Over the past 15 years, companies listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s Junior Market have transformed the landscape for small investors, collectively distributing more than $24.43 billion in dividends and delivering both steady income and remarkable capital growth—even as market volatility and shifting fortunes have tested the resolve of shareholders.

Dividends are the most direct way for an investor to earn a return on their investment, providing regular cash payments from company profits. In addition to dividends, investors can also benefit from capital gains, which occur when the value of a company’s stock increases and the shares are sold at a higher price than they were purchased. This appreciation in share price allows investors to realize a profit, making capital gains another important component of overall investment returns.

Some 41 out of the 56 companies that have listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s (JSE) Junior Market since its inception have paid at least one dividend to its shareholders after listing. Whilst six companies have graduated to the Main Market and two were delisted from the JSE, 48 companies remain on the Junior Market.

Junior Market companies paid $2.39 billion in dividends during 2024, with Dolphin Cove Limited (DCOVE) paying the most in nominal dividends of $470.91 million or $1.20 per share. The 10 companies that paid the most in nominal dividend amounts during 2024 amounted to $1.83 billion or three of every four dividends paid out by the 48 companies that were listed on the market at the time.

Dolphin Cove also reigns supreme amongst all the Junior Market companies as it has paid out $3.68 billion in dividends to its investors since listing in December 2010. That translates to $9.37 in dividends paid since listing, or more than three times the $3 listing price. Lasco Distributors Limited (LASD), Lasco Manufacturing Limited (LASM), and General Accident Insurance Company Jamaica Limited (GENAC) have all graduated to the Main Market but paid out the second-, third- and fifth-largest amounts to its shareholders while they were on the Junior Market.

The best year for dividend payments to shareholders was during 2023 when $3.36 billion in dividends was paid to investors, with Dolphin Cove leading the way with $627.88 million paid in 2023. That year represented the first time the JSE Junior Market Index surpassed 4,000 points since the first listing in October 2009.

Junior Market companies have paid more than $24 billion in dividends since 2009.

Most companies on the Junior Market pay their dividends annually, with Access Financial Services Limited (AFS) being the only company to consider quarterly dividends. The frequency of dividend payments is subject to numerous factors which include the need for reinvestment and the availability of capital to fund different projects. The recent decline in the performance of several Junior Market companies’ earnings performance has seen only 20 out of 48 companies declaring dividends over the last year. Jamaican Teas Limited (JAMT) and Stationery and Office Supplies Limited (SOS) are set to consider dividends to their shareholders in the coming weeks.

“FESCO advises that its board of directors has not made any decision to delay or suspend dividends for any period. In accordance with its dividend policy, FESCO’s decision to declare a dividend in any year is subject to the need for reinvestment,” Future Energy Source Company Limited (FESCO) stated last October regarding its stance on dividends.

There are 14 companies on the Junior Market that have yet to declare a dividend since listing, with 20 companies currently trading below their listing price. That is a double whammy for some investors who would be down on their investments to varying degrees from a nominal and real return basis, after accounting for inflation.

However, AFS, Dolphin Cove, Lasco Financial Services Limited, Honey Bun (1982) Limited (HONBUN) and Caribbean Flavours & Fragrances Limited (CFF) have repaid investors who bought, at listing, more in dividends than the company’s initial listing price. Those companies’ share prices have also grown by more than 400 per cent since listing, to deliver an even better return for some original investors.

The average dividend yield amongst the 20 Junior Market companies that have paid a dividend in the last year is 3.16 per cent. Fontana, Dolphin Cove, AMG Packaging and Paper Company Limited, and the Limners and Bards Limited (LAB) currently boast dividend yields above four per cent, with Indies Pharma Jamaica Limited at 3.88 per cent and CFF at 3.76 per cent. Express Catering Limited (ECL) is the only company that pays its dividends in United States dollars (USD).

The Junior Market Index is currently down 11.57 per cent to 3,403.06 points in 2025, with the overall market worth more than $130 billion. FosRich Company Limited and Fontana Limited are the only two companies with market capitalisations above $10 billion. The JSE’s June 2025 monthly statistics revealed that 31 securities were down, 14 up, and two firm for the first half of 2025.

The JSE is currently awaiting approval from the Financial Services Commission (FSC) for rule changes regarding the $750-million share capital limit and short selling. This was revealed by JSE Managing Director Marlene Street Forrest at the June 25 annual general meeting (AGM).

Dividends paid by Junior Market companies between 2010 to 2025. Only the first six months of data is covered for 2025.

The nominal value of dividends paid by Junior Market companies to date.

Dividends paid by Junior Market companies during 2024.

The market capitalisation of the top ten Junior Market companies on July 11, 2025.