Business continues to exhibit strong liquidity   

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Lighting and energy company, FosRich has broken the J$ 1 billion revenue threshold in a quarter, based on the performance of the recently ended March 2023 quarter.

Revenues closed the quarter at J$1.08 billion, up J$183.5 million or 20% from the J$900.3 million made during the comparable period in 2022. However, operating profit declined slightly to J$138.9 million compared to J$158.9 million in the prior period.

As a result, earnings per stock unit decreased to 2.42 cents from 3.16 cents in 2022. The improved revenue performance is a result of increased sales in six of the company’s 11 product groups, namely Transformer, Solar, LED, Hardware, Wires and Wiring Devices.   

Admin expenses went up

Admin expenses for the quarter amounted to J$260.2 million, reflecting an increase of J$65.1 million on the J$195.2 million booked in 2022. The changes were driven primarily by increased staff-related costs for salary adjustments; increased sales commission, due to improved sales performance and improvements in staff benefits. 

There were also increased travelling and motor vehicle expenses and increased insurance costs, due to increases in policy renewal rates. Finance cost for the quarter went up to J$47.4 million compared to $37.2 million for the prior period, an increase of $10.2 million. 

This increase is being driven primarily by an uptick in bond renewal rates and increases in bank financing.  FosRich continues to proactively manage inventory balances and its supply chain with a view to ensuring that inventory balances being carried are optimized, relative to the pace of sales and the time between the orders being made and when goods become available for sale.

This is being done to avoid both overstocking and stock-outs. Monitoring is done both at the individual product level and by product categories.  With the increases in sales has come an uptick in receivables. 

Strong liquidity at FosRich

The company continues to maintain strong liquidity with Managing Director, Cecil Foster commenting, “it is expected that FosRich will continue to be able to generate sufficient cash to meet obligations when they fall due. Liquidity is provided primarily from sales revenues and loan financing. “ 

He stated that the excess of current assets over current liabilities amounted to J$1.9 billion compared to J$1.23 billion, as of December 31, 2022, with an improvement in the ratio to 2.17:1, up from 1.69:1 at December 2022. 

FosRich continues to actively manage trade receivables with an emphasis being placed on balances in the over the 180-day bucket. The company has implemented strategies to collect funds owing as well re-evaluating all credit relationships. 

Where necessary, credit limits have been reduced and credit periods shortened. For some inventory items, FosRich has instituted seven-day credit or cash.   

FosRich is primarily a distributor of lighting, electrical and solar energy products. FosRich aims to differentiate itself from its competitors in the Jamaican marketplace by providing a quality and cost-effective service and by collaborating with clients on technical solutions. 

FosRich partners with large global brands seeking local distribution such as Huawei, Philips Lighting, Victron Energy, Siemens, NEXANS and General Electric. FosRich has a staff complement 170 persons across nine locations in Kingston, Clarendon, Mandeville, and Montego Bay.