Durrant Pate/Contributor

Jamaican office furniture suppliers, Stationery & Office Supplies (SOS) Limited continues its record-breaking performance into its second quarter ended June 30, 2022.

After a record-breaking first quarter in 2022, SOS was able to follow this up in the June second quarter with its second-best quarter in the 57-year history of the company. During the quarter under review, SOS completed the delivery and installation of a new 200-plus-seat call centre as well as other projects.

The scope of work that was completed during the quarter included industrial racking projects, mobile filing systems, and several new office installations. The majority of these projects were supplied and installed from the company’s everyday inventory, which is important, as shipping timelines for products being delivered to Jamaica are still very unreliable, taking up to as long as 24 weeks to arrive.

Sales of regular SEEK products for the second quarter increased significantly year on year. However, with the addition of the new products, which were produced for the first time during the month of June using the new machinery which was purchased.

SEEK sales more than doubled

Total SEEK sales more than doubled compared to the same period of the previous year. This showed that there is a need and demand for these new products. Please see below the comparative results for the second quarter of 2022 compared to 2021.

For the first six months of 2022, SOS experienced continued growth over the same period in 2021. All comparative numbers are up in 2022.

The pre-tax profit has risen by over 170 per cent year-on-year from $58.4 million to $173.6 million, as SOS strongly recovers from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The $173.6 million in net profit earned in the first two quarters of this year exceeds the highest total profit for a full-year period that SOS has ever experienced in its 57-year history.

Gross profit decreased by 3.5 per cent due to larger projects and installations with lower gross margins in 2022 as the economy recovers from COVID. SOS has been able to adjust to the ever-changing market place and this is a significant reason why we have been able to continue to be profitable in an unpredictable economy.

At the end of the second quarter, SOS increased its total assets year on year by 20 per cent ($889.5 million – $1.08 billion). Current assets increased significantly including ‘Bank and Cash’ rising by 30 per cent, and receivables and prepayments increasing by 133 per cent.

Earnings per share at the end of the second quarter for 2022 was $.70, an increase of $.47 compared to $.23 at the end of the second quarter of 2021.