Kingston Wharves Limited (KW) for the year ended December 31, 2023, reported a 2% increase in revenue totalling $9.71 billion compared to $9.48 billion in the corresponding period last year. Revenue for the fourth quarter had an 8% increase to close at $2.66 billion compared to $2.47 billion for the comparable quarter of 2022.

Cost of sales amounted to $4.91 billion (2022: $5.00 billion), this represents a decrease of 2% year over year. Consequently, gross profit increased by 7% to $4.80 billion compared to $4.48 billion for the year ended December 31, 2022. The company booked gross profit of $1.47 billion for the fourth quarter versus $1.09 billion reported for the similar quarter of 2022.

Other operating income increased by 55% to close at $785.33 million (2022: $505.27 million), while administrative expenses decreased by 6% from $1.72 billion in 2022 to $1.62 billion in the period under review. As a result, operating profit for the year ended December 31, 2023, amounted to $3.97 billion, a 22% increase relative to $3.27 billion reported in 2022.

Finance costs totalled $189.77 million, an 86% increase from the corresponding period last year (2022: $101.89 million).

Profit before tax for the year ended December 31, 2023, amounted to $3.78 billion, a 20% increase relative to $3.16 billion reported in 2022. Profit before tax for the fourth quarter amounted to $1.12 billion (2022: $796.82 million).

Taxation for the year ended December 31, 2023, amounted to $591.60 million, a 39% increase relative to $425.13 million reported in 2022. Taxation for the fourth quarter amounted to $206.52 million (2022: $121.38 million).

Net profit for the year ended December 31, 2023, had a 17% increase to reach $3.19 billion (2022: $2.74 billion). Net profit attributable to shareholders for the year amounted to $3.12 billion, a 16% increase from the $2.69 billion reported in 2022. For the fourth quarter, net profit attributable to shareholders was $894.34 million (2022: $661.88 million).

Earnings per share (EPS) for the year amounted to $2.18 (2022: $1.88), while EPS for the quarter totalled $0.63 (2022: $0.46). The number of shares used in these calculations was 1,430,199,578.

Notably, KW’s stock price closed the trading period on February 29, 2024, at a price of $27.71 with a corresponding P/E ratio of 12.72x.

Balance Sheet Highlights:

The company’s assets totalled $59.08 billion; a 38% increase from the $42.68 billion booked in 2022 largely attributed to a 44% uptick in property, plant and equipment, which totalled $42.25 billion (2022: $29.30 billion).

Shareholder’s equity was $46.08 billion (2022: $35.83 billion), representing a book value per share of $32.22 (2022: $25.05).

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