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Pan Jamaica Group Limited will be divesting a mix of listed equities and funds worth about $6 billion, Vice-Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Hall has said.
“It’s to remove assets that we do not have control over in terms of the timing of cash flows,” Hall said Thursday at the company’s annual general meeting held at The ROK Hotel, which is owned by Pan Jam.
The group currently holds $37.6 billion in capital, down slightly from $38.5 billion recorded a year earlier. Its average return on capital was six per cent in 2024, compared to 4.2 per cent in 2023.
Returns fell into single-digit range at less than eight per cent at the onset of the pandemic in 2020. Prior to that turning point, returns were at 21.7 per cent.
The company intends to redeploy capital into ventures with more consistent earnings to improve returns. Hall noted that Jamaica Producers Group, which merged its operating assets with Pan Jam in 2023, historically recorded an average return on capital of 15 per cent.
The merger created a conglomerate worth $143.6 billion in total assets in 2024, up from $58.2 billion in 2022, the year before consolidation of the businesses.
Last year, Pan Jamaica exited the Downing Street Realty Fund XI, a Canada-based fund, for $553 million, from which it realised a gain of $350 million. Additionally, the group disposed of land in Norbrook, St Andrew, citing its incompatibility with core operations.
“The land in question was in Norbrook and, therefore, zoned as residential, making it outside of our focus,” Hall explained, referring to the group’s property segment, which prioritises retail stores, business hotels, and commercial real estate.
While the group invests in warehousing within its logistics operations, it generally avoids residential developments. Pan Jamaica operates across four main segments – property, logistics, food and finance. Within its property division, Hall noted that a Montego Bay property remained under active consideration for development. He declined to give details.
“The intention is to develop the land within our strategic objectives. As said before, it could be retail, business hotels, and corporate offices,” said Hall.
For the March first quarter, Pan Jamaica reported net profit of $2.1 billion, reflecting an 81 per cent year-on-year increase. Its cash holdings improved 11 per cent to $15.7 billion.
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