Durrant Pate/Contributor

Jamaica’s dominant media group, RJR Limited, has seen its losses skyrocket to more than half-a-billion dollars, as the local operating environment continues to tighten, becoming even fiercer with two major players shuttering in the last year, SportsMax and Loop.

For the nine months ended December 31, 2025, RJR, which operates four radio stations, five television stations, three print publications, digital and multi-media streams, posted a net loss of $502.10, representing a 52% deterioration from the $329.39 million loss recorded in 2024. 

For the third quarter, net losses jumped fourfold to $242.14 million, coming from $58.79 million in December 2024. Consequently, Loss Per Share (LPS) for the nine months amounted to $0.17, up from $0.11, while LPS for the quarter totalled $0.08, up from $0.02 a year ago. 

The twelve-month trailing LPS was $0.28. Notably, RJR’s stock price closed the trading period on February 16, 2026, at a price of $1.14.

Hurricane Melissa’s impact

The management reports that the December quarter was harsh owing to the impact of Hurricane Melissa, which devastated a large section of the island, and added to the challenging external environment. However, the management reports that it responded immediately to restore services, support staff, and preserve liquidity while accelerating the group’s ongoing transformation programme.

Revenues during the quarter under review contracted by 23.8% to $261 million, driven by a sharp reduction in advertising revenues, as advertisers pulled back from the market following the passage of Hurricane Melissa on October 28, 2025. For the combined three quarters, revenues suffered a 12% decline, closing the period at $3.56 billion, compared to $4.05 billion for the corresponding period in 2024.

Pulling back on expenses

Direct expenses amounted to $1.70 billion (2024: $1.91 billion), reflecting an 11% year‑over‑year decrease. Consequently, gross profit fell by 13% to $1.86 billion, compared to $2.13 billion for the nine-month period ended December 31, 2024. 

Administration expenses declined by 6%, closing at $1.11 billion (2024: $1.18 billion), while selling expenses decreased by 14%, moving from $784.02 million in 2024 to $674.97 million for the review period. Total expenses for the nine months ended December 31, 2025, amounted to $2.40 billion, a 6% reduction relative to $2.57 billion reported in 2024.

Finance costs totaled $80.30 million, a 68% increase from $47.80 million in the prior year. The company’s assets totaled $5.51 billion (2024: $6.05 billion). 

The movement in total assets was primarily influenced by a 8% decrease in ‘Fixed assets’ amounting $2.94 billion (2024: $3.13 billion). Shareholders’ equity was $2.88 billion (2024: $3.81 billion), representing a book value per share of $0.95 (2024: $1.26).