KEY POINTS:

Jamaica Broilers Group has delayed its audited results past the deadline due to complex material accounting errors, specifically concerning inventories and biological assets at its US operations.

Despite the audit issues, the company’s unaudited provisional results for the current quarter show strong operational health, with revenue of 26.01 billion dollars and a pre-tax profit of 1.724 billion dollars.

A segmental analysis reveals the company’s profitability remains highly dependent on its Jamaican operations, which contributed 65 per cent of the total operating profit.

JAMAICA Broilers Group Limited (JBG) has released a provisional performance report for the first quarter of its 2025/2026 financial year, showing strong unaudited revenue of $26.01 billion. This update comes as the company continues to navigate a significant delay in finalising its audited financial statements for the prior year due to complex accounting issues at its US operations.

In a notice to the market, the company’s management advised that the audited financial statements for the year ended May 3, 2025 will now be submitted on or before Tuesday, September 30, 2025, well past the original July 2 deadline. This further delay is attributed to the engagement of new auditors for its US subsidiary and an “ongoing complex review and audit exercise” in that jurisdiction.

The gravity of the US audit issues was underscored by Group President & CEO Christopher Levy in his message to shareholders contained in the provisional report. He revealed that the audit of the Jamaican operations is complete, but the consolidated results are on hold pending the resolution of “material prior period errors” related to US balance sheet items, specifically inventories and biological assets.

“This balance sheet adjustment in the US could be significant and very material to our consolidated results,” Levy stated, noting it is under “detailed scrutiny” by the auditors.

These issues, first identified in the third quarter with the market formally notified on June 2, involve material prior period errors and unsubstantiated accounting methodologies. The company anticipates a material negative impact on historical US profitability and consolidated retained earnings but has assured stakeholders that management is taking active steps with advisors to address the operational and financial control deficiencies.

To maintain transparency during this period, JBG has committed to releasing monthly provisional reports. The unaudited figures for the three months ended August 2, 2025 indicate the company is performing well operationally.

Despite the audit delays, the company’s provisional results revealed a strong operational performance, with revenue hitting $26.01 billion. This generated a gross profit of $5.998 billion, reflecting a healthy margin of 23.1 per cent. The company also reported an operating profit of $2.629 billion and a profit before tax of $1.724 billion for the period.

A segmental breakdown shows the Jamaica operations generated the vast majority of the operating profit, at 2.128 billion dollars or 65 per cent of the total. This was followed by the US operations, which contributed 619 million dollars or 19 per cent, and the other Caribbean operations, which accounted for 544 million dollars or 16 per cent.

The company emphasised that all provisional figures are preliminary and subject to change upon the completion of the full audit. Levy concluded his message by reaffirming JBG’s commitment to dialogue with regulators and shareholders, stating, “We continue to trust the Lord as he leads us through this season.”

Investors and stakeholders are now awaiting the completion of the US audit, which will determine the final, official figures for both the past and current financial periods. Jamaica Broilers shares are down 30.24 per cent since the start of the year and have traded in a band of $23.50 to $42.31 over the last 52 weeks. The price at the close of trading on Tuesday was $25.06.

Jamaica Broilers posts strong $26-b quarterly revenue despite ongoing US audit delays.