VM Wealth closes on Republic Fund acquisition, rebrands in Barbados

 


VM Investments Limited (VMIL), towards its target of diversification - on January 19,  purchased the Republic Funds in Barbados, following an extended negotiation and acquisition period, and rebranded them as VM Wealth Funds.

The new fund’s launch was held on March 21 in Barbados. Management notes that the company is targeting both revenue growth and diversification aiming “to  expand revenue streams, reduce dependency on dominant revenue sources, manage financial risk, and drive innovation.”

In its newly released annual report, company directors stated, “We responded to the fallout from the recent high-inflation and high-interest-rate environment by adopting larger reserves for asset impairment and expected credit losses.”  Stock price volatility was also noted as a challenge during the year.

Profit before taxation for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, amounted to $398.93 million, a 130 per cent increase relative to $173.30 million reported in 2023. Loss before taxation for the fourth quarter amounted to $260.02 million (2023: loss before taxation of $69.60 million).

 Net profit for the twelve months amounted to $532.24 million, a 168 per cent increase from the $198.84 million reported in 2023. Earnings per share for the year amounted to $0.35 (2023: EPS: $0.13)..

Net Interest Income grew by 216.59 percent, moving from $47.82 million in 2023 to $151.40 million in 2024. Total assets increased by 3.21 percent, from $29.51 billion in 2023 to $30.46 billion in 2024.

VMIL achieved a Return on Equity of 12.82 percent and VM Wealth Management achieved a Capital Adequacy Ratio of 23.59 percent,  above  regulatory requirement of 10 percent.

During the year, VMIL paid out $127.50 million via two interim payments, for a dividend payout ratio of 22.9 percent.

VMILs income fund led in its fund class, with a standout 6.58 percent return for fund holders.

 

Caribbean Money Daily

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kintyre makes US$300,000 investment in Sevens Ice

Image
  Tyrone Wilson Chairman, President and CEO Kintyre Holdings (JA) Limited (KHL) and Seven Kingston Limited, owners of the Seven Ultra Lounge and Restaurant, on January 14 announced a joint venture to launch Sevens Ice. Kintyre Holdings has made an investment in excess of US$300,000 in acquiring an associate stake in Seven and also establishing the start-up for the ice venture. "This initiative addresses Jamaica’s growing demand for high-quality ice, with operations set to begin in Q1 2025," Wilson stated. Additionally, the venture has acquired a cold storage facility to manage its start-up capacity and is exploring the importation of ice to bridge the gap between demand and supply, ensuring a consistent and reliable market presence. Distribution Expansion Wilson said that Sevens Ice has secured a distribution point in Kingston and is in the process of setting up another in St. Catherine to serve the western and central parts of the island. This expansion will ensure broade...
Read more

BCMG increases risk management oversight: Launches surveys-as-a -service

Image
Insurance brokers in Jamaica often send underwriters themselves to survey risks; however, they frequently do not have the technical knowledge required to produce the best results. BCMG Insurance Brokers Limited (BCMG) in response, introduced - in support of the wider brokerage industry - an updated surveys-as-a service product which has been embraced by the wider community as groundbreaking. Senior Risk Manager on the New Business Team of BCMG David Lazarus explains, “We saw where the technical details and in-depth knowledge of the intricacies of business operations were not always being taken into consideration. This was seen as an opportunity to expand into this space.” In 2020, Billy Craig Insurance Brokers and Maritime General Insurance Brokers, MGI, signed an agreement to merge their operations to form BCMG Insurance Brokers Limited. Following the union, the new company has been exploring options to expand the service capability of the brokerage and increase value for clients...
Read more

Wish List: University Hospital CEO seeks top-flight CFO for turnaround miracle

Image
  It's a puzzling end of year for the finance team at the University Hospital of the West Indies where, despite an ongoing plan to quadruple plant size and service centres for the teaching institution, its current state is one of insolvency, with CEO Fitzgerald Mitchell wishing for a new Chief Financial Officer with a touch of genius to help in turning things around. Medium term, the government is aiming to significantly update this, the Caribbean's premium medical hospital and teaching school. At last report, the price tag on the project was $4.9 billion. In the works are plans for a new 6-storey, 120,000 square feet medical facility, which will accommodate an additional 40 medical and surgical beds, improvements to outpatient or ambulatory surgery, lecture rooms, conference rooms, and upgrading of the cardiology hybrid interventional surgery room and the neonatal intensive care and administrative departments. However, the institution is currently struggling to become solvent ...
Read more