Rebound credited to with growth in business Sangster International Airport

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Airport concessionaire Express Catering Limited is rebounding sweetly with revenues for the last three quarters, growing by a whopping 323 per cent increase.

Revenues for the period ended February 28, 2020 went up to US$9.61 million coming from the comparable period in 2021 of US$2.27 million. Revenues for the February quarter grew by 223 per cent to close at US$3.48 million relative to US$1.08 million reported for the previous year’s quarter.

The growth was due to the increased number of passengers accessing the departure lounge of the Sangster International Airport during the quarter. Just over 430,000 passengers access the lounge or almost three times the amount for the similar period in 2021.

Cost of sales grew by 475 per cent for the period to US$3.28 million, up from US$569,933 in 2021. Gross profit increased year-on-year for the nine-month period by 273 per cent from US$1.70 million in 2021 to US$6.33 million in 2022.

Gross profit for the third quarter grew from US$809,671 in 2021 to US$2.25 million, a 177 per cent increase year over year. Total expenses grew by 76 per cent for the period in review to US$5.13 million, up from US$2.91 million booked for the nine months ended February 2021.

Big jump in admin expenses

The increase was associated with a 177 per cent growth in administrative expenses to US$3.08 million from US$1.11 million booked 12 months earlier. Depreciation and Amortization increased to US$2.04 million compared to US$1.78 million for the comparable period in 2021.

Promotional expenses saw an 86 per cent decline from US$14,023 in 2021 to US$2,010 for the period under review. Total expenses for the quarter rose 69 per cent to close at US$1.67 million (2021: $986,068).

Operating Profit for the nine-month period amounted to US$1.21 million, erasing the operating loss of US$1.21 million reported in 2021. Operating profit for the February quarter totalled US$581,248 relative to an operating loss of US$178,421 booked for the corresponding quarter of 2021.

Finance cost of US$1.56 million (2021: US$1.24 million) was incurred for the period, while foreign exchange loss amounted to US$2,434 (2021: FX gains: US$5,756).

Net profit of US$364,507

The company closed the combined three quarters with net profit of US$364,507 for the period relative to a loss of US$2.44 million recorded for the corresponding period in 2021. For the quarter, net profit amounted to US$120,248 versus net loss of US$786,283 booked for the comparable period in 2021.

Earnings per share (EPS) for the nine months totaled US0.0223 cents relative to loss per share (LPS) of US0.149 cents in 2021. The Company, as at February 28, 2022, recorded total assets of US$40.07 million (2021: US$34.16 million).

Notably, ‘Property, plant and equipment’ closed at US$4.43 million (2021: nil). While ‘Owing by related companies’ rose by US$1.92 million to close at US$9.36 million. Total Stockholders’ equity as at February 28, 2022, closed at US$2.61 million (2021: US$1.53 million); this resulted in a book value of US0.16 cents (2021: US0.09 cents).