JFP seeking to leverage business from tariff uncertainty
Published:Friday | September 5, 2025 | 12:07 AM
Office furniture supplier JFP Limited is ramping up its salesforce to make a more aggressive play for business in Jamaica, the Caribbean and beyond.
It comes amid lagging sales and disappointing project-related income. But the company sees a pathway to recovery.
CEO Metry Seaga reiterated that the imposition of higher tariffs by the United States on other countries may actually help the company.
“We have beefed up our sales team and are looking at taking advantage of the international uncertainties that are existing for other countries. We’re looking at them as positives rather than negatives, and are doing our best to try to get business through that medium,” Seaga told the Financial Gleaner.
He said the company was making its pitch through correspondence to potential clients “right across the globe”, but especially to the Caribbean and the northeast coast of the United States.
“If you look at our numbers, you will see that we have managed our expenses very well. We have to increase the sales, and we are making every effort to do so,” Seaga said, with reference to the company’s June quarter financial results – marked by falling sales and profit. The referenced expenses related to direct costs, or cost of doing business, which were lower in both the quarter and at half-year.
In the April-June quarter, sales revenue declined by 23 per cent to $108.69 million, and the company spun from profit of $5.79 million to a loss of $13.12 million.
“The reduction was largely due to delays in project finalisations and a decline in the quoted value of a project, which impacted the overall billing for the period,” JFP said in its quarterly financial report.
Over the longer six-month horizon, January-June, the company bled $12.65 million, erasing profit of $9.59 million in the comparative 2024 period.
“The decrease was primarily due to delays in completing key contracts,” the company said.
During the quarter, JFP also booked a gain of $361 million from the sale of property held at Spanish Town Road, Kingston, which boosted its comprehensive income to $348 million but was not counted in profit and loss.
The property adjoins JFP’s factory and head office.