US operations bring profits to Jamaica Broilers
JAMAICA Broilers returned profits during the nine months to the end of….with the performance of the company’s US operations compensating declines in Jamaica and Haiti.
The Jamaican operations is feeling the negative effects of increased grain prices and rising international shipping costs, resulting in profits going down by six percent during the period under review. The American operations led the segment performance with a 111 per cent growth, which propped up the company’s finances.
The growth in the American subsidiary was made possible by the expansion into producing and supplying The Best Dressed Chicken in the US market. The management team has indicated that the nine-month performance of the group overall was commendable, despite the Jamaica operations reporting a six per cent decline in segment profit.
Still, net profit for the nine months amounted to $2 billion, a nine per cent increase over the corresponding nine-month period in the prior year. The American operation was the major driver in this performance.
Group revenues went up to $55.1 billion, a 33 per cent increase above the $41.3 billion achieved in the corresponding nine months of the previous year. Gross profit for the nine months was $11.8 billion, a 15 per cent increase over the previous year.
However, gross profit as a percentage of sales (gross margin) declined from 25 per cent to 21 per cent when compared with the prior year. The decline in gross margin is primarily attributable to increased input costs, which was partially mitigated by the significant growth in the American business.
Segment performance
The Jamaica operations reported a segment result of $2.9 billion, which was $176 million or six per cent below last year’s segment result of $3.1 billion. Total revenue for the Jamaican operations showed an increase of 29 per cent.
The American operation reported a segment result of $2.4 billion, which was a 111 per cent increase over the prior year’s result of $1.3 billion. This increase was primarily driven by higher production and sales in The Best Dressed Chicken line of products and the operation’s participation in the employee benefit programme, which was offered to alleviate the impact of COVID-19.
This amounted to $584 million which is reported as other income during the quarter. Total revenue showed an increase of 48 per cent. The Haitian operation while improving reported a segment loss of $10.6 million compared to the prior year loss of $23.3 million, which equated to losses being cut by $12.7 million.
Total revenue reduced by 36 per cent as Haiti continues to experience economic and political instability which continue to impact operations in that country.