Closed the year with net profits of $308.04 million, down 23%

Online and courier provider, Mailpac has so paid out a record J$425 million in dividend last year, which is shy of the amount of money it raised during its Initial Public Offer (IPO) of shares in December 2019.

This is reflective of the tremendous growth of the company since it went public raising $500-million from the 500-million shares sold to the public at J$1 per share. Mailpac declared an interim dividend of nine cents per share, which was paid on April 8, 2022; an additional dividend of four cents paid on July 29, 2022 and four cents per share paid on December 9, 2022.

Commenting on the performance for 2022, the management explained “the company continued to lead the ever-growing ecommerce market in innovation and service, including the launch of our digital barrel packing service, resulting in strong financial performance and cash-flow generation, including a record J$425.0 million in dividends paid to shareholders.”

Profitability down for 2022

Taxation for the year under review, amounted to J$201,252 down from the J$800,977 booked in 2021, as such net profit closed the year at J$308.04 million, 23% down from the J$397.84 million reported for 2021. Net profit for the December final quarter closed J$92.71 million, 19% down from J$114.58 million for the corresponded 2021 quarter.

Consequently, earnings per share (EPS) amounted to J$0.12 (2021: J$0.16). For the December quarter, EPS closed at J$0.04 (2021: J$0.05). Mailpac traded last Friday March 31, 2023 at J$1.96 with a corresponding P/E of 15.91 times.

Revenue for the year closed at J$1.69 billion, 7.32% less than the J$1.82 billion booked for 2021, while for the fourth quarter revenues amounted to J$466.20 million (2021: J$501.73 million). This is 7.08% lower than the comparable quarter in 2021.

Mailpac notes that “while overall profitability was down relative to the corresponding quarter in 2021, we remain encouraged by the continued strong performance of the Company in a year that saw a significant contraction in global online shopping.”

Slight reduction in operating expenses

Operating expenses for the period under review closed at J$462.10 million (2021: J$442.24 million), reflecting a 4.49% increase. Operating expense for the last quarter closed at J$126.78 million, versus J$129.82 million booked twelve months earlier.

This decline during the quarter was attributed to Mailpac reducing its promotions expenses by making more efficient use of its marketing budget. As such, operating profit for the twelve months amounted to J$359.04 million, a 20% decrease from the J$448.96 million reported as of December 31, 2021.

Operating profit for the December quarter closed at J$102.90 million (2021: J$124.71 million). Mailpac recorded other income of J$11.62 million (2021: J$7.05 million) and a finance cost of J$62.42 million (2021: J$57.37 million) for December 31, 2022.

As at December 31, 2022, total assets closed at J$687.71 million, 17% down from J$823.85 million booked in December 2021. Notably, the decrease in asset base is due to cash and cash equivalents amounting J$209.48 million, 42% down from J$363.81 million recorded in 2021.

Shareholder’s equity totaled J$577.59 million (2021: J$694.55 million), resulting in a book value of J$0.23 (2021: J$0.28).