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Gains from its joint ventures uncharacteristically pushed Sygnus Real Estate Finance Limited into positive territory for its third quarter ending May 2025.
In an earnings call on Tuesday, Chief Investment Officer for Sygnus Group Jason Morris said the third-quarter profitability was mainly due to gains from joint ventures, including Audere Holdings Limited, which holds the One Belmont commercial tower, and the company’s stake in Delphin Holdings Limited.
Sygnus Real Estate chalked up profit of $151.74 million, a turnaround from a loss of $136.02 million for the similar period in 2024. This was on the back of total investment income of $380.54 million, compared to negative $82.43 million in 2024.
Its gains from joint ventures, amounting to $543 million – compared to a loss of $6.37 million in the comparative May 2024 quarter – served to erase the company’s operating loss and recoloured its bottom line from red to black.
During the period, Sygnus Real Estate acquired an 86 per cent stake in Delphin Holdings Limited, which owns 4.9 acres of beachfront property in Trelawny.
“Because the acquisition was done at a substantial discount to what the actual market value of the asset is,” the company booked a gain, “which is part of what we are in the business of doing,” said Morris.
“That’s part of how you unlock value; by being able to identify and negotiate and get into transactions that gives an upside,” he said on the earnings call.
Sygnus Real Estate Finance now has three joint-venture partnerships, two of which are new, and all of which are engaged in property development. The company recently increased its stake in Audere from 70 per cent to 86 per cent on February 28 of this year; acquired 71 per cent of 5658 LMR Limited, which holds resort villa property at Landfall in Ocho Rios; and acquired 86 per cent of Delphin on May 29.
The company transferred its 16 Montrose Road property and exited a fourth joint venture, Monadh Rois Limited, last December.
As for Sygnus Real Estate’s other operations, the company also increased investment in third-party REINs, or real estate investment notes, by 21.5 per cent to $2.24 billion. Morris also reported that Sygnus exited investments valued at $2.01 billion during the period, up from $1.79 billion in 2024.
Reporting on the company’s operational highlights, Head of Real Estate & Project Finance, David Cummings, said the One Belmont building is complete, and that some tenants are in the process of moving in, while others are completing their interior designs.
Regarding the 14-acre beachfront property at Mammee Bay, St Ann, Cummings said there were continuing talks with potential partners, and would have an update on the direction of the Mammee Bay project in coming months.
Meanwhile, designs are being finalised for the Lakes Pen logistical and industrial park in St Catherine. Cummings said the project remains on track for construction to commence in early 2026.
As for the company’s plan to go after business in the region, Cummings said the company is taking its time to assess the risks and opportunities in the residential, hospitality and commercial sectors.
“We’re taking our time to understand the territory, taking our time to understand the local regulations, understand the local players, professionals, contractors … the absorptive capacity in each of these territories, so that when we do make the submission through our governance process here, our investment committees can react (in a deliberative way),” Cummings said.
English (US) ·