Barita profit dips 62% in Melissa quarter

Barita Profit Falls 62 per cent as Hurricane Melissa Chills Jamaica’s Capital Markets

Barita Investments Limited posted a 62 per cent drop in quarterly net profit after tax as Hurricane Melissa hammered investor confidence and drained trading activity from Jamaica’s equity markets in the three months to December 2025.

Net profit after tax fell to $211 million from $551 million in the corresponding period a year earlier, the Kingston-based investment group said in its unaudited results filed with the Jamaica Stock Exchange. Net operating revenues declined 18 per cent, or $257 million, to $1.2 billion.

“The hurricane materially disrupted economic activity across Jamaica, dampening investor confidence and slowing capital market momentum,” Chairman Mark Myers said in his statement to shareholders. “In the immediate aftermath, we observed reduced client transaction volumes, more cautious portfolio repositioning, and a general pullback in risk appetite.”

The results cover Barita’s first quarter of fiscal year 2026, a period bracketed by the October 28 landfall of Hurricane Melissa – a Category 5 storm that the International Monetary Fund has since estimated caused damage equivalent to 41 per cent of Jamaica’s GDP.

The earnings drag was concentrated in the group’s investment book. Gains on investment activities swung from a $504 million profit in the December 2024 quarter to a $22 million loss in the latest period as declining equity valuations eroded the fair market value of Barita’s portfolio. Non-interest income fell 24 per cent, or $310 million, year-over-year – a deterioration the group attributed primarily to that reversal in investment gains, only partly offset by growth in fees and commissions and reduced foreign exchange losses.

A brighter spot was net interest income, which rose 31 per cent to $222 million, benefiting from higher rates and the Bank of Jamaica’s decision to hold its policy rate at 5.75 per cent as it works to anchor inflation expectations in the hurricane’s aftermath.

Operating expenses rose 22 per cent to $925 million, reflecting higher administrative costs and a $107 million reduction in expected credit loss reversals compared with the prior-year quarter – benefits that had flattered the earlier period’s cost base but did not recur. Staff costs fell 6 per cent, or $21 million, as the group pressed its efficiency drive.

Total assets stood at $148.6 billion at December 31, down $1.0 billion from September 2025, as the group reduced investment securities and cash holdings while growing receivables. Shareholders’ equity edged up $601 million to $35.7 billion. The capital adequacy ratio was 23.7 per cent, more than twice the regulatory floor of 10 per cent.

Barita completed the acquisition of JN Fund Managers Limited during the quarter, receiving regulatory non-objection from the Financial Services Commission in December 2025 and assuming full ownership in January. The deal extends the group’s reach into pension fund management along with asset management, which makes it less susceptible to macroeconomic swings. Richardo Williams, senior vice-president of asset management and research at Barita, has assumed the role of interim chief executive officer of JNFM as integration gets under way.

luke.douglas@gleanerjm.com