Missing the $2-billion revenue mark it had hoped to secure at the end of 2023, Stationery and Office Supplies (SOS) is pushing to achieve that goal this year.

Revenues for the company last year totalled $1.84 billion, falling approximately 4 per cent below the record $1.9 billion secured in 2023 — the highest seen in its near six-decade history which failed to reach the target by almost $65 million. Profit in 2024 dipped 19.8 per cent to total $222.8 million.

“We continue to work hard and to push to get to that target. It’s going to come, if not this year then definitely next year. We do have some expansions on the horizon that will push us right over that mark and we also have the SEEK factory that is being put together right now with new equipment and that will give us a further boost on that side,” SOS Managing director Allan McDaniel told the Jamaica Observer during an interview on Tuesday.

“Additionally, we have some new lines of products coming out so we foresee the $2 billion coming up very shortly,” McDaniel said.

Since its listing in 2017, SOS has experienced remarkable growth. The company’s revenue has surged from just over $700 million to reach almost $2 billion, primarily driven by strong demand for key products like the SEEK notebook and EVOLVE office furniture lines. Additionally, the company has expanded its reach through increased export sales and new distribution deals with global players like 3M and Pilot.

“We are always looking to expand our product portfolio. Some of our team members were in China earlier this year exploring new items that we hope to distribute locally as part of our continued growth,” McDaniel further told the Business Observer.

The SEEK factory is currently undergoing significant upgrades, including the installation of new equipment and expansion of storage space for inventory. This will allow SOS to triple its book production and increase revenue from this segment by more than 50 per cent. The company is also enhancing its sustainability practices, with plans to reduce electricity costs as it adds solar-powered equipment and transitions to electric vehicles.

“As we move forward we will continue to add more environmentally friendly solutions as we can’t do it all at once. As we change out vehicles we will gradually move away from using the regular gas combustion engines to electric-powered vehicles. We’re not only using our own solar photovoltaic (PV) system here but also starting to sell them as well as we look to get some into the market as well and we’ve already sold a few units,” McDaniel said.

At the end of the last financial year SOS increased its total assets by 14 per cent from $1.73 billion at the end of 2023 to $1.96 billion at the end of 2024. The most significant changes were in bank and cash holdings, which grew by 24 per cent; inventory, which rose 20 per cent; and property, plant, and equipment, which increased by nine per cent

“For the year inventory rose by 19 per cent, allowing SOS to supply projects and orders from stock rather than having customers wait on products to be ordered from overseas,” the directors noted in a recent report to shareholders.

In the usual slow-pace fourth quarter period, which only had a 15-day work period during the festive December month, revenues for the company grew by approximately eight per cent to total $437 million, up from $403 million earned for the corresponding period in 2023.

“This was due to the very well received Christmas sale as well as other promotions including a ‘scratch and dent’ sale,” the directors said.

Commenting on the performance of its just concluded first quarter period ended March, McDaniel — without sharing too much ahead of regulatory filings — said the numbers were already looking promising.

“It’s been a promising year so far. We are marching ahead and we have a lot of things in the pipeline for this year that should be quite interesting for SOS as a whole,” he said of the outlook.