Tropical Battery Company Limited (TROPICAL) for the three months ended December 31, 2022, recorded a 2% decline in revenue to $649.44 million $(2021: $661.94 million). Management noted that the decrease was primarily due to supply chain issues and shortage of materials.

Cost of sales declined 7% to $434.16 million (2021: 465.59 million). Consequently, gross profit increased 10% to $215.28 million (2021: $196.35 million).

Administrative, marketing and selling expenses increased 26% to $144.70 million (2021: $$114.47 million). Management noted that the increase was mainly due to incentive payouts for last year’s achievements and higher rental/lease costs.

Operating profit declined 14% to $70.58 million (2021: $81.89 million).

Other operating income declined 21% to $2.05 million (2021: $2.58 million).

Net finance cost increased 7% to $12.46 million (2021: $11.67 million):

• Finance costs increased 1% to $15.40 million (2021: $15.31 million).
• Financial income declined 19% to $2.93 million (2021: $3.63 million).

Profit before tax declined 22% to $44.18 million (2021: $56.66 million).

There were no tax charges for the period hence net profit closed at $44.18 million (2021: $56.66 million).

Earnings per share (EPS) for the period amounted to $0.034 (2021: $0.044). The trailing twelve-month EPS was $0.142. The number of shares used in our calculations amounted to 1,300,000,000 units. TROPICAL closed the trading period on February 14, 2022 at $2.32 with a corresponding P/E of 16.34 times.

Management noted, “We are especially excited about our future prospects as we continue to expand our reach in the Caribbean region through strategic acquisitions.” Furthermore, Management announced that “we will be closing a 50% acquisition of Kaya Energy Group, a leading renewable energy company based in the Dominican Republic, within the second quarter. This acquisition is expected to have a positive impact on our revenue and net income, and opens up new opportunities for growth in the dynamic and rapidly growing Caribbean region.”

Balance Sheet Highlights:

As at December 31, 2022, total assets amounted to $2.25 billion (2021: $2.03 billion). The largest contributor to the upward movement was ‘Due from related Companies’ which closed at $293.83 million (2021: $174.19 million).

Shareholder’s Equity as at December 31, 2022 totalled $1.05 billion (2021: $882.53 million) resulting in a book value per share of $0.81 (2021: $0.68).

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