Key Points:

FosRich Company is boosting its solar division growth through new strategic partnerships and the National Housing Trust’s Smart Energy Grant Programme, which supports renewable energy upgrades for pensioners; solar sales are expected to more than double by the end of 2025.

Despite a 17 per cent revenue decline and an 85 per cent profit drop in 2024, FosRich sees growth potential in solar projects, PVC manufacturing, and construction supply, with increased sales in parishes like Clarendon driven by large-scale projects.

The company is completing a new superstore and corporate offices at Molynes Road and has paused plans for US market entry to focus on regaining momentum domestically, expecting better performance in the last quarters of 2025.

After posting weaker earnings in its 2024 financial year, lighting and electrical supplies distributor FosRich Company Limited is turning to its fast-growing solar division to reignite sales—driven by new strategic partnerships and an increase in the demand for renewable energy solutions.

The company’s solar business is expected to receive a major boost from its involvement in the National Housing Trust’s (NHT) Smart Energy Grant Programme, which Managing Director Cecil Foster believes will have a significant impact on growth.

Launched last year, the programme offers grants of up to $1.5 million to eligible pensioners to support renewable energy upgrades, including the installation of solar panels and rainwater harvesting systems in their homes.

“Our solar division is well positioned for growth. We are one of the leading companies doing the NHT solar projects for pensioners along with several others. If we can do at least 170 in the first half of the year, we are expecting to double that amount by year end. As a new revenue stream for us—we’re expecting solar to do very well as more people trust and request our services,” Foster said during an interview with the Jamaica Observer at the start of this week.

This latest move by the company builds on its previous efforts to secure financing for customers wanting to purchase solar energy systems.

“For solar projects, at just half year we are now almost 160 per cent above what we did last year,” he also told the Business Observer.

FosRich solar division offering a wide range of renewable energy products, stocks water heaters, flood lamps, power sensors, inverters, photovoltaic (PV) starter kits, battery controllers, batteries and optimisers among other items.

The company’s latest partnership with global manufacturers and suppliers— JA Solar (for panels) and FOX ESS (for lithium ion batteries, inverters and other products) are further expected to significantly boost sales. As more homes and businesses transition to cleaner and more cost-efficient energy sources, FosRich is positioning itself to capture a larger share of the growing solar market.

“The forging of these partnerships will help us to supply a lot more households with solar this year,” Foster added.

For the 2024 financial year, FosRich recorded revenues of $3.68 billion, representing a 17 per cent decline, while net profit dropped 85 per cent to $34.5 million. Of the total revenue, approximately $2.5 billion or approximately 68 per cent was generated from the company’s seven retail outlets, with the majority coming from its corporate store in Kingston.

A breakdown of parish-level sales revealed relatively flat or declining performance in most parishes compared to the previous year. However, Clarendon stood out, with a more than 40 per cent increase in sales, fueled by several large-scale residential and industrial projects.

“During the year under review, Clarendon also moved up from 7th position to 6th in sales volume, and St Mary moved up from 10th position to 9th. All other parish sales volume positions remained the same as for the prior year,” the company also noted in its recently released annual report.

Looking ahead, Foster said that as construction projects across parishes progress through different stages, the demand for supplies is expected to increase—particularly as the impact of high interest rates begins to ease and the resumption of building activities for new housing starts come back on stream.

“Sometimes these projects start out slow, as in the case of this year but we’ve now see where they have been picking up in this third quarter and we expect it to get better in the fourth quarter, driven by our solar projects and PVC manufacturing –which are areas that remain very strong,” he said.

Following its acquisition of the Bayside Hardware and opening of the Drax Hall outlet in St Ann last year, the company in its quest for growth is looking to complete construction activities for its new superstore & corporate offices located at 76 Molynes Road, which is now slated for completion during the third quarter of this year. Halting plans to enter the US market until further notice, the company at the moment also continues to lose out on potential earnings in what it sees as a lucrative space.

“It has been a tough year, but we’re aiming to close 2025 not worse than last year. We’re slightly behind target, but we’re hoping to regain momentum in the current and upcoming quarter,” Foster said.

FOSTER…For solar projects, at just half-year, we are now almost 160 per cent above what we did last year