Durrant Pate/Contributor

The American operations of the Jamaica Broilers Group (JBG) is sizzling, having outperformed the local operations in terms of growth in the second quarter ended October 28.

The poultry processor is reporting that JBG US is now realising additional volumes as a result of increased financing requirements primarily around working capital. The American operations attained a segment result of J$2.2 billion, which was J$401 million or 22 per cent above last year’s segment result.

This increase was driven by increased volumes of poultry meat and eggs, as well as the implementation of cost management initiatives. As for the Jamaican operations, the agricultural conglomerate generated results of J$3.7 billion, which was J$204 million or 6.0 per cent above last year’s segment result.

Total revenue for the Jamaican operations during the half-year showed an increase of 3.0 per cent over the prior year six-month period. This increase was primarily driven by increased production, increased sale and export of poultry and implementation of cost-containment measures.

The group produced a net profit attributable to shareholders of J$1.3 billion for the October quarter. The operations of the group continue to be strong, and gross margins are consistent with expectations.

Group revenues amounted to J$23.4 billion, a 2.0 per cent increase above the J$22.9 billion achieved in the corresponding quarter. Gross profit for the quarter was J$5.8 billion, which equalled the corresponding quarter in the year prior.