TO further drive performance this financial year, regional financial conglomerate JMMB Group is pushing the use of a smart growth strategy to counter volatilities within the macroeconomic environment as it moves to increase value across its businesses.

The diversified entity, which also has operations in Trinidad and the Dominican Republic, said that through the strategy centred on revenue diversification, stronger capital management, and the growing of core activities in key business lines, it will be working to deliver stronger returns for shareholders.

“This involves a shift to the utilisation of less capital, a greater focus on off-balance sheet funds and deriving core revenue from foreign exchange gains, capital markets and the banking business line. The build-out of this strategy is also expected to bolster the group’s financial performance while adding shareholder value and improving client experience,” group Chief Executive Officer Keith Duncan told the Jamaica Observer.

The company said that having been able to withstand global tensions and the associated rising prices, supply chain challenges among other instability worldwide, it will continue to drive growth from core operations through the strategy even as it extracts gains from the operating territories as they rebound and grow at a much faster pace.

Pleased with the results for its first quarter ended June, the group, which marginally increased revenues to $2.9 billion and profits to $1.9 billion, noted that the quarter’s performance was largely driven by improved results of key business lines in Trinidad and Tobago as well as commendable return from it Sagicor Financial Company (SFC) subsidiary. Its Dom Rep business also contributed more than 25 per cent of operating revenues or $1.6 billion. The recent acquisition of Banco Múltiple Bell Bank in Dom Rep will further bolster contributions from this operation, providing it with opportunities to tap a full range of investment management services, pension funds management and commercial banking services.

With the use of a three-pronged approach which focuses on new products and income streams, greater digital experiences and inorganic growth, the company further hopes to extract the best results from the smart strategy.

The introduction of point-of-sale and e-commerce solutions, increased business diversification, the onboarding of more digital and niche market payment solutions as well as the deepening of its regional footprint are touted among the prime areas of focus which are being targeted to increase growth from executing the strategy this financial year.

Having also significantly expanded its digital capabilities, the financial group said its card transactions were now above 60 per cent for the local operation and 40 per cent in Trinidad.

“Payments are expected to become an increasingly important part of our clients’ journey and facilitating this is key to plans of enabling a full digital journey by FY 2024/25,” the company also said in response to queries from the Caribbean Business Report.

At the end of the June first quarter the company’s asset base grew two per cent to total $625 billion. Part of this growth was owed in part to increases in multilateral funding and repos. The additional tranche of funding was received from IDB Invest — a member of the Inter-American Development Bank Group. Some of the funds, the directors said, are “earmarked for the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) segment and will improve the capacity of the JMMB Bank (JA) to continue building its SME solutions suite.”