Shareholders net profit slumped to $646 million, down from $971 million last year

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Leading local food and consumer items distributor, Wisynco, has been saved in the March third quarter by a marked increase in export earnings.

While revenues fell below expectations for the March quarter, export revenues have been growing, and on a year-to-date (YTD) basis are up 34.7%. This comes as the William and Andrew Mahfood-led board and management team continue to focus on revenue growth in export markets. 

Gross margin, which is a profitability metric showing the percentage of revenue retained after subtracting direct costs, closed the quarter at 31.6%, which is 120 basis points (bps) lower than the 32.8% for the same quarter last year. The decline in gross margin, which is a measure of how efficiently a company produces goods or services, is attributed primarily to the lower absorption of greater fixed costs related to production, especially in the month of February. 

Negative impact on Q3

Total revenues for the quarter are up 12.6% to $15.5 billion, surpassing last year’s $13.7 billion achieved, notwithstanding the temporary closure of many of the hotels and restaurants due to the Melissa impact. The March quarter started off meeting expectations in January 2026 but the unseasonably cold and wet weather in February impacted Q3 negatively. 

Selling, Distribution & Administrative expenses (SD&A) for the quarter totaled $4.0 billion or 16.1% more than the $3.5 billion for the corresponding quarter of the prior year. SD&A expense to sales ratio was 26.0% for the quarter, compared to 25.2% in the prior year or 80 bps greater. 

The increase was primarily attributable to higher marketing and operating expenses related to investments in the innovation of new brands/products as well as lower revenues in February, as stated above. Additionally, finance costs increased due to additional debt resulting from the optimisation of our capital structure as well as the revaluation of the Jamaican dollar to its US$ counterpart, resulting in a loss on exchange on the revaluation of Wisynco’s US$ balances. 

Pre-tax profit dived by 32%

Profit before Taxation for the quarter amounted to $791 million, or 34.2% lower than the $1.2 billion of the comparative quarter for the prior year. Net profits attributable to shareholders closed the quarter on $646 million, down from the $971 million booked last year, representing 17 cents per stock unit for the quarter, down from 26 cents for the same quarter last year.

For the combined three quarters, the business has earned $3.6 billion in net profit, which is 4.3% greater year over year. Due to greater non-cash related expenses vs last year, primarily depreciation $597 million in Q3 ($424 million in 2025), stemming from the various plant expansions. 

Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation (EBITDA), which is a measure of profitability, closed on $6.6 billion and year-to-date is up 18.3% year on year. From a balance sheet perspective, the business ended the quarter with $10.8 billion of cash and investment securities and a strong working capital ratio of 2.6.