SALADA Foods Jamaica has made a threefold increase in profits during its first quarter ended December 31, 2021.

Net profit totalled $41.92 million for the period, relative to net profit of $13.11 million reported in 2020.

At the same time, the Kingston-based food manufacturer recorded a 28 per cent increase in turnover to $289.35 million, up from $226.36 million in 2020.

Salada Food’s management has indicated that its profitability was driven by strong domestic and export sales. According to the management, “the company maintained strong domestic and export sales across its diverse range of products, resulting in increases of 46 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively, over the prior year”.

During the review quarter, revenue from export sales, coupled with the depreciation of the Jamaican dollar, resulted in a 768 per cent increase in foreign exchange gains of $11.73 million. This is in comparison to the foreign exchange loss of $1.76 million from the previous corresponding period in 2021.

As at December 31, 2021 total assets rose by 19 per cent to $1.24 billion, up from $1.04 billion in 2021.

The overall movement in the asset base stemmed from an increase in inventories which totalled $578.41 million, up from $345.73 million reported as at December 31, 2020.