Following a recent adjustment in top level management, food and financial conglomerate GraceKennedy Limited (GK) is looking to close out the year on a positive note as revenue and profit for the company continues to move upwards, settling at $126.4 billion and $7.1 billion at the end of the September nine-month period.

“As we continue our journey towards becoming the number one Caribbean brand globally by 2030, GraceKennedy’s strong nine-month performance is a testament to the steadfast dedication of our exceptional team. Their tireless efforts and innovative spirit have been instrumental in driving our growth and success. I am confident that our growth initiatives will continue to bear fruit as we look towards closing the year on a positive note,” GK Group CFO Andrew Messado said in a recent report to shareholders.

Messado, who has been recently tasked with managing the day-to-day operations of the company, is expected to further lead the 102-year-old conglomerate in achieving its growth objectives as he seamlessly continues the work of Group CEO Don Wehby who is on break for personal health reasons and currently remains involved only at a strategic level.

In early October Wehby proceeded on a temporary leave of absence with expectations to resume full duties sometime in the near future. He also last week relinquished his duty as a government senator with immediate effect, after serving in that capacity for the last eight years.

As a large consumer group with multiple operations in and outside of Jamaica, the GK Group remains bullish on unlocking greater growth from its 2030 vision strategic objectives through which it seeks to earn more than 70 per cent of its earnings beyond local borders as it also reorganises its balance sheet to list its food business on an overseas market during the period.

GK’s food business, which continues to dominate group earnings, has for the January to September nine-month period delivered $99.6 billion or the largest chunk of total revenues — 8.1 per cent above that for similar period in 2023.

“Our Jamaican food distribution arm achieved commendable results, arising from the performance of Grace Foods and Services (GFS), Consumer Brands Limited (CBL), and World Brand Services (WBS), which all reported strong growth in revenue and profit before tax (PBT). Robust margin management, promotions, and cost-saving initiatives across these businesses contributed to this positive performance,” the report noted.

Over the reporting period the group’s insurance business, which accounted for the second-largest portion of sales, raked in $13.5 billion, followed by $8.1 billion in out-turns from the banking and investment division, and $6.5 billion from money services. This, while total assets grew to $234 billion.

“Following on the positive results, a dividend of $0.75 per stock unit has been declared, payable on December 16, 2024 (totalling approximately $743 million). This is the fourth interim payment for 2024 and brings the year-to-date total dividend payout to approximately $2.3 billion,” Messado said.

After almost a year of activity under its share-buy-back programme in which it repurchased up to one per cent of company shares in issue as it attempted to maximise shareholder value, the company is looking to close on this at the end of this month. As at November 5, 2024 the company in a market update said it has repurchased approximately 5.2 million of the almost 10 million shares it expects to reclaim.

“The repurchase of shares is being conducted on the open market through our stock brokers in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago using cash reserves. The share buy-back continues to generate strong interest with participation from shareholders on both stock exchanges. We believe that investing in our own company is a good use of capital for long-term returns,” the report to shareholders also said.