million versus an income of $32.92 million reported in the prior year’s corresponding period. This drastic performance was due to a Fair value loss on investment which amounted to $111.09 million, relative to a gain of $26.71 million reported the corresponding period in 2018. Additionally, there was a decrease in interest income, which fell to $286,622 (2018: $756,903).
Administrative expenses increased 87% to $77.66 million for the three months ended December 2019 relative to $41.44 million for the same period of 2018. Sales and Marketing costs went up 31% totaling $13.80 million (2018: $10.57 million). Management noted the, “increase in administration expenses for the quarter primarily reflects increased staff costs and professional fees at the manufacturing business and a $21 million foreign currency translation loss at QWI.”
Finance cost for the period under review amounted to $10.07 million relative to $5.23 million reported in 2018. According to JAMT, “the increase in interest expense is primarily the result of interest on loans at QWI that did not exist in the year ago quarter as the company had yet to be incorporated.”
Pretax losses amounted to $63.87 million relative to a profit of $67.45 million in 2018. Tax credits of $19.40 million was booked for the quarter compared to a tax expense of $5.73 million for the comparable quarter of 2018.
Net loss for the quarter closed at $44.47 million relative to a profit of $61.72 million recorded for the corresponding quarter of 2018. Net profit attributable to shareholders closed the quarter at $27.70 million compared to $49.80 million booked for the same quarter of 2018.
Consequently, earnings per share totaled $0.040 compared to $0.072 for the period ended December 2019. The trailing earnings per share amounted to $0.541. The numbers of shares used in the calculations are 691,258,459 units. JAMT last traded on February 3, 2020 at $6.60.
JAMT stated that, “The outlook for the manufacturing and supermarket business continues to be positive. We expect our export business to continue to grow. The real estate business should contribute significantly later in the year from proceeds from the sale of apartments. We believe that the outlook for the Jamaican stock market is positive given the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) that are planned for 2020 as well as the positive outlook for the economy. This bodes well for our investments company, QWI.”
Balance Sheet at a glance:
As at December 2019, the Company total assets amounted to $3.65 billion, an increase of 106% when compared to the $1.77 billion reported as at December 2018. This increase was driven primarily by 327% growth in ‘Investments’ from $454.45 million in 2018 to $1.94 billion for the period under review.
Shareholders’ Equity totalled $1.58 billion as at December 31, 2019 (2018: $1.27 billion), resulting in a book value per share of $2.28 (2018: $1.83).
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