Durrant Pate/Contributor

Montego Bay-based Express Catering Limited (ECL) continues its tremendous rebound from the pandemic with profitability surging 149 per cent for the financial year ended May 31, 2023.

The company, which was founded in 2001 and operates in the area of food, beverages, souvenir shops and outlets at the Donald Sangster International Airport in the second city, returned net profit for the year amounting to US$2.70 million, up from the US$1.10 million made in 2022. Taxation for the year came out at US$235,776 compared to nil in 2022.

Pre-tax profit for the year was up 168 per cent to reach US$2.94 million (2022: US$1.10 million). For the May fourth quarter, profit being total comprehensive income was marginally up US$775,757 compared to US$732,296 in 2022.

Consequently, earnings per share (EPS) for the year end was J$0.26 compared to J$0.10 last year, while EPS for the quarter remained at J$0.07 year-over-year. Notably, ECL’s stock price closed trading last week at a price of J$4.80 with a corresponding P/E ratio of 18.67x.

Strong revenue growth

Revenue growth for the year under review was strong growing by 49 per cent to close at US$21.20 million compared to US$14.24 million for 2022. Revenue for the fourth quarter went up 31 per cent increase to US$6.05 million compared to US$4.63 million for the comparable quarter of 2022.

Cost of sales amounted to US$7.43 million (2022: US$5.00 million), which represents an increase of 49 per cent year over year. Consequently, gross profit increased by 49 per cent to US$13.77 million compared to US$9.24 million for 2022.

Total expenses for the year amounted to US$8.61 million, a 27 per cent increase relative to US$6.80 million reported in 2022. This was largely due to administrative expenses, which went up 46 per cent from US$4.02 million in 2022 to US$5.88 million in 2023.

Foreign exchange gain for the year closed on US$34,167, a 324 per cent increase relative to US$8,059 reported in 2022. Foreign exchange gain for the fourth quarter amounted to US$48,436 (2022: US$10,493).

Balance sheet position

ECL’s assets totalled US$42.19 million (2022: US$40.49 million). This upward movement was largely due to ‘Property, plant & equipment’, which increased 48 per cent to US$6.11 million (2022: US$4.12 million) followed by ‘Due from related companies’, which grew 17 per cent to US$12.47 million (2022: US$10.66 million).

Shareholder’s equity was US$6.04 million (2022: US$3.34 million), representing a book value per share of J$0.57 (2022: J$0.32).