The Caribbean Information and Credit Rating Services (CariCRIS) has reaffirmed the assigned issuer/ corporate credit ratings of CariA+ (local currency rating) and CariA (foreign currency rating) on the regional rating scale and jmAAA (local currency rating) and jmAA+ (foreign currency rating) on the national scale to Sagicor Group Jamaica. 

These ratings include a one-notch credit uplift for the high likelihood of support, if needed, from Sagicor Jamaica’s ultimate parent company, Sagicor Financial Company Limited (SFC).

The regional scale ratings indicate that the level of creditworthiness of Sagicor Group Jamaica, adjudged in relation to other obligors in the Caribbean is good. The Jamaica national scale local currency rating indicates that the level of creditworthiness of SGJ, adjudged in relation to other local currency debt obligors in Jamaica is the highest.

CariCRIS has also assigned a stable outlook on the ratings. The stable outlook is predicated on the high likelihood of the group maintaining profitable operations, albeit at a lower level, over the next 12 to 15 months. 

This is underpinned by Sagicor Jamaica’s leading market position and continued business enhancement and growth initiatives, notwithstanding higher expenses to support the execution of these activities.

 CariCRIS also expects the group to comfortably meet its debt obligations over the next 12 to 15 months and maintain adequate capitalisation buffers.

Its ratings reflect Sagicor Group Jamaica’s strong brand equity, which continues to support consistent and healthy financial performance with strong profitability growth reported in 2023. 

This, together with the group’s continued comfortable capitalisation levels as well as a strong and comprehensive enterprise risk management framework, buttresses the ratings.

Nonetheless, these ratings are tempered by the uncertainty in the interest rate environment which challenges the group’s asset liability management (ALM) position and significant sovereign risk exposure to the Jamaican economy, notwithstanding good economic conditions.

Rating sensitivity factors

Factors that could lead to an improvement of the ratings include:

• An increase in CariCRIS’ internal ratings assigned to the sovereign, driven by continued favourable improvements in the macroeconomic environment of Jamaica resulting in a lowering of the debt-to-GDP ratio of the sovereign.

Factors that could lead to a lowering of the ratings include:

•  A deterioration in the combined ratio above 90 per cent.

•  A cost-to-income ratio in excess of 80 per cent.

Domiciled in Jamaica and incorporated in 2013, the Sagicor Group financial conglomerate is listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE). The group is 49.11 per cent owned by Sagicor Financial Company Limited (SFC) through its wholly owned subsidiaries, LOJ Holdings Limited (32.45 per cent) and Sagicor Life Incorporated (16.66 per cent). Its other major shareholder is Pan Jamaica Group Limited (30.21 per cent).

The group is comprised of 12 subsidiaries with operations in five main countries, namely Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Panama and Barbados.

In 2023, Sagicor Group Jamaica declared profit attributable to shareholders of J$14.4 billion. The group’s total assets stood at J$591.4 billion as at September 2024 while total income was J$32.8 billion for the period ended September 2024.