JMMB profit jumps to Jca$8.8b in 9 months

Regional financial conglomerate JMMB Group has reported Jca$8.82 billion net profit for the nine-month period ending December 31, 2021.

The company said the jump in earnings reflected a 119 per cent increase in earnings year-over-year. The company also posted an operating revenue of Jca$21.98 billion, up 33 per cent for the comparative period.

In a statement, JMMB Group CEO Keith Duncan said the group continues to reap success from its diversification strategy; deepening of its core business; and build out of its digital transformation, despite the protracted uncertainty and operational challenges resulting from the covid19 pandemic.

“As a result of our regional diversification strategy and continued partnership with our clients, we have seen continued growth in our performance across key markets, most noteworthy of which is the Dominican Republic, which contributed 32 per cent, or Jca$2.52 billion, of the group’s operating profit for the period; with Jamaica remaining the dominant market, contributing 57 per cent and a commendable performance in the TT market, with 11 per cent contribution to profit,” Duncan said.

During the quarter, the Dominican Republic banking platform was upgraded to the group-wide banking platform, which is in keeping with the group’s strategy to streamline its subsidiaries in order to leverage operational efficiencies and standardisation.

Chief financial officer Patrick Ellis said, “The core business lines across the group demonstrated solid growth, as a result of the largely favourable monetary conditions during most of the reporting period, and increased economic activity, compared to the prior year.” The financial results showed improvements in the group’s core revenue lines, namely: net interest income, trading gains and foreign exchange trading.

Net interest income grew by 18 per cent, moving to J$8.98 billion from Jca$7.58 billion. While, trading gains saw a 45 per cent increase to Jca$7.15 billion, due to increased market activity and improved global investor sentiment, despite the emergence of new covid19 variants dampening economic recovery.

The company said there has been strong demand for emerging market assets as global interest rates remain low and investors search for higher yields.

Within this context, JMMB continues to execute its trading strategy and has been successful in leveraging market opportunities that has delivered these superior results.

Foreign exchange gains increased from Jca$1.99 billion to Jca$1.56 billion, which reflects a 28 per cent growth in earnings over the comparative period reflecting increased volume activity. Fees and commission income also showed growth from J$2.36 billion to Jca$3.73 billion, which reflects increased economic activity as well as significant growth in managed funds and collective investment schemes; thereby providing value-added service to clients. The group’s earnings were also bolstered by J$115 million in dividends received on equity portfolio.

The company said owing to the delayed publication of Sagicor Financial Co Ltd’s (SFC) audited results for the period ending December 31, 2021, the group did not record any share of profits from the associated company, in which it has a 23.22 per cent stake. SFC has opted to publish its audited results utilising the 90-day provision under the Toronto Stock Exchange; therefore, these earnings will be reflected in JMMB’s year-end results.

JMMB’s operational expenses during the period moved from Jca$10.66 billion to Jca$13.24 billion, which was attributable to inflationary increases, as well as projects related to its longer-term growth. This follows the shift made by the group to reposition to growth mode, by continuing to build out its integrated financial services model.