Sygnus Credit Investments Limited (SCI) unveiled its best-ever financial performance for the second quarter of 2023, ending December 31.

The company revealed unprecedented net profits, amounting to US$1.53 million, demonstrating a remarkable 24.6 per cent increase from the previous year’s figures. This milestone was bolstered by record total investment income, dividends amounting to US$1.60 million disbursed to shareholders, and a record capital raise.

The surge in profits can be attributed to several key factors, notably the record net interest income which soared to US$2.18 million, marking a substantial 21.3 per cent increase over the previous year.

This growth was propelled by SCI’s robust portfolio of private credit investments, which reached an unprecedented US$156.29 million, and a surge in participation and commitment fees, skyrocketing by 14-fold to US$210,600. Moreover, total investment income surged by 10.5 per cent, reaching an all-time high of US$2.50 million.

SCI’s subsidiary in Puerto Rico, Acrecent Financial Corporation (AFC), mirrored this success with its record-breaking performance during the second quarter. AFC reported record net profits and achieved new milestones in origination and deployment, solidifying SCI’s foothold in the region. Notably, SCI increased its majority stake in the Puerto Rican business to 95.6 per cent, investing an additional US$3 million to foster its growth and expansion.

Despite its second-quarter results, SCI faced a slight dip in net profits and total investment income for the six months ending in 2023. This was attributed to lower figures reported during the first quarter, primarily due to adverse market movements affecting the valuation of SCI’s Puerto Rican investment. As a result, net profit for the six months amounted to US$2.28 million, down by 20.3 per cent, with total investment income at US$4.15 million, reflecting an 8.6 per cent decrease compared to the previous year.

SCI declared a dividend of US$1.55 million during a Board of Directors’ meeting held on last Friday, February 16. Shareholders can anticipate receiving these dividends on April 5, bringing the total dividends paid and declared since SCI’s initial public offering in October 2018 to an impressive US$13.5 million.

During the second quarter of 2023, SCI launched a dual-currency redeemable cumulative preference share offer, aiming to raise US$20 million and J$800 million respectively. The overwhelming response led to oversubscription by 101.6 per cent, resulting in an upsized capital raise of US$50.37 million equivalent, a record-breaking achievement for the group.

Moreover, SCI’s credit ratings were reaffirmed by CariCRIS, maintaining a stable outlook on both the regional and Jamaica national scale, further solidifying the company’s position in the market.

With a relentless pursuit of excellence and a commitment to strategic growth initiatives, SCI continues to set new standards in the financial landscape, further cementing its reputation as a leader in the industry.

Jason Morris, executive vice president and chief investment officer at Sygnus Capital said, “We are really pleased about the depth of the growth SCI showed during the second quarter, with record topline performance in net interest income, fee income and total investment income, topped off by record net profits, record origination and deployment, particularly in the Puerto Rico business and of course the really strong capital raise of US$50.4 million.”

“SCI’s entire platform had over US$250M in total assets and over US$50M in undrawn commitments at the end of the second quarter. This type of scale to fund private credit transactions sets up the Group to start the third quarter on a strong footing, with regard to net interest income and fee income, particularly from underwriting and syndicating deals. We are also very excited about SCI’s pending impact investment strategy which is being finalized, as we seek to measure and report on the positive non-financial returns that SCI’s capital is generating for stakeholders,” he continued.