BERGER Paints Jamaica Limited has returned to profitability, closing its 2024 financial year with a $105-million net profit.

This marks a $407-million improvement from the $201.8-million loss reported in 2023. The improved performance comes on the back of tighter cost control, product innovation, and expansion into new market segments.

“While driving savings and driving cost reduction, we also have a cost of goods sold reduction of 15 per cent, so our gross profits were up 29 per cent,” Chairman Christian Llanos said at the company’s annual general meeting at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel on Friday.

Playing a role in the overall improvement in its profitability is the company’s entry into the economic paint segment, a market described by General Manager Dwaine Williams as among the fastest-growing by value. Previously absent from this category, the company launched Magicote Flat last year, followed by Magicote Low Sheen, which is available in 36 tintable colours.

“In the last six months, it’s delivered beyond our expectations, and we expect the lengths to stretch a little bit more as we take this across the market,” said Williams.

Berger is also eyeing a new market with the launch of its reflective road marking paint, developed in partnership with the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce.

“We’re the only ones in Jamaica delivering this,” said Williams. “The signs have shown that if we have road markings and they are reflective, it reduces crashes on average by 37 per cent.”

Berger’s move into reflective road marking paint comes at a time of renewed national concern over traffic safety. Over the past four weeks, there has been a sharp uptick in fatal crashes, pushing the number of road deaths to 138 as of last Friday, according to the Island Traffic Authority (ITA). The 138 fatalities stemmed from 124 fatal crashes. Williams noted that the national road network needs material improvement around reflective road markings because the lighting on the nation’s roadways is also poor. The road safety push is part of Berger’s broader effort under Project Spark, aimed at addressing three of the top issues affecting road conditions.

Berger also saw an improvement in its revenue last year, rising 4 per cent to $3.5 billion. In its 2024 annual report, it highlighted growth primarily from the Retail Channel, which rose 15.7 per cent, aided by the opening of the Fairview location and targeted consumer promotions.

Hardware channel sales were up 7.5 per cent, and automotive channel revenue climbed 14 per cent. However, its Projects Channel saw a decline of 12.4 per cent, which the company attributed to poor weather and broader economic headwinds. In 2024, Berger made investments of $23 million in capital improvements, which included $130 million to upgrade its Trowel-On product line at its Spanish Town Road Facility in Kingston. The project included a new plant and warehouse that were unveiled in February of this year. The new facility has expanded Berger Paint’s capacity to produce trowel on up to one million litres.