August 9, 2024

Jamaica Stock Exchange Limited (JSE) for the six months ended June 30, 2024, reported a 6% increase in Total income of $1.21 billion compared to $1.13 billion in the corresponding period last year. Total income for the second quarter had a 4% decrease to close at $572.97 million compared to $594.91 million for the comparable quarter of 2023. Of this:

• Fee Income amounted to $959.09 million (2023: $863.69 million), this represents an increase of 11% year over year.
• Cess decreased by 20% to $150.36 million compared to $189.08 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023.
• Other operating Income increased by 23% from $59.54 million in 2023 to $73.46 million in the period under review.

Staff costs increased by 14% to close at $439.74 million (2023: $386.34 million), while Property expenses increased by 8% from $162.76 million in 2023 to $175.66 million in the period under review. Also, other operating expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2024, amounted to $42.20 million, a 19% decrease relative to $52.28 million reported in 2023.

Total Expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2024, amounted to $946.14 million, a 14% increase relative to $826.77 million reported in 2023. Total Expenses for the second quarter amounted to 453.20 million (2023: $411.87 million).

Total Investment Income totalled $32.72 million a 17% increase from the corresponding period last year. (2023: $28.03 million).

Profit before Taxation for the six months ended June 30, 2024, amounted to $293.36 million, a 13% decrease relative to $336.21 million reported in 2023. Profit before Taxation for the second quarter amounted to $140.16 million (2023: $199.80 million).

Taxation for the six months ended June 30, 2024, had a 9% increase to reach $123.85 million (2023: $113.62 million).

Net Profit for the six months amounted to $169.51 million, a 24% decrease from the $222.59 million reported in 2023. For the second quarter, Net Profit was $76.99 million (2023: $135.64 million).

Consequently, Earnings Per Share for the six months amounted to $0.24 (2023: EPS: $0.32), while Earnings Per Share for the quarter totalled $0.11 (2023: EPS: $0.19). The twelve month trailing EPS was $0.52 and the number of shares used in these calculations was 701,250,000.

Notably, JSE’s stock price closed the trading period on August 08, 2024, at a price of $10.26 with a corresponding P/E ratio of 19.83x.

Balance Sheet Highlights

The company’s assets totalled $3.27 billion (2023: $2.98 billion). The growth in total assets was primarily influenced by ‘Property, plant & equipment’ increasing by $213.57 million to close at $1.34 billion and ‘Government securities purchased under resale agreement’ trending up by $202.41 million, while a $165.85 million decline in ‘Certificates of deposits’ partly offset the movement.

Shareholder’s equity was $2.59 billion (2023: $2.36 billion), representing a book value per share of $3.70 (2023: $3.36).

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