March 7, 2024
For the three months ended January 31, 2024, Scotia Group Jamaica Limited’s (SGJ) net interest income rose 19% amounting to $11.11 billion, relative to $9.30 billion for the corresponding period in 2023, while interest expenses rose by 282% to total $498.96 million (2023: $130.56 million).
The company reported an expected credit loss of $1.03 billion compared to the loss of $510.01 million for the comparable period in 2023. As such, Net Interest Income Impairment losses on loans for the quarter rose 15% to $10.08 billion relative to the $8.79 billion recorded for the corresponding period in 2023.
Finance expenses from insurance increased 291% from $188.23 million in 2023 to $735.21 million in the quarter under review. Total insurance finance expenses valued $735.16 million, up 291% from 2023.
Net insurance revenue amounted to $523.96 million, down 3% from the first quarter of 2023.
Total operating income rose by 5% to $13.89 billion (2023: $13.24 billion).
Total operating expenses increased by 10% and closed the period at $8.68 billion relative to $7.87 billion in 2023. SGJ noted the increase was “driven by higher asset taxes associated with the year over year growth in the asset base, higher billings associated with deposit processing arising from an increase in transaction volumes and annual inflationary increases.”
Profit before taxation for the period totaled $5.22 billion; this represents a decline of 3% from the $5.37 billion recorded in 2023.
Tax charges for the quarter totaled $2.09 billion (2023: $2.00 billion), as such Net Profit for the quarter totaled $3.13 billion, 7% less than the $3.37 billion posted for the same period in 2023. Profit attributable to shareholders for the quarter amounted to $3.13 billion, 7% less than the total of $3.37 billion a year earlier.
Total comprehensive loss for the period totaled $3.90 billion, compared to the loss of $1.16 billion recorded for the same quarter in 2023.
Earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter totaled $1.00 (2023: $1.08), while the trailing twelve months earnings per share totaled $5.46. The total number of shares employed in our calculations amounted to 3,111,572,984 units.
Notably, SGJ’s stock price closed the trading period on March 6, 2024, at a price of $46.93 which corresponds to a P/E of 8.60 times.
In response to the Group’s performance, Scotia Group President and CEO, Audrey Tugwell Henry said “We are very proud to deliver another solid performance for the quarter to our shareholders. Our business lines performed well, and we will build on this momentum throughout the fiscal year. We continue to distinguish ourselves in the market by the expertise of our team as well as the quality of the solutions we provide, and we are very pleased that clients are increasingly choosing the Scotia Group as their financial partner. This was evidenced by healthy growth in both total deposits and total loans during the period under review.
Balance Sheet Highlights:
As at January 31, 2024, the company’s assets totaled $665.91 billion, 2% more than its value of $601.74 billion last year. Management noted, “This was predominantly as a result of the significant growth in our loan portfolio of $40.8 billion or 17.4%; higher cash resources of $36.3 billion or 21.9%; and higher carrying value of the retirement benefit asset of $3.6 billion or 25.5%”.
SGJ’s shareholders’ equity at the end of the period amounted to $121.41 billion relative to the $104.12 billion recorded in the prior year. Consequently, the book value per share amounted to $39.02 (2023: $33.46).
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