West Indies Petroleum Terminal closed trading on Friday at $7.25 per share, capping a remarkable 1,300% surge since its December 23 debut at $0.50. The spectacular gains resulted in the stock trading at valuation levels that defy conventional metrics, with a huge decline clearly on the cards.
At Friday’s close, WIPT trades at 244 times 2024 earnings, according to data compiled by ICInsider.com, after eliminating the one off impairment cost mentioned below, a stark contrast to the broader Jamaica Stock Exchange with an average PE of 18 times earnings. The company was initially valued at roughly 11 times earnings at listing.
The rally reflects scarcity more than fundamentals. WIPT was listed by introduction, with no new shares issued, resulting in a minimal float, fuelling speculative demand.
The company has not released any results for 2025, but profitability remains modest, with net profit of just US$1.04 million on revenue of US$8.21 million for 2025, a 51.9% earnings decline from 2023. The results for 2024 were driven by higher finance costs and a US$1.04 million impairment charge, which is not expected to repeat.
The extreme valuation disconnect suggests investors are pricing in dramatic earnings growth that has yet to materialise. Management has signed third-party storage agreements with Musket Corp, TotalEnergies, and Sunoco to supply fuel across Jamaica, which diversifies revenue, but the path to justifying a 244x multiple remains unclear.
For value investors, the math is sobering: at $7.25, the market is betting WIPT will transform from a US$2 million profit company into something vastly larger, in the order of 17 times, amounting to a profit of US$34 million that is not going to happen.