Jamaican listed Investment company, Portland JSX Limited has exhibited much resilience managing to carve out a modest profit of about US$800-thousand during the pandemic.

For its 2020/2021financial year, which ended in February this year, Portland JSX, which is incorporated in St. Lucia as an international business company, grew its net profit to US$2,115,991 coming from US$1,345,405 in the prior year. The primary business of Portland JSX is that of a limited partner in the Portland Caribbean Fund (PCF) II, which is its main asset.

PCF II is a limited partnership that is one of a set of parallel partnerships that comprise a fund that invests in quality businesses in the Caribbean and Latin America and is managed by the Michael Lee-Chin-led Portland Private Equity. Portland JSX investments in PCF II was well protected during the year under review, as the fund’s diversified portfolio construction by industry, geography and company maturity proved very effective.

Portland JSX Limited investment in PCF II grew by 8.91 per cent. This increase reflects active deployment of capital by the fund to portfolio companies, contributing to the modest increase in net profits in the just ended financial year.

The company continued to participate as a limited partner in PCF II, where at the end of the fiscal year, PCF II Fund had completed investments in 10 companies creating a geographically and sectorally diverse portfolio in the LATAM/ Caribbean region.

COVID-19 impact

While the situation continues to be uncertain, Portland JSX Limited notes that the PCF II Fund portfolio companies have managed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. “In our opinion, we’re not anticipating any long-term adverse impacts, in some cases, we expect companies to come out stronger,” the company declared in an advisory to shareholders.

Profit per stock unit for the year under review was US$$0.0068 as compared to US$0.0043 per share in the prior year. The company reports that, “its main focus of the year just ended was the continued support of PCF II in its investment activity, and the management of the company’s cash resources throughout the pandemic. We are pleased with the resilience that has been demonstrated to date by the companies in the PCF II Fund portfolio during the pandemic.”

Business continuity well managed

In their advisory to shareholders, the Portland JSX Limited directors say, “the health and safety of employees, customers and community has been well managed. The companies maintained business continuity, especially important given the essential services (e.g. electricity, telecommunications, financial services, groceries) provided by most of the companies. Financially, steps were taken to manage cash liquidity while the companies re-engineered their operations to adapt to an uncertain future.”

They report that the portfolio’s diversification is showing its benefits, as portfolio company experience ranged from unplanned growth for the e-commerce grocery company to a temporary shutdown of operations of the tourism sector company. As the outlooks for the pandemic and the re-opening of economies are still uncertain, we will look to provide more informed and frequent updates in the near future as uncertainties recede.”

Overall, the directors say they are pleased with the performance of the PCF II Fund portfolio and anticipate further increases in portfolio valuation as well as cash distributions in the upcoming year. PJX expects its revenues to be generated from income and capital gains on its direct and indirect investments.