Mayberry Jamaican Equities Limited (MJE) is now profiting from the gradual return of investor confidence in the Jamaican equities market, which suffered a hit due to the economic fallout caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

In the wake of the gradual return of investor confidence and the continued favourable performance of strategic stocks in MJE’s portfolios, both the Jamaican and US dollar portfolios were profitable during the just-ended September quarter. However, there was a marginal decline in profitability for the quarter under review.

For the Jamaican dollar portfolio, MJE reported a net profit of $78.1 million for the review quarter, in comparison to $87 million for the same period of the prior year. This performance mainly resulted from increased realised foreign exchange gains of $31.2 million and dividend income of approximately $48.7 million.

Regarding the US dollar portfolio, MJE reported a net profit of US$611,000 compared to US$721,000 in the prior year. This performance mainly resulted from increased realised foreign exchange gains of US$207,000 and dividend income of approximately US$373,000.

In addition, total operating expenses were lower by US$7,000 resulting mainly from reduced computer expenses. This resulted in an earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.0005 compared to US$0.0006 in 2020.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the company recorded improved profitability of US$3.9 million, in contrast to a net loss of US$7.5 million for the corresponding nine-month period in 2020.

Total operating expenses for the Jamaican dollar portfolio were lower by $2.2 million, resulting mainly from reduced computer expenses. This resulted in an EPS of $0.06, while that for 2020 was $0.07.

Total operating expenses for the US dollar portfolio totalled US$303,000 for the third quarter, reflecting a decline of US$7,000 when compared to third quarter of 2020. This reduction was mainly attributable to cost improvements for computer fees.

For the nine months to September 2021, MJE recorded total operating expenses of US$838,000 compared to US$672,000 for the corresponding period in the prior year. This was attributed to increased management fees following the improvement in net asset value under management.

Decline in net revenues on the US portfolio

Net revenues generated for July to September 2021 was US$915,000, reflecting a marginal decline of US$117,000 over the corresponding quarter in 2020. This performance resulted from reduced unrealised gains on investments.

For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, the company reported net revenues of US$4.7 million, an increase of 169 per cent over the corresponding period in 2020.