Derrimon weighing disposal of non-core property holdings
Published:Friday | June 6, 2025 | 12:07 AMNeville Graham - Business Reporter
Derrimon Trading Company has confirmed plans to offload assets, but says any sale would be confined to non-core holdings.
“Yes, there are assets that we need to sell, but no, it does not involve the sale of any of our companies,” CEO Ian Kelly said, in response to the Financial Gleaner.
Kelly said the possible assets sales, while presently at the exploratory stage, do not involve any brands owned by Derrimon but rather, assets such as land which may not align with the company’s core business at this time.
Derrimon holds $730 million worth of investment property, its 2024 financial report shows. Those holdings include lands held at Drax Hall in St Ann “for investment potential and capital appreciation”.
Derrimon, which went public nearly 12 years ago, has been a fast-growing company since its listing on the stock market, much of which was financed by debt, but also from the proceeds of a second dip in the equities market via an additional share issue.
It’s now a $17-billion business, by assets, making it the largest company trading on the junior market of the stock exchange; while its annual turnover has risen beyond $15 billion.
The group’s operations include distribution of consumer products, as well as grocery retail under the Sampars Cash and Carry and Select brands in Jamaica, and through subsidiary Marnock in New York; meat processing through Arosa; food flavour manufacturing through Caribbean Flavours & Fragrances; and pallet making through Woodcats International.
In the March 2025 quarter, Derrimon grew revenue by a fifth, from $3.56 billion to $4.3 billion.
Crediting team focus and performance management, Kelly said “we took on a different tact with our go-to-market strategy, both for the distribution and retail business”.
Still, the group’s performance was mixed, with increased revenues but decreased profits that slipped marginally from $58 million to $57 million.
The company experienced growth in its distribution and retail segments, while facing challenges in other operations, Kelly said, explaining that many of the company’s products are imported and are therefore subject to shipping delays and price fluctuations.
“We had a lot of those issues in the first quarter. I think our results would have been better had we not had some of those logistics challenges,” said Kelly, who was promoted from chief financial officer to CEO of Derrimon Group in January.
“We had to get ahead of them and put in other corrective measures in order to ensure consistency, and (even) oversupply at times,” he added.
Those efforts resulted in a sharp climb in distribution and retail revenue by nearly 40 per cent to $3.53 billion, he said.
Derrimon closed the March quarter with higher debt, its borrowings having risen from $3.4 billion to $4.1 billion over the span of one year, while its cash was spliced from $304 million to $168 million within the same time frame.