Fontana Limited registered a 38 per cent dip in net profit year-on-year in the quarter ending December 31, 2025, largely due to the economic effects of Hurricane Melissa.
Despite the setback by the category 5 strength hurricane the retail pharmacy chain however delivered a 5.6 per cent growth in revenue growth in the quarter compared to the corresponding quarter in 2024. Hurricane Melissa hit the island last October.
“Like most businesses, Fontana was severely affected by its ravages, particularly in our Savanna-la-Mar and Montego Bay locations,” company chairman Kevin O’Brien Chang said in the Director’s Report released with the unaudited results in February. “While these disruptions resulted in performance below initial projections, we remain grateful for the resilience of our team and operations.”
The quarter was materially affected by a “16-day closure” of the group’s Montego Bay location, its second-largest location by sales, along with disruptions to its corporate office in that parish. Additionally, the group reduced trading hours across all western region stores.
“Notwithstanding these challenges, the company achieved topline growth, underscoring the strength of our brand, diversified network, customer loyalty, and the contribution from the recently acquired Monarch locations,” the report continued.
The company’s revenue for the quarter totalled $2.86 billion, compared to $2.7 billion in the prior year. Meanwhile net profit for the quarter was $201 million, compared with $326.6 million for the corresponding quarter in 2024, a decrease of 38 per cent.
Commenting on the latest report, Fontana Limited director Anne Chang said in spite of the operational challenges for the Western based locations, targets remain generally on track.
“We are seeing normalised operations from both Montego Bay and Sav since early January despite the decrease in tourism,” Anne Chang stated in a written response to the Financial Gleaner.
Overall, operating expenses rose 22.2 per cent in the quarter to $840.8 million. In part due to disruptions, but also acquisitions, and launches. Last year Fontana acquired the Monarch chain of pharmacies from Gerk Limited, a company affiliated to the Loshusan family part of the Progressive Groceries group of supermarkets. It grew Fontana’s network from seven to 11 pharmacies. The group also recently launched Orà, its luxury beauty concept stores.
luke.douglas@gleanerjm.com
