Car dealer doubles 2015 profit

Profit for 2016 more than doubled for pre-owned car dealer, Jetcon Corporation, moving from $51 million in 2015 to $105 million before tax and from $40 million to $98 million after tax and resulted in a 49.4 percent average rate of return on capital, up from 46.6 percent in 2015.
Earnings per share ended the year at 54 cents for the first year that the company listed on the junior market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
Revenues for the year grew by 64 percent, higher than the 49 percent increase for 2015 over 2014. The performance resulted in revenues of $858 million versus $524 million in 2015. The company’s revenues increased over the prior year, in each quarter, ending at $148 million in the first quarter, $195 million in the June quarter, $268 million in the September quarter and $228 million in the December quarter.
Gross profit increased by 75 percent as gross profit margin increased over 2015. Selling and marketing expenses more than doubled to $13 million from $6 million in 2015 while administrative and other expenses climbed by a third to $36 million from $27 million.
Growth in profit, helped to propel the stock from its initial listing price of $2.25 to a high of $13 reflecting a gain of 478 percent since it listed in March 2016. A trade at $14.80 towards the end of trading on Tuesday was cancelled.
Capital| Jetcon put the net new capital of just under $90 million raised in the initial public offer (IPO) into increased inventory, resulting in increased choices and strong sales growth in the post listing period.
The economic environment is positive to allow for increased business. Some of these are reduction in lending rates and a high percentage of the value of vehicles covered by lending institutions. Improvement in the wider economy backed by tax reductions for some workers, along with increased remuneration and the lowest inflation rate in several decades would all have played a part.
Gross cash flow generated from operations, ended at $100 million but inventories grew by $166 million, to end the year at $251 million, including goods in transit. The capital from the IPO and the profit for the year strengthened to financials, with equity capital of $294 million up from just $107 million at the end of 2015.
The directors approved an interim dividend of 7 cents per share, payable on March 15, 2017 to shareholders on record as of February 24, 2017 and will be recommending that a 3 for 1 stock split be considered by shareholders for approval at the upcoming annual general meeting to be hold later this year.
Update| According to a release by the company, revenues for 2017 up to the date of the report, is 77 percent ahead of the first two months of 2016. “Based on orders on our books and sales for 2017 towards the end of February, we expect revenues and profit in Q1, to be ahead of that for 2016, barring unforeseen developments.”
“Whilst we cannot say with certainty that the above pace of sales growth will continue for the full year, our budgets, forecast and strategies for the year, is for increased revenues and profit as we work as a team to build the company into one that the stakeholders will view positively”, the statement concluded.
If the pace of growth in revenues seen for the first two months, continues to the end of March, revenues for the quarter would be the higher than in any quarter for 2016.
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