Caribbean Producers (Jamaica) Limited – Fixed Dividend Preference Shares

What it is

Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Montego Bay, CPJ specialises in supplying food, beverages, meats, seafood, dairy, wines and spirits — along with logistics and supply-chain solutions — mainly to the hospitality industry. It is Jamaica’s pre-eminent institutional food-service distributor, operating across wholesale and distribution of food, non-food, beverages, wine and spirits, as well as manufacturing meats and juices.

Revenue splits roughly two-thirds from hotels and resorts (USD $103.2 million) and one-third from retail stores (USD $43.4 million) in the year ended June 2024. CPJ also runs “CPJ Market” retail stores in Jamaica and St.

Lucia.

The CPFD ticker on the TTSE is a preference share — a different class of security from the ordinary CPJ share on the JSE. CPFD traded at TTD $0.71 on the TTSE as of late June 2026, with zero volume recorded in that session — typical of illiquid preference shares.

A preference share pays a fixed, pre-agreed dividend and ranks ahead of ordinary shareholders if the company is ever wound up, but does not normally carry a vote or share in profit growth.

Who owns it

A.S. Bryden & Sons Holdings Limited (ASBH) now owns 75.3% of CPJ, making CPJ a subsidiary of ASBH.

Seprod Ltd, a regional manufacturing and distribution company headquartered in Jamaica, acquired ASBH in 2023, scooping up a 60% share in that company. So the chain runs: Seprod → ASBH (75.3%) → CPJ.

By December 2024, the founders had sold their remaining 30% stake to ASBH for J$2.69 billion (USD $17.08 million), pushing ASBH’s total ownership to 75.28% and triggering a mandatory offer to minority shareholders under JSE rules. Co-founder Mark Hart, who served as CEO from 2004 to 2011 and then Executive Chairman, remains a board director.

Who runs it

Nicholas Hospedales is the CEO of CPJ, appointed following ASBH’s acquisition of 44.8% of CPJ’s interests. He spent over a decade at ASBH leading its food and grocery, premium beverage and operations units, and before that held regional leadership roles at Nestlé.

Richard Pandohie was appointed Chairman of the CPJ Board on July 9, 2024; he also serves as CEO of the Seprod Group and of AS Bryden & Sons Holdings Limited. Co-founder Thomas Tyler, who served as CEO from 2011 to 2016, is now Deputy Chairman, focusing on vendor and customer relationships.

The money, in plain words

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, CPJ reported gross operating revenue of USD $156.06 million — TTD ~$1.049 billion at the current rate. Net profit for that period was USD $5.53 million, giving a net profit margin of about 3.5% (our calculation): thin but not unusual for a distributor whose main value lies in logistics and relationships, not manufacturing mark-ups.

Shareholders’ equity stood at USD $38.23 million at year-end 2024, producing a return on equity of approximately 14.5% (our calculation) — respectable for the sector. Cash doubled over the prior fiscal year to USD $10 million, while capital rose to USD $38.7 million from USD $32.3 million.

What it is doing now

Under ASBH’s ownership, CPJ is targeting Trinidad and Tobago as its next material market, with CEO Hospedales leading that expansion project. The Pandohie-led Seprod Group has been explicit about surpassing USD $1 billion in consolidated annual revenue by 2026, and CPJ is a critical component of that plan.

CPJ disclosed a delay in filing its audited financial statements for the full year ended December 31, 2025 — announced on the JSE on March 27, 2026 — attributed to the transition to a December year-end, a change of auditors from KPMG Jamaica to PwC Jamaica, and the complexity of integrating with the Bryden/Seprod reporting framework. That delay is itself a signal worth watching: it is not a crisis, but it adds opacity at a moment when investors most want clarity.

What to watch

• The audited FY2025 accounts. When they arrive, they will show whether the surge in administration costs (which rose 49% in the first nine months of 2025) has peaked or is structural.
• The mandatory offer outcome. ASBH is required to extend a mandatory offer to all remaining CPJ shareholders within 30 days of its stake passing 50%. How much of the minority takes the exit will determine the free float — and the liquidity — that remains on both the JSE and the TTSE.
• CPFD dividend payments. The preference share carries a fixed coupon; if CPJ’s profits compress further under integration costs, the board’s ability to sustain that fixed payment is the number to track.
• T&T expansion. Entering Trinidad and Tobago — the TTSE’s home market — would be strategically neat, but is operationally complex in a market already served by the wider Bryden network.

This is news, not investment advice.