Chairman and CEO of GraceKennedy, Douglas Orane, consults with chief financial officer Fay McIntosh in this May 2007 Gleaner photo. - FILE

Conglomerate GraceKennedy Limited has declared dividends of under 50 cents per stock unit, to be paid in two months.

The group, whose operations are split into two divisions, investment and food/retail, last year made super profits of more than $3.5 billion or $10.45 per share, nearly double the $1.8 billion or $5.61 per share recorded in 2006.

With 329.28 million issued shares, the payment - to be made May 27 to stockholders on record at May 5 - will amount to $163 million, or 11 per cent more than the $147 million paid last May, the company said in a statement quoting chief financial officer Fay McIntosh.

GraceKennedy is an $80 billion company, measured by assets. The company's revenues also ballooned to a new record of $48 billion, up from $36 billion.

GraceKennedy's largest single shareholder is the Jamaica Producers Group, which owns more than 32 million or 9.8 per cent of the issued stock.

business@gleanerjm.com