West Indies Petroleum Terminal posts turnaround and doubles annual profit
Published:Wednesday | January 28, 2026 | 12:06 AM
West Indies Petroleum Terminal Ltd (WIPT) which operates a petroleum storage terminal, doubled annual profit and swung its fourth quarter to a profit, driven by rising third-party storage revenue and higher throughput volumes at its Jamaica terminal.
The company posted annual net profit of US$2.29 million for 2025, or double from US$1.04 million in 2024. Revenue rose 8.0 per cent to US$8.83 million. The company reversed a US$1.02 million fourth-quarter loss in 2024 to post some US$358,130 in profit for the final three months of 2025.
Fourth-quarter revenue jumped 63 per cent to US$2.47 million from US$1.52 million a year earlier, reflecting stronger demand for storage and handling services at terminals in Port Esquivel, St. Catherine.
Management’s stated that the company “continues to diversify its income streams”, with a clear expectation that “revenues from third parties will continue to increase, from increased storage and throughput volumes”. By the third quarter of 2025, year-to-date third-party storage fees had already surged to US$2.4 million—43 per cent of total storage revenue, up sharply from 10 per cent the year before. This diversification reduces dependence on single-client volumes and aligns the business with broader regional demand trends.
Stronger volumes translated into more robust margins. Operating profit rose 47 per cent in 2025 to US$3.58 million, compared with US$2.43 million in 2024, aided by contained operating and administrative expenses, which increased only six per cent to US$5.18 million. Net finance costs fell 21 per cent to US$853,404, supporting a 102 per cent rise in profit before taxation to US$2.72 million.
A major non-operational swing factor was the non-recurrence of the 2024 impairment on a financial asset. That impairment dropped from US$1.04 million in 2024 to some US$260,000 in 2025—a 75 per cent decline. Management explicitly attributed part of the improved performance to “the non-recurrence of the impairment of the financial asset in financial year 2024”, alongside stronger throughput and a healthier revenue mix. While this created a favourable year-over-year comparison, the underlying operational gains suggest a more durable recovery.
Cash-flow closed the year with some US$112,500 in cash as the company paid down on loans and lease payments in the year. That said, it still ended with about 10 times more cash than the US$11,200 a year earlier.
WIPT’s asset base edged up slightly to US$42.6 million in 2025, compared to US$41.8 million a year earlier.
Since its late-December listing by introduction on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, WIPT has experienced one of the most explosive early trading runs in the market’s history. Shares rocketed from an introductory price of J$0.50 to peak at a closing price of $12.20 within weeks—or a 23-fold increase that propelled the company’s market capitalisation beyond J$135 billion, surpassing NCB Financial Group’s valuation at one point. Market analysts, however, warn that the spike was driven largely by extreme supply constraints and exceptionally thin trading volumes, with some trades involving fewer than ten shares. Still, the ascent has brought rare energy to an otherwise muted equities market and sparked debate about whether other companies may follow suit with listings by introduction.
WIPT’s business case for 2026 rests on maintaining the favourable revenue mix, deepening relationships with external storage and throughput customers, and managing costs as volumes rise.