Pre-owned car dealership outfit, Jetcon Corporation continues to experience a turnaround in its fortunes during the second quarter of 2021 after a disappointing ten months of 2020.

The company was hit hard by COVID-19 last year following the disruption to business islandwide caused by restrictions put in place to control the local epidemic.  Jetcon reports, “Following our first quarter reflecting a pickup in sales and delivering a profit, compared to the last three quarters of last year, we continue to see improvement in the second quarter of 2021.”

The company made a small profit of J$6 million, a turnaround from the $6.8 million loss reported in the same period in 2020.

Jetcon points out that,” as countries have a better understanding of the effects of the covid-19 virus, adjustments have been made to facilitate substantial opening of economic activity.”

Big jump in revenues for the quarter

“We at Jetcon have witnessed some of the effects of the opening up, with revenues for the quarter increasing 143 per cent, from $86 million in the depressed second quarter in 2020 to $208.7 million in 2021,” the company directors advised shareholders in their quarterly report.

They highlighted that while there are clear signs of economic improvement over the depressed 2020 period due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and especially when it was in full swing during Q2, the company is not back to normal levels.

With the uptick in business, Jetcon have increased inventories, up to $400 million from the first quarter of 2021. Receivables at the end of the quarter totalled $47 million, down from $50.4 million at the same time in 2020.

Jetcon remains financially strong and cautiously optimistic. The recent rise in COVID-19 cases and the resulting tightening of measures, the directors caution that this may have an adverse effect on business, but a lot depends on how long the measures last.

However, they are hopeful that the availability of vaccines over the coming months will lessen the impact of the virus on Jamaican society allowing for a more normal way of life, than for the past year and a half.

Subsequent to the quarter, sales continue ahead of last year at around 48 per cent up to the second week in August.