Net interest income increased by 39% amounting to $1.03 billion

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Investment and brokerage firm Barita has seen its half-year profitability for 2022 inch up relative to 2021.

The Jamaica-based and publicly listed company saw net profit for the half-year ended March 31, 2022 of J$2.28 billion, an 11 per cent increase when compared to the J$2.06 billion booked in 2021.

Net profit for the March quarter totalled J$1.21 billion, up from J$1.04 billion in 2021.

Profit before tax amounted to J$2.85 billion for the period under review relative to the J$2.57 billion booked in 2021, while pre-tax profit for the March quarter improved 17 per cent to J$1.47 billion, up from the 2021 posting of J$1.26 billion.

Taxation for the half-year amounted to J$562.52 million, down from the J$509.60 million incurred in 2021.

Total comprehensive income for the six months ended March 31, 2022 was J$1.30 billion relative to J$1.99 billion in 2021. For the March quarter, total comprehensive income closed at J$651.01 million, down from J$972.43 million in 2021.

Strong growth in net interest income

Barita Investments saw strong growth in net interest income, which climbed by 39 per cent to J$1.03 billion relative to the J$740.64 million for the comparable six months in 2021. Net interest income for the second quarter closed at J$555.03 million, up from J$373.27 million in 2021.

Dividend income rose significantly to total J$22.32 million compared to the J$629,000 earned for the six months ended March 31, 2021. Gains on investment activities rose by 17% to J$922.04 million, up from J$790.81 million in 2021.

Fees and commissions income jumped by 33 per cent to close at J$1.81 billion compared to the J$1.36 billion posted in 2021. Foreign exchange trading and translation gain declined to J$755.66 million compared to J$1.14 billion recorded in the previous year.

Other income totalled J$16.52 million versus J$13.58 million recorded for the similar period in 2021. As such, net operating revenue amounted to J$4.55 billion relative to J$4.05 billion recorded for the comparable period in 2021.

Net operating revenue for the quarter rose 21 per cent to J$2.48 billion compared to J$2.05 billion 2021.

Big 22% jump in expenses

Administrative expenses for the period amounted to J$949.21 million, increasing 22 per cent from J$779.40 million in 2021. Staff costs for the six months rose 23 per cent from J$592.70 million booked in 2021 to J$731.26 million in 2022.

The earnings per share (EPS) for the six months end March 31, 2022 amounted to J$1.87 relative to the EPS of $1.69 reported in 2021. EPS for the quarter amounted to $0.99 (2021: $0.85).

As at March 31, 2022, total assets amounted J$100.88 billion (2021: J$78.49 billion), a J$22.39 billion improvement year over year. The growth was as a result of ‘Pledged Assets’ which increased by J$13.64 billion to a total of $57.64 billion (2021: J$44 billion) and ‘Marketable Securities’ rising by J$5.52 billion to J$16.48 billion.

Shareholders’ Equity amounted to J$37.54 billion relative to J$28.66 billion reported in 2021, resulting in a book value per share of J$30.76 relative to J$23.49 booked in 2021.