Sterling Investment Limited (SIL) on Wednesday posted a net profit of $74.41 million for the six-month period ended June 30, 2020. This represents a 30.25 per cent increase over the previous corresponding period.

The investment holding company, which is managed by Sterling Asset Management, for the period under review, recorded a net interest income of $52.29 million, a 32 per cent increase when compared with the $39.51 million recorded in the previous corresponding period. This is due to a decline in interest expense and growth in the size of the portfolio.

SIL invests in fixed income and equity investments across the globe.

Other operating expenses for the six-month period totalled $17.90 million, a small decline when compared with the $18.04 million expenses recorded for the corresponding period in 2019.

Total revenue for the period under review driven by higher interest income and unrealised foreign exchange gains totalled $131.32 million, an increase when compared with the $76.78 million recorded in the previous corresponding period.

Unrealised foreign exchange gains for the six months amounted to $64.29 million, an increase when compared with the $28.84 million recorded for the corresponding period in 2019.

The Jamaican dollar depreciated against the US dollar by $7.44 or 5.61 per cent for the six-month period, relative to the corresponding period in 2019 when it depreciated by $3.35 or 2.62 per cent.

“SIL is uniquely poised to grow amidst the market uncertainty. The company’s strength lies in its portfolio which holds mostly US denominated global bonds, which provide steady interest income with a high net interest margin. The lowered market interest rates continue to benefit bonds, which in turn have reduced margin costs and increase the value of the SIL’s portfolio,” the company stated in its report to shareholders.

Total assets for the period under review amounted to $1.67 billion, an increase of 11.8 per cent from the $1.49 billion recorded for the corresponding period in 2019.

As at the period under review, earnings per share stood at $0.20, up from the $0.16 recorded in the corresponding period in 2019.