3 months ago
22
Guardian Holdings Limited delivered TT$771 million in net profit for the March quarter, more than tripling last year’s quarterly results due to the sale of a subsidiary.
The earnings convert to about $18 billion in Jamaican currency.
The profit boost came primarily from a TT$650-million gain tied to the sale of Thoma Exploitative BV, a one-time transaction that lifted earnings. Without this deal, profit before tax would have landed at TT$121 million, marking a drop from TT$229.5 million a year earlier. Reflecting the dip, the return on equity was down from 24 per cent to 23 per cent.
Revenue at the regional insurance conglomerate grew five per cent to TT$1.5 billion.
“This growth in core business was driven by the group’s deliberate focus on key strategies and transformational initiatives to deliver the greatest possible value to our clients through our customer service and product offerings,” Guardian said in its quarterly earnings report to shareholders.
The life, health and pension segment contributed TT$734 million, while property and casualty earned TT$746 million, both showing steady upward momentum.
A key challenge this quarter stemmed from import tariff policy changes in the United States, which shook investment performance and reduced Guardian’s net fair value gains by two-thirds to TT$47 million from TT$148 million a year earlier.
On April 2, US President Donald Trump proposed a baseline 10 per cent tariff on global imports, with China, the world’s largest manufacturer, facing a significantly higher tariff of 125 per cent. This proposal and other tariff measures have led to volatility in capital markets, as investors reassess equities and bonds in response to the potential financial impact on investments.
“Import tariff changes announced by the US government on an already-volatile investment market impacted on our first quarter’s performance,” said Guardian, which resulted in a year-over-year reduction in net fair value gains of $101 million. “Although this quarter’s results from continuing operations were below expectations, the underlying fundamentals of the group remain strong,” the company asserted.
Guardian Holdings, which is based in Trinidad & Tobago, operates in multiple regional markets. It is majority-owned by Jamaica’s NCB Financial Group.
Despite the tariff headwinds, Guardian Holding strengthened its financial position year-on-year during the March quarter. Its book value rose from TT$17 to TT$23.26 per share, while its earnings per share jumped from TT$1.01 to TT$3.32, the latter reflecting the one-off gain from the sale of Thoma.
English (US) ·