Last year, IC Insider.com forecasted earnings for Wigton Windfarms at six cents per share after the posted excellent first-quarter numbers that initially suggested a significant surge in profits for the year. The latest report from the Company indicates that earnings will fall well short of this forecast.
Wigton posted a loss in the December 2019 quarter.
IC Insider.com stated that the Company’s earnings are seasonal and investors should be informed of it, in compliance, with general accounting policy, relating to interim results. The forecasted earning was criticized by some when we reported on the first-quarter results in 2019 and stated that earnings were seasonal and as such the quarterly revenues would be less for the rest of the year and by extension profits.
The latest report to December has made it clear that there is significant seasonality in revenues and earnings. Information on the seasonality of revenues is not in the current interim report. In addition, although notes accompanying the financial report states that it is prepared in accordance with International accounting standards relating to interim financial statements, it does not, in totality. Apart from the lack of reporting on the seasonality of operations, the earnings per share computations are wrong.
The company wrongly reports the earning per share in 2018 at $27,096 for the quarter and $56,701 for the nine months. That is incorrect. The company, in anticipation of the public sale of the existing shares, adopted a resolution on April 3, 2019, to sub-divide the Company’s 10,000 ordinary shares into 11 billion ordinary shares.
The effect of the increased share capital is that all previous periods’ earnings per share must use the increase shares. Accordingly, the comparison for the 0.2 cents loss in the December 2019 quarter is 0.25 cents and for the nine months to 2018, the earnings per share work out 5.15 cents. Year to date profit of $526 million works out at 4.78 cents and not 6 cents per share, this is a significant overstatement.
Wigton generated revenues of $363 million in the December quarter, compared with $465 million in 2018. For the nine months, revenues declined from $1.95 billion to $1.82 billion. Gross revenues fell from $279 million in the quarter to December 2018, to $159 million in 2019. In the 2019 nine months period, gross profit slipped to $1.24 billion from $1.4 billion. Other income fell from $290 million to $115 million for the quarter and the nine months, to $234 million from $465 million. While general expenses were steady at $85 million, in the latest quarter and slightly up to $266 million, year to date, finance cost rose to $210 million from $128 million in the quarter. It declined from $881 million to $512 million. The December 2019 quarter, recorded a loss of $16 million, compared to $271 million in the 2018 December quarter and $526 million in 2019, year to date versus $567 million.
IC insider.com full year’s original forecast called for earnings per share of 6 cents, but the latest numbers suggest that it is unlikely to exceed 5 cents. The stock price pulled back from $1 per share in Novembers and 97 cents towards the end of January to 80 cents at the close of trading on the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Tuesday for a PE ratio of 16.
