Fontana sales strong even before new location
Published:Wednesday | December 18, 2019 | 12:17 AM
Jamaicans are buying a lot more goods from the chain of Fontana pharmacies, which earned more revenue even before factoring in its new location at Waterloo in St Andrew.
Sales for its first quarter, which runs between July and September 30, 2019, totalled $920.7 million when compared to the $846 million it earned in the similar period in 2018. Sales are projected to increase during the December 2019 quarter due to seasonal rises, but also due to the October opening of its new location at Waterloo square.
“Now that the new Waterloo Square store has opened, we are encouraged by the response from our customers, and we anticipate healthy growth in our revenues,” according to a joint statement on the company’s performance from Fontana CEO Anne Chang and Chairman Kevin O’Brien Chang.
Profit dipped in the September quarter to $18.4 million compared to $42.4 million a year earlier, due to costs associated with the buildout of the new location. Fontana managers confirmed that the profit declined mainly as a result of the “imminent opening” of the Waterloo Square location in October.
“Increased expenses were incurred to recruit and train the new team, for store set-up and for increased marketing and promotional activities ahead of the October opening,” Fontana stated.
“There was great anticipation about our coming addition at Waterloo Square with its 140 parking spaces, and we are confident that we will benefit from an increased customer base and economies of scale,” the managers said.
The company was listed on the junior market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange in January 2019. The opening of the Waterloo location has resulted in the group operating six locations islandwide. Total assets at the end of the quarter stood at $2.9 billion, up from $1.5 billion when compared with the corresponding period in the previous year.
Shareholders’ equity grew to $1.28 billion, up from $817 million or 57 per cent over previous year.