Consolidated Bakeries (Jamaica), which trades under the name Purity, delivered a mixed 2023 performance where revenue rose while profit tumbled.

For the 12-month ended December 31, 2023, Purity saw an 11 per cent increase in revenue totalling J$1.52 billion compared to J$1.37 billion in the prior year. Revenue for the fourth quarter in December went up six per cent, closing at J$344.49 million compared to J$324.10 million for the comparable quarter of 2022.

‘Cost of Sales’ amounted to J$921.00 million (2022: J$829.47 million), which represents an increase of 11 per cent year-over-year. Consequently, gross profit went up 11 per cent to J$594.28 million compared to J$536.88 million for the year.

Expenses jumped 21%

Selling expenses increased by 21 per cent to close at J$246.24 million (2022: J$203.45 million), while admin expenses increased by three per cent from J$266.26 million in 2022 to J$274.47 million in the year under review. As a result, total expenses for the year amounted to J$561.93 million, up 11 per cent relative to J$505.28 million in 2022.

Operating profit for the year totalled J$32.35 million, a two per cent increase relative to J$31.60 million reported in 2022. Operating profit for the December quarter amounted to J$5.89 million (2022: J$5.39 million). 

Finance cost totalled J$19.67 million, up 21 per cent from the corresponding period last year. (2022: J$16.27 million). Pre-tax profit for the year amounted to J$17.27 million, a three per cent decrease relative to J$17.73 million reported in 2022. 

Taxation climbed

Taxation for the year went up 12 per cent to reach J$4.29 million (2022: J$3.85 million). As such net profit for the year amounted to J$12.97 million, a seven per cent decrease from the J$13.88 million reported in 2022. 

For the fourth quarter, net profit closed on J$518,388, reversing the net loss of $1.01 million booked in 2022. Earnings per share (EPS) for the year amounted to J$0.06 (2022: EPS: $0.06), while EPS for the December quarter in review totalled J$0.002, compared to a loss per share of J$0.005. 

Notably, PURITY’s stock price closed trading on April 4 at $2.19 with a corresponding P/E ratio of 37.59x. The company’s assets totalled J$1.13 billion (2022: J$1.08 billion). 

This increase resulted from an eight per cent increase in ‘Property, plant & equipment’ closing at J$851.41 million. Shareholder’s equity was J$709.85 million (2022: J$696.88 million), representing a book value per share of J$3.19 (2022: J$3.13).