Ended year with 300% growth in net profits

Real estate developer Stanley Motta is among the pick of the listed companies last year, ending 2020 on a high with net profits up by almost 300 per cent to $832.75 million.

This is coming from $281.29 million in 2019. Most of this profit was made during the December quarter, which saw the growth in profit totaling $684.90 million, up from the $128.18 million posted in 2019. Profit before tax rose to $838.96 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 relative to $285.30 million in 2019.

As for the quarter, profit before tax closed the period at $685.90 million versus $129.06 million in the prior comparable quarter. There was a 10 per cent increase in revenue to total $460.18 million compared to $419.85 million for the same period in 2019.

For the quarter, revenue increased by $9.98 million to $117.04 million in 2020, compared to $107.06 million the previous year.

Stanley Motta attributes its profit and revenue growth to the depreciation of the Jamaican dollar, which moved from an average of J$134.13: US$1 as at December 31, 2019 to J$144.41: US$1 at December 31, 2020.

Revenue for 2021 expected to remain stable

The management of Stanley Motta reports that, “revenue for 2021 is expected to remain stable excluding significant fluctuations in the foreign exchange and property revaluations. The collection of rent in US dollars is expected to continue on a timely basis”.

Administrative expenses registered a marked increase going up to $141.70 million during the period of review, coming from $115.84 million in 2019. For the December quarter, administrative expenses rose by two per cent closing at $34.46 million.

Other operating income for the year totalled $5.43 million while closing the December quarter at $169,000, which translated into operating profit falling to $258.07 million when compared to last period’s $277.13 million.

For the quarter, operating profit closed at $72.53 million relative to an operating profit of $89.95 million in the prior corresponding quarter. Finance costs were slightly up at $43.59 million while revaluation gain on investment property surged to $624.48 million coming from $53.02 million recorded in 2019.

For the quarter, finance cost closed the period at $11.11 million, down from the 2019 amount of $13.91 million while revaluation gain on investment property jumped to $624.48 million coming from $53.02 million in 2019. Total comprehensive income closed the review period at $897.54 million (compared to the 2019 amount of $291.41 million) while, for the quarter, total comprehensive income totalled $673.82 million, jumping from $116.16 million in 2019.

Earning per share (EPS) for the period was up $1.10 coming from $0.37 in 2019. EPS for the quarter amounted to $0.90 (2019: $0.17). 

Balance Sheet at a glance:

As at December 31, 2020, total assets amounted to $5.65 billion, up from $4.86 billion in 2019. The 16 per cent increase in total assets was as a result of the increase in ‘Investment property’ which advanced from $4.78 billion in 2019 to $5.51 billion in 2020.

‘Receivables’ and ‘Cash and cash equivalent’ also reported growth, closing at $50.90 million (2019: $14.03 million) and $61.13 million (2019: $33.71 million), respectively. Shareholders’ Equity of $4.76 billion was reported (2019: $4 billion) which resulted in a book value per share of $6.28 (2019: $5.28)