Durrant Pate/Contributor 

PROVEN Group ended its 2024-25 financial year in March flat, having delivered an on-par net revenue performance of US$55 million, the same as it did the year before.

There was a reduction in net interest income, which was primarily due to the tightening of spreads from the repricing of the group’s publicly issued notes at higher rates, but this was offset by improvements in fee income and gross profits from manufacturing operations. 

Net profit attributable to shareholders closed the financial year at US$2.6 million, driven by operating profit of US$1.2 million, and a share of profit from associates amounting to US$5.6 million. This sum represents a contraction from US$15.6 million made in the prior year. 

This gain in the prior year included an extraordinary earnings from its associate company, JMMB Group’s share of profit in Sagicor Financial’s profitability on the acquisition of a Canadian-based insurance company, ivari. The profits for the nine months translated to an earnings per share of US$0.0032.

US$1.1 million loss on property sales

Property closed on US$10.2 million, which was below expenses of US$11.3 million, resulting in a loss of US$1.1 million from recurring property expenses. The real estate division, Proven Properties, is focused on completing two major development projects in St Ann, the Sol Harbour in Ocho Rios and the Bahari in Runaway Bay, which are expected to be finished in the current 2025/26 financial year. 

The division is also expanding its industrial real estate portfolio with the Aashgo warehouses in Grand Cayman and the planned development of Kingston Gateway Warehouses in Jamaica. The fund management business was highly profitable with fund management income growing by 11.6 per cent to US$4.3 million for the financial year, compared to the US$3.8 million in 2023/2024. 

With continued recovery in asset prices and growth in the asset management platform, income is projected to continue to grow into the current financial year. The group’s managed funds include the PROVEN Select Unit Trust Funds, PROVEN Plus Managed Portfolios, PROVEN Rock Individual Retirement Accounts, Heritage Education Savings Plan, and various pension funds. 

New offshore mutual funds are planned by PROVWN for distribution across its wealth management companies.

Manufacturing operations

Gross profit from manufacturing operations increased by 8.8 per cent to US$18.4 million, up from US$16.9 million in the prior year. A decline in commodity prices facilitated a five per cent reduction in Pinnacle’s livestock feed prices, while still allowing for improved margins. Roberts Manufacturing, another manufacturing subsidiary, is targeting revenue diversification via the pursuit of additional export sales in the region.

The share of results from associates was US$5.6 million, reflecting a 63.8 per cent decline from the previous year. This decrease arose primarily from a reduction in the results of the JMMB Group, which reported extraordinarily strong results in the corresponding prior period from the significant gain from Sagicor’s profitability from the acquisition of ivari.

Expenses declined as assets grew modestly

Operating expenses declined by 4.2 per cent to US$53.9 million. Lower staff costs compared to the same period last year are the result of the restructuring and consolidation exercise executed in the prior period. The group’s total assets increased by a modest one per cent year-over-year to US$1.11 billion at March 31, 2025, reflecting significant portfolio reallocation rather than net growth. 

The 7.8 per cent increase in PROVEN’s investment portfolio and 52.8 per cent growth in property development in progress -driven by our Sol Harbour and Bahari projects – were substantially offset by a strategic deployment of cash reserves, which declined by US$74.2 million, and a US$10 million reduction in trade receivables. 

This asset mix shift reflects PROVEN’s active investment strategy and commitment to major development projects. Off-balance sheet managed assets expanded to US$685 million. Equity attributable to shareholders grew by 4.1 per cent to US$113 million at March 31, 2025, up from US$108.5 million at the beginning of the financial year. 

Retained earnings increased by 8.4 per cent from US$13.0 million at March 31, 2024, to US$14.1 million at March 31, 2025. The board of directors has approved a final dividend payment of US$0.0010 per share to be paid to all ordinary shareholders on record as of June 18, 2025, on July 2, 2025. 

This brings the total amount declared for the financial year ended March 31, 2025, to US$0.0040 per share, which represents a tax-free dividend yield of 3.40 per cent based on the average share price of US$0.1176 for the financial year.