Lasco graduating to main market

Two affiliated Lasco companies will graduate to the main market on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) next month after a decade of listings.

“The effective date of the graduation is Wednesday, March 27, 2024,” stated the JSE in a notice.

Both entities, Lasco Distributors and Lasco Manufacturers, are currently listed on the JSE Junior Market. The third affiliated entity Lasco Financial will remain on the Junior Market of the JSE. All three Lasco entities, co-founded by the late Lascelles Chin, were listed in October 2010.

The notice did not state why the companies were graduating, but last year Lasco acknowledged that its capital grew beyond what is permissible by JSE rules.

Wednesday Business was unable to contact Lasco’s executives up to press time

Both large Lasco entities have share capital that exceeds the $500-million mark set by the JSE for junior stock market companies. Last year, Lasco executives told the Financial Gleaner that in lieu of breaking the limit, it was paying fees applicable to main market listings as a result.

Lasco Distributors Limited ended its financial year March 2023 with $513.2 million in issued share capital. Lasco Manufacturing ended its financial year with $563 million to March 2023, but it broke through the ceiling years ago, in March 2020.

Lasco Financial Services remains well under, at $114 million up to December. The floor of the junior market is $50 million in share capital or one-tenth of the ceiling.

For the Lasco large companies, the issued share capital makes up one of five line items, led by retained earnings, that tally to make its total shareholder equity, which at December stood at $9.3 billion for Lasco Distributors and $12.3 billion for Lasco Manufacturing.

OPTIMISTIC

For the December quarter, Lasco Manufacturing made net profit of $568 million on revenue of $1.2 billion. This compared to profit of $488 million a year earlier on revenue of $1.1 billion. Its outlook remains optimistic despite global shocks.

“We are aware of the negative impacts on the global supply chain of current geopolitical issues and conflicts and the climate-related impacts on transit via the Panama Canal. We will therefore continue to take appropriate mitigatory measures to minimise disruptions to our operations,” said Lasco Manufacturing Managing Director James Rawle.

Turning to Lasco Distributors, that entity made net profit of $404.4 million on revenues of $1.3 billion for its third quarter ending December 2023. This was higher than a year earlier when the company made $343 million on revenue of $1.2 billion.

“Management is closely monitoring the impact of rapidly geopolitical conditions on our operating environments, as well as local conditions that impact consumer decisions. We will continue to make the necessary tactical decisions to navigate these headwinds in the short term, while adhering to our well-established strategic framework over the long term,” according to John De Silva, managing director at the Lasco Distributors.

Lasco Financial made profit of $36 million on revenue of $557.4 million. This compared to $30.6 million profit on revenue of $572 million a year earlier.

Going forward, Lasco Financial plans to continue to invest in growing its legacy remittances business, while transitioning towards digital services.

business@gleanerjm.com