Paramount Trading Jamaica Ltd nearly quadrupled its net profit for the financial year ended May 2026, powered by cost discipline and one-off gains that offset a revenue dip linked to the impact of Hurricane Melissa.
The Junior Market company reported net profit of $99.1 million on revenue of $1.69 billion, compared with $26.1 million on $1.72 billion in the prior year. Operating profit climbed 65 per cent to $215.9 million, driven by tighter cost management across the business.
“Staff costs didn’t go up, even though the headcount went up,” said CEO Hugh Graham, crediting an internal cost-saving programme that also included renegotiating IT and telecommunications contracts. “We changed our provider for the IT, as well as our telecommunications provider. So we got some cost savings there.”
The revenue dip, meanwhile, stemmed largely from the temporary loss of a significant customer in western Jamaica whose operations were disrupted by Hurricane Melissa in late October 2025.
“We had at least one customer that was affected out west and they came back on the last day in January or first week in February 2026. So, we missed them for a few months and everything returned to normal after that,” said Bruno Loffler, head of finance and administration.
Another major contributor to the earnings jump was other operating income, which swung to $138.1 million from a loss position of $22.4 million a year earlier. The financial statements show that this included foreign exchange gains and the write-back of a vendor liability worth about $54 million.
“After some long negotiations, we had some expenses that were previously accounted for in previous years that the provider was able to write off. So we took that as our other income,” Loffler said, noting that the benefit was largely a one-off item.
Graham expressed confidence in the company’s trajectory, pointing to recently acquired property assets expected to support future growth. “We’re now in possession of that property, which would support our gross numbers,” he said.
With shareholders’ equity climbing to $1.12 billion, cash balances strengthening to $220.2 million, and a dividend of $0.026 per share declared during the year, Paramount enters the new financial year in a stronger position despite the temporary setback from Hurricane Melissa, which struck the island last October.
neville.graham@gleanerjm.com
