Winter season hits Wisynco earnings
Despite the temporary impact of Hurricane Melissa, Wisynco Group Limited is pointing to the cold and wet month of February as the reason for its decline in its third-quarter earnings.
Wisynco Group’s top line or revenue climbed 13 per cent to $15.46 billion. However, the company’s consolidated net profit dipped by a third from $971.36 million to $646.19 million for the period ending March 31.
“Notwithstanding the temporary closure of many of the Hotels and restaurants due to the Melissa impact, the quarter started off meeting expectations in January 2026 however, the unseasonably cold and wet weather in February impacted the quarter negatively and our Q3 Revenue fell below expectations,” Wisynco’s quarterly report stated.
Wisynco’s primary business is the manufacturing of beverages which includes brands like Wata, CranWata, Bigga and Boom. The company recently introduced a new alcohol brand called Legend and malt beverages Mamba and M-Powa.
So, the mention of weather as a major factor affecting revenue came as a surprise for the company which had two-straight quarters of record revenue at $16.19 billion and net profit of $1.48 billion.
“February was exceedingly wet as a month. It rained literally every single day. When that happens, that cold weather tempers consumption,” stated Wisynco Chairman William Mahfood in a call with the Jamaica Observer.
He highlighted that in a normal year, beverage sales in February during winter are 30 per cent less than August sales in summer.
“The big increases that we see typically in the summer are driven particularly because of the heat and climate,” Mahfood stated on the climate as the company gears up for summer.
Apart from the company pointing to revenue falling below expectations, Mahfood pointed to the company absorbing higher fixed costs from its recent expansion activities as business slowly ramps up. That is reflected through higher marketing expenses for its Legend brand, additional staff to support the larger business and an increased depreciation charge for its fixed assets.
Whilst the company reported a 18 per cent dip in operating profit to $892.21 million, the removal of the depreciation charge resulted in the company’s comparative earnings being down just one per cent. Wisynco’s quarterly report even noted that its EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) was up 18 per cent to $6.6 billion for the nine-month period. That contrasts with the 13 per cent rise in operating profit to $4.58 billion.
Wisynco’s nine months revenue was up 12 per cent to $47.83 billion with gross profit up 13 per cent to $16.45 billion. Although finance costs were higher due to more debt, the company’s profit before tax was up four per cent to $4.46 billion. Net profit increased four per cent to $3.61 billion. The trailing twelve months earnings per share was $1.21.
Despite the difficult third quarter, Mahfood is bullish on the summer season and eventual rebuilding efforts across Western Jamaica. He pointed to the company’s robust production capacity to meet market demand and support the export market which was up 35 per cent for the nine months period.
“Our exports are really doing well. We still have a lot more opportunity,” Mahfood noted as the company plans the reformulation on some products after the recent sugar tax implementation.
Wisynco’s total assets were up two per cent over the nine months to $44.70 billion with $5.68 billion in cash and $5.13 billion in investment securities. Total liabilities declined 11 per cent to $14.26 billion with $6.66 billion in total debt and $6.08 billion in payables. Shareholder’s equity was up ten per cent to $30.43 billion.
Wisynco’s stock price closed Wednesday at $20.23 which leaves it up nine per cent in 2026 with a market capitalisation of $76.94 billion. GraceKennedy Pension Fund Custodian Limited bought 15,556,346 ordinary shares to bring their total to 48,478,631 ordinary shares as the fifth largest shareholder. SJIML A/C 3119, a managed account under Scotia Investments Jamaica Limited, purchased 2.04 million ordinary shares to bring its stake to 34.06 million shares.