Strong demand for passenger travel and improved courier and rental business

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Transport coach operator Knutsford Express is experiencing a surge in business, resulting in a whopping 645 per cent increase in profitability for three months ended August 2022.

Net profit jumped to J$84.23 million, up from the J$11.30 million posted in 2021. Pre-tax profit amounted to J$96.93 million, relative to J$11.30 million in 2021.

Taxation of $12.70 million were incurred for the quarter in comparison to nil during the comparable in 2021.

Total revenue for the quarter closed at J$415.09 million, representing a 79 per cent increase when compared with the J$232.56 million in 2021. This was due in large part to strong customer demand for passenger travel as well as income contributions from the courier and rental business.

Expenses went up 39%

Administrative and general expenses rose 39 per cent for the quarter to total J$302.94 million, up from J$217.27 million in 2021. Finance costs increased to J$15.30 million, up from the J$5.54 million reported in 2021.

In addition, finance income fell from J$1.54 million in 2021 to J$79,772 in 2022, representing a decline of 95 per cent. As at August 31, 2022, assets totalled J$1.52 billion, J$209.02 million more than the J$1.31 billion recorded last year.

The increase in total assets was largely attributable to increases in ‘Investment property,’ which closed at J$482.68 million (2021: J$110.45 million).

Shareholder’s equity closed at J$835.33 million (2021: J$681.04 million). As such, the book value per share was J$1.67 (2021: J$1.36).

Earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter amounted to $0.17 (2021: $0.02). Knutsford Express stock price closed trading yesterday at J$8.00, with a corresponding price to earnings ratio of 21.79 times.

Positive developments during the quarter

The management pointed to a number of positive developments during the quarter.

According to management, “during the first quarter of 2022, a number of initiatives were undertaken which will contribute to further improvements by our team in terms of greater efficiencies, smarter route planning and income diversification. In addition, our subsidiary, KE Connect Limited has been repositioned to make a greater contribution with its focus on the charter and travel market”.