SENIOR executives at Mayberry Jamaican Equities Limited (MJE) say the investment company remains unable to explain how accounting failures at Jamaica Broilers Group (JBG) were allowed to occur, after the fallout from the scandal wiped close to $1 billion from its portfolio and contributed to one of the worst years in its history.

“We are shocked and disappointed by what has happened,” MJE chairman Chris Berry said during the company’s investor briefing on Tuesday. “We still don’t really understand how it happened, why it happened, and we are hoping for the best for them.”

Berry’s comments follow the release of MJE’s unaudited full-year results, which show that the company booked an $899 million unrealised loss on its Jamaica Broilers holding after the stock price fell 53 per cent in 2025. That decline formed part of a wider $1.22 billion unrealised loss on financial instruments and a $3.29 billion unrealised loss on investments classified as associates, helping to drive MJE to a $4.93 billion net loss for the year.

The sharp fall in Jamaica Broilers’ share price followed the company’s restatement of its 2024 audited financial statements, after accounting irregularities were discovered in its United States operations. The restatement — valued at approximately $46 billion — related primarily to overstated inventories and biological assets, and was the main factor behind JBG’s $7.22 billion net loss in 2025.

When asked by Mayberry Investments vice-president Dan Theoc whether the remedial actions taken at Jamaica Broilers’ US operations had met his expectations, Berry declined to elaborate.

“I said what I said,” he replied after a pause. “I don’t understand how it happened. It’s a great tragedy for Jamaica, the Jamaica Stock Exchange, and for the company. It has really affected our portfolio — about $1 billion.”

Mayberry’s exposure to Jamaica Broilers grew steadily over several years. At the end of October 2022, MJE was the company’s tenth-largest shareholder, holding a two per cent stake valued at $550.6 million. It then invested at least $915 million in 2023 and a further $134 million in 2024, becoming the fifth-largest shareholder with a position worth $2.06 billion. Additional purchases in 2025 lifted its holding to 58.48 million shares, or five per cent of the company.

By the end of 2025, that stake was valued at an estimated $1.01 billion. Jamaica Broilers’ shares lost $22.45 billion in market capitalisation during the year.

Theoc said Mayberry intends to invite Jamaica Broilers chief executive officer Chris Levy back to its investment forum to address unresolved questions surrounding the investigation into the US operations and the prospects for any recovery of losses.

However, Bruce Bowen, chairman of Jamaica Broilers’ audit committee, told the company’s recent annual general meeting that there is currently no intention to pursue further recovery actions related to the US operations.

“Based upon the information from the forensic accounting review, no, it is not our intention to take any further action at this time,” Bowen said. “We will await the results of the email searches. Once those are completed, we will determine whether any additional steps are required.”

Bowen confirmed that the audit committee has agreed to carry out an electronic communication search requested by the group’s auditors, PwC Jamaica. PwC issued a qualified audit opinion on Jamaica Broilers’ 2025 financial statements, citing the absence of such a search despite the scale of the accounting irregularities uncovered.

“The audit committee has taken responsibility for conducting the email search,” Bowen said. “We are currently evaluating proposals from internationally recognised firms that responded to our request for proposals this week.”

Jamaica Broilers published its audited accounts with the qualification after falling behind regulatory reporting deadlines and facing the risk of having its shares suspended from trading. The company’s audited financials and first-quarter report were both overdue, although the Jamaica Stock Exchange granted additional time for publication. Bowen said completing the email search would have taken longer than the ten-day window remaining before a potential suspension.

“We chose to proceed with the qualification because we did not want to delay reporting to shareholders any further,” Levy said in a recent media appearance. “That decision does not mean we are abandoning the process, or that it is not something we will pursue.”

Since January 2025, Jamaica Broilers says it has overhauled the management and oversight of its US operations. The previous management team was removed, financial controls were strengthened with the assistance of IBM, a new US external auditor was engaged, and the company plans to conduct a further forensic review of the US general ledger.

Bowen also disclosed that the audit committee is moving to appoint a full-time internal auditor, replacing its previous outsourced arrangement. He said the independent chief restructuring officer, approved by US banking groups, is satisfied with the transparency measures introduced so far, even as the company continues negotiations to resolve approximately US$120 million in debt tied to its US business.

To strengthen board oversight, Jamaica Broilers has established a finance committee chaired by independent director Edward Barber. The committee is tasked with more detailed scrutiny of financial reporting, forecasts, and key performance indicators.

The company has also taken steps to stabilise its balance sheet. A recent revaluation of land and buildings shifted shareholders’ equity from a $10.04 billion deficit to a $31.54 billion surplus, largely through asset revaluation rather than operating gains. Jamaica Broilers has also completed a $24 billion refinancing package with NCB Jamaica, Scotiabank and CIBC Caribbean.

As part of broader governance reforms, the company has engaged Cube Corporate Support Limited to conduct a comprehensive review of its corporate governance framework, including internal controls and risk-mitigation strategies.

Berry publicly questioned in December whether Jamaica Broilers should appoint a lead independent director in light of recent events. Gregory Shirley, chairman of the company’s corporate governance committee, said he is also reviewing two board vacancies created by the departure of Stephen Levy and Syd Mogg in 2025, with plans to add another independent director to strengthen board independence.

Despite the steps taken, uncertainty surrounding the US operations and the scope for recovery continues to weigh on investor confidence — including at one of Jamaica Broilers’ largest institutional shareholders.

Jamaica Broilers Group, the country’s largest poultry producer, has been working to repair its balance sheet and governance after accounting irregularities in its US operations led to a major financial restatement and heavy investor losses.

BERRY…we still don’t really understand how it happened, why it happened, and we are hoping for the best for them.