JSE reports 39% increase in nine months net profit

November 14, 2019

Jamaica Stock Exchange Limited (JSE), for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 recorded total revenue of $1.39 billion, a 38% increase when compared to the $1.01 billion booked for the prior year’s similar period. While total revenue for the quarter amounted to $515 million (2018: $339.53 million). Of this:

Cess income rose by 50% to $509.28 million relative to $340.17 million the previous year.

Fee income grew by 28% to $771.70 million to close the period, compared to 2018’s $601.78 million .

E-campus increased to $40.36 million, relative to $8.83 million in 2018.

Other operating income climbed 25% during the period to total $68.19 million compared to $54.68 million last year.

Total expenses for the period increased by 33% moving from $597.83 million in 2018 to $796.47 million in 2019. For the third quarter Total expenses amounted to $272.93 million, a 37% rise when compared to $199.81 million in 2018. Of this:

Staff costs increased 21% to total $317.99 million for the period (2018: $263.08 million). The increase was, “due to increase in salaries for 2019 and cost associated with new staff hires required to support the expansion of current business.”

Depreciation and amortization totalled $41.36 million for the period relative to $38.02 million in 2018, a 9% uptick.

Additionally, professional fees amounted to $48.40 million (2018: $49.88 million) a 3% decrease year over year.

Property expenses climbed from $99.31 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 to $132.15 million during the period under review. The movement according to JSE was attributed to, “increase in maintenance costs and licences expense.”

Other operating expenses grew by 20% to $46.65 million from $38.92 million the previous year.

Advertising and promotion marginally increased from $41.47 million to $93.52 million. This was largely due to, “planned increase in advertising , public relation and outreach activities being carried out by the Group. This is mainly in respect to the 50th Anniversary promotions.”

Securities commission fees posted a 46% increase for the period to close at $76.03 million (2018: $51.91 million), which according to JSE is, “in correlation to Cess Fees, therefore the higher the Cess Fees the higher will be this expense.”

‘Impairment, Less Recoveries’ of $8 million (2018:$1.90 million) was recorded for the period.

Investment income fell by 27% to $20.07 million versus $27.45 million in 2018.

Profit before tax totalled $613.12 million compared to $435.07 million the year prior.

Tax charges for the period totalled $204 million (2018: $141.79 million).

As such, JSE reported a net profit of $409.12 million compared to a profit of $293.28 million reported for the prior year, a 39% increase. Net profit for the quarter amounted to $163.75 million (2018: $102.21 million). JSE noted the, “improvement in Net Profit continues to be positively impacted by increased market activities and impact of JSEG diversification strategies.”

Total comprehensive income was for the period amounted to $424.77 million relative to $289.48 million in 2018, while for the quarter it amounted to $172.62 million (2018: $106.46 million).

Earnings per share for the quarter totalled $0.23 compared to $0.15 in 2018, while for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 EPS was $0.58 compared to $0.42 in 2018. The twelve months trailing EPS is $0.75. The numbers of shares used in the calculations are 701,250,000.00 units. JSE last traded on November 13 ,2019 at $33.39.

JSE added, “The Third Quarter performance was excellent and the outlook for the remainder of the year is positive especially as it is expected there will be more companies listing their securities on the Exchange and other new product offerings. It is also anticipated that there will be a positive movement in Fee Income due to expected increase in the Group’s clientele and increase in the number of investors.”

Balance Sheet at a glance:-

As at September 30, 2019, assets totalled $1.65 billion, a 24% increase when compared with its balance of $1.32 billion a year prior. The increase was due to a 21% increase in Property, Plant and Equipment from $421.454 million as at September 30, 2018 to $508.77 million and ‘Government Securities Purchased Under Resales Agreements’ from $190.83 million in 2018 to $320.31 million. Intangible Assets also contributed to the upward movement to close at $116.16 million compared to $47.25 million in 2018.

Shareholders’ Equity amounted to $1.27 billion (2018: $1.02 billion), resulting in a book value per share of $1.81 (2018: $1.45).

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2019-11-15T02:24:10-05:00