CariCRIS improves Jamaican company's credit rating

The Seprod Group, a Jamaican food manufacturing and distribution entity whose origin dates back to 1930, got an upgrade in its ratings from the Caribbean Information and Credit Rating Services Ltd (CariCRIS), the credit rating company said in a media release on Tuesday.

Seprod improved its rating by one notch to CariA (local currency rating) and reaffirmed the Jamaican national scale ratings jmAA- (local currency rating) and jmA+ (foreign currency rating).

This means that the creditworthiness of Seprod in relation to other companies in the Caribbean is considered good and its creditworthiness is high in comparison to other Jamaican companies.

“The one-notch upgrade to the regional scale rating is attributed to the improvement in the credit risk profile of the sovereign over the last 12 months following the lifting of the covid19 restrictions,” the release said.

CariCRIS said the ratings are supported by Seprod’s current portfolio of products and wide distribution reach across Jamaica.

It said this indicates a strong market position despite a thinning of its debt protection metrics last year.

The group’s integrated business as well as its good corporate governance practices and competent management team also bolstered CariCRIS’s decision to improve its rating.