The Mayberry Group has continued on its profit-making trajectory in the first quarter of this year, following what the company calls a “significant turnround” in 2021.

The company’s audited financial for the year ended December 31, 2021 shows a 324.5 per cent increase in after-tax profit to $2.1 billion compared to an after-tax loss of $919.8 million for 2020.

That trend continued in the first quarter of 2022 when the group recorded net profit totalling $692 million, a 309 per cent increase when compared to the net loss of $331 million for the same quarter last year.

In its unaudited financial report for the quarter under review, Mayberry disclosed that this performance was attributable mainly to growth in unrealised gains on investments in associates which increased by $1.6 billion or 214 per cent.

Investment in associates went up by $7.3 billion, and investment securities balances came in higher at $1.3 billion. Mayberry said this performance resulted from favourable price movements for local equities held in Mayberry Jamaican Equities (MJE’s) equity investment portfolio.

At the same time, net unrealised gains on investments increased by $1.8 billion to $1.1 billion during 2022 from the group’s investment in associates and financial instruments, reflecting capital appreciation on equities with the year over year increases in market prices as the economy reopened and businesses saw improved financial results from greater economic activity.

However, group fees and commission came in lower than what was recorded in Q1 2021.

Fees and commission income was $90.1 million for January to March 2022 down by 23.4 per cent. Mayberry noted this was attributable to reduced commission selling fees for initial public offering (IPO) transactions, which are queued for later dates in the year.

In the meantime, total operating expenses for the period under review increased by $131.5 million or 41 per cent to $454.1 million when compared to Q1 2021. The company explained that the increase was driven by higher expenditure in employee compensation costs which went up by 31 per cent and other support areas of the business, namely computer expenses, legal and professional fees, sales and marketing and consulting fees.

Notably, the Mayberry Group was able to record a net profit in an economic climate which significantly restricted growth. Lingering novel coronavirus pandemic challenges as well as uncertainties relating to inflation, interest rates and the devaluation of the dollar were all obstacles the group had to overcome to deliver a positive performance during the quarter.