Principals of Mayberry Group Limited have bought direct stakes into Dolla Financial Services Limited whose consolidated loan book surpassed $4 billion at the end of 2024.

According to Dolla’s unaudited fourth quarter report released Monday, PWL Bamboo Holdings Limited, VDWSD Limited and KMB Holdings Inc all bought 23 million shares each in Dolla last quarter. These shares were purchased at $3.32 per share from FRPE SPV One Limited which sold 75 million shares on November 11 for a consideration of $249 million.

PWL Bamboo Holdings Limited is the holding company for Mayberry Group Executive Chairman Christopher Berry while VDWSD is a holding company in which Gary Peart is a shareholder. Peart is the CEO of Mayberry Group. This is confirmed by the shareholder list of Supreme Ventures Limited which has both listed as connected parties. While KMB Holdings Inc’s owner isn’t clearly known, it’s a top 10 shareholder in Mayberry Jamaican Equities Limited (MJE) where Konrad Mark Berry serves as vice chairman.

That purchase comes at a time when Mayberry Group companies have been increasing their positions in Dolla over the last two years. Widebase Limited currently owns 350 million shares or 14 per cent of the microcredit company while MJE owns over 289 million shares or 11.56 per cent of Dolla at the end of 2024. Supreme Ventures Limited, a publicly listed company in which Gary Peart is the executive chairman, owns 375 million shares or 15 per cent of Dolla.

All of these moves come at a time when Dolla has been on a rapid expansionary push. The company was able to grow interest income by 37 per cent from $319.90 million to $437.61 million in the fourth quarter (October to December). Despite the near doubling of interest expense and a 27 per cent jump in administrative expenses, Dolla’s profit before tax (PBT) remained flat at $114.98 million with net profit rising 12 per cent when compared to the $102.58 million in Q4 2023.

For the overall 2024 financial year (FY), Dolla’s interest income grew 31 per cent to $1.53 billion which is the highest it earned in interest on loans. Even with higher interest expenses and expected credit losses, Dolla’s total net interest income and other revenue rose 21 per cent to $1.19 billion. However, Dolla’s administrative expenses jumped 32 per cent to $707.19 million which resulted in PBT increasing by nine per cent to $482.08 million. Net profit was eight per cent higher at $452.56 million with earnings per share at $0.18.

Dolla’s loan book saw a net loan disbursement of $734.05 million in the fourth quarter which is attributed to successful sales initiatives and recent $1.9-billion bond offering which closed in December. This resulted in the company’s net loan book improving from $2.45 billion in 2023 and from $750.50 million in 2021.

However, Dolla’s non-performing loan ratio rose from 8.2 per cent to 9.9 per cent at the end of 2024. Dollas NPL ratio was 6.5 per cent in 2022. Its expected credit loss ratio has improved from 4.1 per cent in 2022 to 2.6 per cent in 2024.

“In Q4 2024, Dolla executed key strategic initiatives to enhance customer engagement and drive business growth. The One N Ready, Two N Drive Loan promotion, included a limited time offer of up to 100 per cent financing which ended in October 2024. The Christmas Payment Holiday campaign, introduced on November 1, allowed borrowers to defer loan payments until January 2025, providing financial relief during the holiday season. Additionally, Dolla capitalised on seasonal spending trends by launching a Black Friday & Cyber Monday promotion, offering a limited-time 20% discount on processing fees,” Dolla stated in its quarterly report.

Dolla is one of three listed companies on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) with its sole focus on microfinance. There are currently 69 licensed microcredit companies according to the Bank of Jamaica’s (BOJ) most recent list. Fifteen entities have told the BOJ that they were departing the microcredit industry according to an Our Today article. Mundo Finance Limited, a former associate of NCB Capital Markets Limited, ceased operations in November 2023 and is being wound up.

Dolla is currently looking at the possibility of listing its subsidiary Ultra Financier Limited on the JSE. Ultra Financier is Dolla’s private credit subsidiary which focuses on lending to high-net-worth individuals. If it were to wait on the amendment to the Junior Market threshold, it could raise up to $740 million versus $490 million under the current law. Dolla (Guyana) Inc should complete its winding up by the end of June.

Dolla’s consolidated total assets improved 53 per cent from $2.99 billion to $4.58 billion with cash and cash equivalents at $355.29 million. Total liabilities increased 71 per cent to $3.43 billion with loans payable at $3.22 billion while shareholders equity closed the period at $1.15 billion.

Chad Wynter resigned as head of legal governance and compliance and Dolla’s nominated officer on January 31. Newly appointed legal head Kyla Clarke has been appointed as Dolla’s nominated officer subject to the BOJ fit and proper assessment.

Despite Dolla’s strong fourth quarter, the company’s stock price declined two per cent on Tuesday to $2.84 with an intraday low of $2.80. This left the company’s stock price down six per cent in 2025 with a market capitalisation of $7.09 billion. The company’s recently issued bond has not been listed on the JSE Bond Market.

Dolla declared an interim dividend of $0.012 totalling $30 million to be paid on April 11 to shareholders on record as of March 28. Dolla paid $0.107 in dividends totalling $267.50 million in 2024. Dolla’s audited financials should be released by March 30.