Main Event earns $63m in revenues from weddings
Published:Friday | January 4, 2019 | 12:00 AM
Main Event Entertainment Limited, the event management, production, promotions, and digital signage solutions company, earned more than $63 million from the wedding market in its first year of venturing into that market.
The wedding division, called M-Style & Decor, aided in pushing the group's total revenues, which span four divisions, to $1.4 billion, or 18 per cent higher year on year.
Dr Ian Blair, chairman of the finance committee, told the Financial Gleaner that the division continues to earn but has yet to make a profit.
"M-Style's over $63 million revenue has not achieved break-even as yet," stated Blair.
Despite not breaking even, the division accounted for about one-third of new incremental revenues made by the group in 2018.
While the size of the wedding market remains largely undisclosed, the company previously described the market as significant.
There are many competitors in the wedding space, with over 12 pages of listings in the Yellow Pages offering services in that market. Notably, it exceeds the nine pages for party equipment providers and three pages for events marketing and planning services.
Some of the larger companies operate on the north coast to cater to tourist weddings, including Tai Flora limited, which operates six locations islandwide. Part of Main Event's strategy has been to enter the Montego Bay market on the north coast.
During the year, Main Event leased a 3,000 square-foot property in Montego Bay, St James. That space is in addition to the roughly 32,000 square feet of warehouse space it uses at Newport West, Kingston; 4,000 square feet at its main office at Lady Musgrave Road, St Andrew; and 1,200 square feet at its Barbican, St Andrew, office.
During the year also, the company acquired two long-term loans: $102.9 million for capital expenditure from Sagicor Bank, which carries interest of 6.75 per cent to 12.77 per cent; and $23.4 million from National Commercial Bank at 11 per cent interest.
"The new $125 million loan facility is being used for additional equipment for the expanded operations and M-Style," Blair told the Financial Gleaner.
The loans, acquired in the 2018 financial year, allowed the company to put long-term debt on its balance sheet which in previous years was nil.
Three of the four divisions recorded year-on-year rises in revenue. Its entertainment division earned $1 billion, audio and film division $222.1 million, and M-Style & Decor $63.6 million. The digital signage division recorded $77.3 million, down from $119.6 million a year earlier.
During Main Event's financial year, some of the large events the company provided services for included Sumfest, Diamond Mile, Boys and Girls' Champs, Independence Grand Gala, New Year's Eve on the Waterfront, and Dream Weekend.
"We have some very large events slated for later in the year," said Blair.
Net profit dipped 6.0 per cent to $94.7 million year on year due to increasing costs, higher depreciation of its growing asset base, investments in training, marketing, and research and development, the company stated.
Main Event was incorporated in 2004 by its CEO, Solomon Sharpe, and Chief Operating Officer Richard Bair, who took the company public in February 2017 and listed it on the junior market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
The company was valued at $541 million based on shareholders equity, with $942 million in total assets.