Jamaican Broilers Group grows US presence

In an advisory to the Jamaica Stock Exchange, it said it was finalising the asset purchase agreement with Crystal Farm Mills through its subsidiary Wincorp Properties, but had already taken over the day-to-day operations of the facility.

In 2017, Jamaica Broilers Group acquired two US hatcheries, one in Iowa and the other in Pennsylvania.

Speaking to Jamaican publication Loop News​, group senior vice president – finance & corporate planning Ian Parsard said he expected the group’s revenue to grow following the acquisition.

“So now the acquisition of the feed mill is a continuation of that expansion we are experiencing in the US. We expect our revenues to grow as a result, as well as the profitability of the company,”​ Parsard said.

He added that he expected to see as much as 15% growth from that acquisition over the next five years. “We could experience a higher growth rate if additional acquisitions are done during that time period.”​

Jamaica Broilers Group also released its financial results for the quarter ended 28 July 2018. It reported that group revenues for the first quarter amounted to JA$12.2bn, a 6% increase over the $11.5bn achieved in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Gross profit for the quarter was $3.2bn, a 19% increase over the previous year.

Its Jamaica operations reported sales of $842m, which was 87% above last year’s segment result of $449m. This increase was attributed to improved gross margins resulting from increased production and improved inventory management. Total revenue for Jamaica operations showed an increase of 5%.

US operations reported a segment result of $300m, which was a 6% decrease from the prior year’s result of $318m. This decrease was attributed to one-off staff cost elements and acquisition costs related to the recent feed mill purchase. Total revenue for this segment increased by 8% over the prior year driven by increased sales of fertile eggs and baby chicks.

The business’ Haiti Operations increased market share of table eggs to 34%, compared to 30% of the market at the end of the first quarter last year. The segment result for the first quarter amounted to $60m, which is $15m above last year’s segment result of $45m. Total revenue increased by 13%.

Its other Caribbean operations reported first-quarter segment results of $847m, an increase of $772m over the corresponding quarter of the previous year.