However, slight decline in September quarter profitability

Durrant Pate/ Contributor

Jamaica-listed FirstRock Real Estate Investments Group has more than doubled its year-to-date (YTD) profit as the company posted strong financial returns for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2022.

Net profit for the period totaled US$5.10 million, up from US$1.90 million a year ago, while total comprehensive income YTD amounted to US$5.12 million, up from the 2021 booking of US$2.11 million. The real estate development and investment company also more than doubled its investment income to US$9.45 million, up from US$4.31 million in 2021.

These positive results were driven primarily by growth in the following areas:

• Realised and unrealised gains on investments of US$5.75 million versus US$3.01 million reported in 2021.
• Interest income closed at US$386,091 (2021: US$728,263).
• Rental income amounted to US$506,578 (2021: US$253,664).
• Foreign exchange gains amounted to US$96,595 relative to losses of US$294,932 in 2021.
• Other loss for the nine months amounted to US$14,3030 relative to other income of US$104,083 in 2021.

September quarter performance

Even though the September quarter was profitable, profitability dropped from US$700,000 last year to US$516,000 during the quarter under review. Profitability was driven primarily by gains in the Group’s real sector and financial assets and property income, which have been achieved through the prudent management of the balance sheet.

Total assets at the end of the quarter was US$60.72 million with shareholders’ equity of US$37.44 million.

Liabilities stood at US$23.29 million as at September 30, 2022, yielding a debt to equity ratio of 62 per cent, which the company reports is relatively low for a real estate firm.

FirstRock Group intends to increase its leverage in line with international industry standards while continuing its strong performance in 2022 with total assets continuing to climb steadily towards the target of US$100 million in five years.

Shares buy-back going well

During the September quarter, the company commenced its Share Buy-Back Programme, announced in March of this year. The programme is going well with a total of 220,000 units of FIRSTROCKJMD and 900,000 units of FIRSTROCKUSD having been purchased thus far, with the stock prices increasing by 20 per cent and 75 per cent, respectively.

FirstRock says it plans to aggressively continue this programme over the next few months to unlock further shareholder value. The Board of FirstRock Real Estate Investments has promised that “every effort is being made to unlock additional value in their investment”.