DOLLA Financial Services Limited has decided to extend its $1-billion bond offering considering the disruption caused by Hurricane Melissa.

The company made the announcement on Tuesday when it noted that the closing date was adjusted from November 13 to December 31, subject to the company closing the offer at an earlier date. The prospectus was published on October 15 and officially opened on October 23. The microcredit company is seeking to raise $1 billion across two tranches, with an option to upsize the offer to $1.5 billion.

The bond proceeds are meant to address the recent $570.12-million bond maturity and support its growing loan portfolio. Dolla’s consolidated loan portfolio stood at $1.05 billion in June 2023 when it went public on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE). That portfolio reached $4 billion in December 2024 and spiked another 15 per cent to $4.58 billion by September 30.

That growth focus has been translated into tangible results as the company’s interest income for the nine months period grew 36 per cent to $1.50 billion with net profit rising 28 per cent to $434.77 million. Dolla’s interest income for the 2024 financial year was $1.52 billion with a net profit of $410.57 million.

Although these earnings represent a homerun for shareholders, the company is keeping its outlook into 2026 measured as it addresses the situation of its staff and customers that were affected by the hurricane. The company initially published a statement on the JSE’s website that its current exposure within the areas most affected by the hurricane was six per cent. However, it updated the disclosure to indicate that the current exposure was now four per cent or an estimated $183.20 million.

“We do expect that over the short term, so maybe over the next two to three months, we will see a little slowdown in terms of payments as we assist our customers through moratorium and perhaps, refinancing in some cases to [allow them] get back on their feet,” stated Dolla Chief Executive Officer Kenroy Kerr at a Mayberry Investments briefing on Monday.

Dolla has had to address several challenges during 2025 while it continues to scale the business. The company had to increase its credit loss provisions during the first half of 2025 as it was impacted by fraudulent activity related to impaired loan security documentation. That was equivalent to 3.5 per cent of the company’s loan portfolio or $170 million. The increased credit loss provisioning lowers the earnings of the company.

Dolla has also been challenged by the rise in its non-performing loan ratio which peaked at 12.8 per cent in the June quarter (Q2) before decreasing to 12.5 per cent for the September quarter (Q3). Dolla’s NPL ratio was 9.9 per cent in December 2024 and 6.5 per cent in December 2022.

The company told investors in May that the rise in the NPL ratio was due to two or three significant accounts at Ultra Financier Limited, its private credit or luxury lending subsidiary. Non-performing loans are loans where there has been no principal nor interest payment in more than 90 days while past due loans are loans which have not been paid between 30 to 90 days.

Dolla is now faced with the rebuilding effort as individuals and businesses across Jamaica continue to pick up the pieces following the hurricane. Kerr reminded viewers on Monday about the company’s business model and structure to manage risk. Dolla’s consolidated loan portfolio consisted of 93 per cent business loans and secured loans representing 85 per cent of the portfolio.

With respect to clients in the affected areas, 90 per cent of those loans were secured by motor vehicles which were comprehensively insured. Apart from the company’s collateralised interest being registered with the relevant bodies, Dolla is now engaged with its insurance partners to discuss the management of payments for these vehicles which might have sustained damage. These vehicles are largely used in income generating activities such as transportation by taxi drivers or delivery of goods by a business.

“I’m very optimistic about what will happen over the next several months. There will be some pain in the first three or four months, especially when it comes to the inflow of cash because we will be working with our customers to help them to navigate these challenging times,” Kerr added.

Dolla has 11 branches across Jamaica, but only five branches (Barbican, Portmore, Morant Bay, Mandeville and Junction) are open as of November 10 per its Instagram page. The company is finalising the wind up of its subsidiary Dolla Guyana Inc. which should be completed in the current fourth quarter (October to December).

For the third quarter (July to September), Dolla’s consolidated interest income grew 42 per cent to $502.70 million with its net interest income up to $400.13 million. A nine per cent dip in administrative expenses to $172.86 million and lower taxes of $3.16 million resulted in consolidated net profit rising 238 per cent from $55.58 million to $186.51 million. That’s the company’s highest quarterly net profit to date.

Dolla’s consolidated asset base improved five per cent to $4.81 billion with its Ultra Financier subsidiary now representing 37 per cent of the $4.58 billion loan portfolio. The rising demand for loans saw Dolla’s consolidated cash balance dip from $355.29 million at the start of the year to $16.56 million by September 30 as most of its profits were reinvested. Dolla’s total liabilities and shareholder’s equity were $3.36 billion and $1.45 billion, respectively.

Dolla’s stock price closed Monday at $2.49 which leaves it down 18 per cent year-to-date with a market capitalisation of $6.23 billion. With a trailing twelve months earnings per share (EPS) of $0.19, the price to earnings ratio is 13.11 times.

Mayberry Jamaican Equities Limited purchased another five million shares during the third quarter to bring its total holdings to 295,037,575 or 11.8 per cent as the third largest shareholder. PAM – Pooled Equity Fund purchased 13,683,487 shares to move from the tenth to the seventh largest shareholder with 29,387,598 shares or 1.2 per cent.

Whereas Dolla had paid out $0.099 per share or $247.50 million in dividends during the first nine months of 2024, it has only paid out $0.012 per share or $30 million in dividends during the same period in 2025. This lower dividend payout balance is a reflection of the company’s decision to prioritise higher loan demand.

“We have been very modest with our dividend payout this year. Typically, our policy is 50 per cent of our earnings, but really the modest payout this year reflects our deliberate decision to really prioritise the strength of the balance sheet and growth funding for the business. Investors can expect that the dividend policy will remain measured for the remainder of the year into next year Q1,” closed Dolla Chief Financial Officer Trevene McKenzie.