Investment companies Pan Jamaica (PJAM) and First Jamaica (FJI) both posted strong results for the period ending September 30.

Both companies are chaired by Maurice Facey and run by Stephen Facey.

"Both results are excellent, quarter over quarter and on a year over year basis, with FJI up 51 per cent and PJAM up 49 per cent," remarked Mark Croskery, president and chief executive officer of Stocks and Securities.

PJAM posted net profits of $398.9 million for the quarter ending September 2007, a 46 per cent increase over the similar period for 2006.

Net profit attributable to shareholders amounted to $289.9 million, representing a 45.6 per cent increase over the $198.7 million recorded for the same period in 2006.

FJI also reported a 50 per cent increase in net profit for the quarter amounting to $394.7 million.

Net profits attributable to shareholders amounted to $391.5 million compared to the $259.4 million for the same period in 2006, an increase of 50.9 per cent.

For the nine-month period PJAM recorded net profit amounting to $1.01 billion, a 22 per cent increase over the corresponding period, while FJI had an increase of 23.4 totalled $1 billion.

Both companies reported strong growth in their earnings per share. For the quarter FJI basic and fully diluted EPS was $1.69 compared to $1.16 for the similar period.

Improved result

PJAM recorded fully diluted EPS $1.66 in comparison to $1.12 for 2006.

"This strong growth in earnings for each company comes from the associated companies showing improved results," said Croskery.

Improvements were seen in both the property and investment segments of each company's operation.

"For FJI the performance for the quarter clearly reflected continued improvements from all operating divisions," said Johann Heaven, assistant vice president for strategic planning and research at DB&G.

"With the increased demand for prime commercial real estate, the property segment continues to enjoy high levels of occupancy at 94 per cent."

FJI investment management increases its contribution to operation profits by $14 million adding a total of $64.6 million for the nine-month period ending September 2007.

PJAM property segment contributed 6.7 per cent or $293.1 million to operating profits for the nine-month period.

The investment management segment under PJAM added 19 per cent or $31.3 million to operating profits due to second quarter gains partly offset by a reduced investment base resulting from a special dividend for 2007.

Share of results in associated companies increased by 73.9 per cent to $258.3 million when compared to last year for FJI, while that for PJAM improved by 74.6 per cent bringing the nine-month share to a total of $568.7 million.

However, both companies saw a decline in their total assets with PJAM now standing at $10 billion and FJI at $9.4 billion as at September 30.

Stocks and Securities Limited continues to recommend strongly each business, saying that while the stocks are not being chased by the market, both represent strong value and growth prospects.

sabrina.gordon@gleanerjm.com