Profit at newly listed Junior market Limners and Bards climbed 94 percent in the July 2019 quarter, to $12.7 million after taxation of $4 million from $6.5 million in the 2018 quarter.
The company that is primarily involved in the production of television and multimedia commercials, video productions feature films and advertising agency saw, profit rising just 17 percent to $70 million from $60 million in 2018 for the nine months to July.
Operating revenues rose 16 percent for the quarter, to $152 million from $131 billion and grew 24.4 percent for the year to date, to $486 million from $391 million in 2018.
In contrast to the third quarter, revenues for the April quarter brought in $145 million and delivered pretax profit of $30 million against revenues of $136 million and pretax profit of $24.5 million for the similar period in the prior year.
Gross profit margin in the nine months to July rose to 31.5 percent from 23.5 percent in 2018, as gross profit rose much faster than revenues to be up 56 percent to $48 million from $31 million in 2018. Gross profit margin climbed 36 percent for the nine months from 33 percent in 2018 with gross profit climbing 32 percent over the prior year’s third quarter to $173 million from $131 million.
Kimala Bennett, Managing Director of The Lab.
Administrative expenses rose 70 percent to $30 million in the quarter and increased 42 percent in the nine months period to $81 million from $57 million. Finance cost was flat in the quarter at $1.3 million but rose from $1.2 million to $3.7 million for the nine months.
Earnings per share came out at one cent for the quarter and 9 cents for the nine months and should end the fiscal year ending around 12 to 13 cents.
Gross cash flow from operations brought in $99 million but growth in receivables, offset by an increase in payables, reduced net flows to $52 million. The company ended the period with $237 million in the bank after receiving $179 million from the sale of shares to the public and paying a dividend of $40 million.
At the end of June, shareholders’ equity stood at $332 million with borrowings at just $42 million. Net current assets ended the period at $281 million inclusive of trade and other receivables that jumped sharply from $65 million at the end of October last year to $181 million.
The stock traded at $3 on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange with a PE ratio of 23 times 2019 earnings of 13 cents per share.
