Following two years of turbulence caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic, Express Catering Limited (ECL) is finding its footing as its revenues and net profit begin to return to normal.

The company for the third quarter (December – February) saw its revenue rise by 223 per cent to US$3.48 million ($541.51 million) which was complemented by a 197 per cent rise in total passenger traffic to 883,400 passengers at the Sangster International Airport (SIA). Despite administrative expenses rising to US$989,608, the company was able to eke out a net profit of US$120,249 ($18.71 million) relative to the net loss of US$786,283 in the 2021 third quarter.

However, the numbers still pale in comparison to the revenue of US$5.10 million ($698.09 million) and net profit of US$1.12 million ($153.20 million) earned in the 2020 third quarter where 1,321,900 passengers passed through SIA. ECL operates the various food and beverage offerings at the Sangster International Airport (SIA) in Montego Bay, St James. These include international franchises such as Quiznos Subs, American Dairy Queen (DQ Grill and Chill), Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, Cinnabon along with local brands including Jamaican Bobsled Café, Tastee and Viva Gourmet Market.

“While the world is not yet free of the COVID-19 virus, most countries have reduced the range and number of COVID-19 protocols, with some eliminating them totally. In Jamaica, social gatherings are allowed with reduced restrictions and curtailment of opening hours for businesses has ceased. We are very encouraged by the continuous increase over prior year totals, even though the Omicron variant did impact the recovery momentum in January and February of 2022,” stated ECL Chief Executive Officer Ian Dear in the shareholders report.

ECL’s nine-month revenue totalled US$9.61 million ($1.50 billion) and achieved a net profit of US$364,507 which was due to higher input costs arising from logistical challenges plus higher utility costs. During this period, ECL spent US$838,327 on construction work for the expanded post-security food and beverage lounge with US$617,000 spent during the third quarter alone. This will see some of the new concepts such as Bento, Freshens and Bob Marley’s One Love Café opening last month. The total number of stores operated by ECL should grow from 24 to 31 by the end of 2022.

Total assets for ECL increased to US$40.07 million ($6.24 billion) with cash decreasing from US$424,365 at the end of May 2021 to US$124,903 as ECL spent its positive operating cash flow of US$1.28 million on capital expenditure and lease payments. Current assets are up by 17 per cent to US$10.19 million. Total liabilities and shareholders equity closed the period at US$37.47 million and US$2.61 million, respectively.

With the country reopening, various top-10 shareholders have increased their exposure to ECL. Sagicor’s pooled equity fund and Sigma Equity unit trust each purchased 10,500,000 units each at $4.75 each from Margaritaville St Lucia Limited during the quarter. Even JMMB Securities Limited joined the top-10 list with a stake of 8,479,065 with the number of shareholders rising 1,888 to 1,985.

Following the publication of the quarterly report, ECL’s stock price rallied by 9.27 per cent to $6.48 which included a halt during the day and a high of $6.98. The stock remains up 27 per cent year to date with a market capitalisation of $10.60 billion.

March’s passenger traffic data put out by Grupo Aeropuerto Del Pacifico (Pacific Airport Group) showed a 198 per cent year over year increase to 385,700 passengers, but down 22 per cent from the 491,800 passengers in March 2019. Passenger traffic at the Norman Manley International Airport rose by 168 per cent to 98,400 passengers for March. With ECL’s financial year ending on May 31, the company will face 50 per cent of its normal tax rate as five years would have passed since listing on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on July 21, 2017.

“This past March, which traditionally is the month with the higher number of stopover visitors, gave us a favourable reflection of the past. The consensus is that the easing of the COVID-19 restrictions has certainly contributed to the recovery effort, which is in full gear. The outlook from all the major tourism stakeholders is for continued recovery for the rest of calendar 2022, with the expectation that, by the close of the year, we will be back to pre-COVID-19 travel numbers,” Dear closed.