Expenses climb 54% to J$43.89 million

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Paper manufacturing company, AMG Packaging Paper Company Limited (AMG) has seen a 30 per cent drop in net profit in its latest quarterly financials.

The Jamaican company ended its November 2022 quarter with net profits of J$24.64 million, down from the J$35.28 million posted in the previous year. Revenues for the quarter recorded a marginal improvement of six per cent to J$254.27 million, up from J$270 million for the comparable period in 2021.

Total manufacturing costs for the period declined eight per cent to J$180.78 million (2021: $196.08 million). Of this:

·       Cost of inventories declined 13 per cent to J$135.96 million (2021: J$155.99 million)

·       Direct expenses increased 12 per cent to J$44.82 million (2021: J$40.09 million)

Detailing cut in expenses

Total expense increased 54 per cent to J$43.89 million, up from the J$28.56 million posted 12 months earlier. Of this:

·       Administrative expenses increased 19 per cent to J$26.42 million (2021: J$22.16 million)

·       Depreciation increased 67 per cent to J$10.16 million (2021: J$6.10 million)

·       Loss in exchange amounted to J$2.50 million (2021: gain of J$4.68 million)

·       Directors fees remained fixed at J$2.72 million

·       Financial expenses declined seven per cent to J$2.10 million (2021: J$2.26 million)

Tax charges for the November quarter amounted to J$4.97 million, down from the J$10.32 million incurred for the comparable period in 2021. Earnings per share for the period amounted to J$0.048 (2021: J$0.069).

Notably, AMG’s stock price closed the trading period today at J$3.20 with a corresponding P/E of 16.93 times. Total assets for the period increased 63 per cent to J$1.58 billion (2021: J$971.39 million).

This upward movement was primarily due to a 130 per cent leap in the company’s ‘Property, Plant & Equipment,’ which closed the period at J$1.08 billion (2021: J$468.40 million). ‘Inventories’ also contributed to the growth by a 54 per cent increase to J$317.67 million (2021: J$206.77 million).

Shareholder’s equity for the period increased 88 per cent to J$1.21 billion (2021: J$643.22 million), resulting in a book value per share of approximately J$2.36 (2021: J$1.26).