Big gains on financial assets

Jamaican listed investment company, Portland JSX Limited had a bumper 2021, doubling its year end net profit to US$4.28 million.

This was as a result of big gains on financial assets.

For the year ended February 28, 2022, the company earned net gains on financial assets amounting to US$5.35 million compared to gains of US$2.60 million in 2021, which is over 100 per cent improvement. Portland JSX incurred no taxes for the financial year and as such recorded a net profit of US$4.28 million compared to US$2.12 million in 2021.

However, the company recorded a 71 per cent decrease in ‘Net Foreign Exchange Gains’ amounting to US$96,327 (2021: US$330,112). Operating expenses, inclusive of Accounting & Audit Fees, Directors, legal & management fees, administrative fees and other expenses increased by 42 per cent to US$860,866 up from US$604,510 in 2021.

Dividends paid to preference shareholders amounted to US$108,889 (2021: nil) while interest expense totaled US$337,682 (2021: US$346,641). Interest from loans and receivables for the year decreased by 40 per cent amounting to US$2,654 (2021: $4,428).

No distributions of partnership interest income

The investment company didn’t receive any ‘Distributions of Partnership interest income’ in the financial year compared to US$128,901 in 2021. As at February 28, 2022, Portland JSX had total assets valued at US$41.64 million on its balance sheet compared to US$31.55 million reported in 2021.

This growth resulted from a nine per cent increase in ‘Financial Investments at fair value through Profit or Loss’ to total US$35.81 million (2021: US$31.43 million) and the company’s US$5.00 million investment in Portland Caribbean Fund II, L.P portfolio company ‘Outsourcing Management Ltd’.

Total Stockholders’ equity as at February 28, 2022 closed at US$32.23 million compared to the US$27.80 million reported in 2021. This resulted in a book value per share of US$0.10 (J$16.18) compared to US$0.08 (J$13.62).

Earnings per share (EPS) for the period amounted to US$0.014 (J$2.15) compared to an EPS of US$0.007 (J$1.04) reported in 2021. The stock price closed the trading period on April 28, 2022 at J$11.00 with a P/E ratio of 5.12x.