PROVEN revises Chairman’s Report to reflect first rate hike in 17 months

PROVEN Group Ltd Chairman Mark Myers told shareholders in a revised annual report statement that “financing costs” could stay elevated amid global uncertainty.

It was his first annual report statement since becoming chairman in April.

PROVEN first uploaded the annual report to the Jamaica Stock Exchange on October 7, then pulled it. In that version, Myers wrote that “inflation has moderated across many markets, interest rates have begun to decline and economic activity across the Caribbean remains generally positive”. That came about a week after the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) raised its policy rate. A revised report was uploaded on October 12 with a reworked Chairman’s Report.

In the revised report, Myers wrote that “inflationary pressures have re-emerged” since the March year end. He pointed to the BOJ’s September decision to raise its policy rate to 6.0 per cent from 5.5 per cent, the first increase since April 2025, as a sign that financing costs “may remain elevated for longer”.

He called the operating environment “constructive, but more demanding”. Elevated financing costs were among the factors he blamed for weaker profitability in the year ended March, along with lower contributions from associate investments and softer performance in some business segments.

“While profitability was impacted by elevated financing costs, lower contributions from certain associate investments and softer performance in selected business segments,” he said.

PROVEN posted a net loss of US$4.8 million for the year, against a profit of US$2.5 million a year earlier. The group has since returned to profit, posting US$8.2 million for the quarter ended June, helped by a US$9.4-million gain from the partial sale of Roberts Manufacturing.

Total assets hover at US$1.12 billion, customer deposits at US$622 million, and shareholders’ equity at US$121 million to June.

Myers said the group’s medium-term opportunities “remain intact”, pointing to growing demand for financial services, expanding pension and wealth management, and reconstruction, infrastructure and tourism investment that will “require significant capital”.

RISE TO CHAIRMAN

The revised version adds an opening in which Myers addresses shareholders for the first time as chairman, and a paragraph on the board’s oversight of governance. Myers chairs Cornerstone Financial Holdings, whose “strategic partnership” with PROVEN Management Limited (PML), the group’s investment manager, was announced in December 2025. PML nominated him to PROVEN’s board at that time, and he joined on February 11. Cornerstone, through Barita Investments, which Myers also chairs, is PROVEN’s second-largest shareholder with 3.9 per cent of issued shares. It trails the largest shareholder, Fides Investments, which holds 5.2 per cent.

Rhory McNamara resigned as chairman and director on April 24, and the board unanimously approved Myers as chairman, effective April 28.

Myers is also managing director of Restaurants of Jamaica, which operates KFC and Pizza Hut in Jamaica, and chairs JAMPRO, the government’s investment and export promotion agency.

“It is a privilege to address you for the first time as chairman of PROVEN Group Ltd. I assume this responsibility with a clear appreciation of the stewardship entrusted to the board and of the discipline, accountability and long-term perspective our shareholders expect,” he wrote.

He said he would work with fellow directors to uphold PROVEN’s principles of opportunity, discipline, innovation and long-term value creation through “rigorous oversight, sound governance and a sustained focus on shareholder value”.

business@gleanerjm.com