Durrant Pate/ Contributor

Paramount Trading, a leading importer and distributor of chemicals, lubricants and construction materials in Jamaica, is seeing a reversal in fortunes for its first quarter ended August 2025, thanks to a massive growth in its Construction segment.

The segment surged by 140% while Technical Grade and Bleach segments also grew by 12% and 1% respectively. The turnaround performance for the period was aided by cuts in operating expenses, which narrowed to $116.3 million, representing an 8.1 % reduction from the same period in the prior year. As such, profit before tax for the first quarter amounted to $73.3 million, which represents a turnaround when compared to the loss of $37.9 million for the same period last year. 

Gross profit closed on $210.4 million, reflecting a 57.7 % increase year-over-year. Gross revenue totalled $445.2 million, a 14.4 % increase compared to the same period last year.  Earnings per share for the review period amounted to $0.036, coming from the loss of $0.025 in 2025. At the same time, the company’s book value climbed to $1.73 billion, up from $1.68 billion a year ago.

Finance costs for the first quarter inched up to $22.1 million compared to $19.7 million for the same period in the prior year. This was due to the final disbursement of $188.0 million from the company’s Corporate Bond at the end of August 2024.

The management is promising to continue to explore new opportunities to grow the revenue base in line with the 39 Waltham Park Road, Kingston 13-based company’s strategic objectives, while covering its costs. 

The Board of Directors and management team remain steadfast in ensuring that Paramount continues its growth trajectory.