UNFORTUNATELY, intense focus on the very close local government elections last week overshadowed media coverage of GraceKennedy’s impressive economic performance reported in its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2023.

The company told its shareholdres and the wider Jamaica that it “achieved a significant milestone during the period, exceeding the US$1-billion revenue mark”. That achievement, it said, demonstrated progress towards its 2030 vision of becoming a US$2.1-billion company.

In 2023 GraceKennedy achieved revenue of $155 billion, up by 9.5 per cent compared to 2022; profit before other income increased by $1.1 billion to $7.5 billion, representing a 17.9 per cent increase; profit before tax reached $11.4 billion, up 11.0 per cent; and profit after tax totalled $8.4 billion, a 10 per cent increase.

Additionally, the company reported net profit attributable to stockholders of $7.8 billion, reflecting a 10.4 per cent increase, and earnings per stock unit stood at $7.86 compared to $7.11 in 2022.

As we said, a most impressive performance.

Not that we expected anything less from GraceKennedy, as this company is one of the shining jewels in Jamaica’s crown and has been raising the bar on quality, innovation, and service for the past 100 years.

Undeniably the company, referred to by Jamaicans as simply Grace, has become a household name and is a highly respected brand here as well as in overseas markets where its products are available.

We recall very well Group CEO Mr Don Wehby’s declaration in 2012 that the company had set its sights on becoming a global consumer brand, earning half of its profit from outside Jamaica.

Mr Wehby and his team told us at the time that the plan was for the Jamaican conglomerate to have its renowned Grace brand sold on three continents as it forms strategic alliances with international partners.

Today, those products are in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, India, Africa, and Belize.

“Our focus going forward, with the global consumer group, is to expand food outside of the region and financial services within the region,” Mr Wehby had said at the time.

Since then we have observed happily the growth and expansion of this Jamaican company which has also demonstrated its commitment to Jamaica’s development in a range of areas — environmental protection and preservation, education, health care, sport at the national and school levels, community development, and agriculture, to name a few.

Last week, in a news release, Mr Wehby said the company’s strong performance in 2023 “is a testament to our team’s commitment to executing our strategy, as we work to achieve our vision of becoming the number one Caribbean brand in the world by 2030”.

The group, he said, made significant strides towards that vision last year, improving operational efficiency and executing its mergers and acquisition strategy effectively.

The vision articulated by the company, combined with its operational efficiency, represents the kind of big thinking that we have advocated in this space.

There are other local companies that are at this level and our hope is that more will join them.

These firms demonstrate our capacity to achieve at the highest level, and signal our refusal to accept the belief by some that we are inferior, or mediocre.