Key local office furniture supplier, Stationery and Office Supplies (SOS), recorded a rare pullback in sales from October to December.
The revenue at the firm declined five per cent to $408 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 from $430 million in 2022. Profit dipped 40 per cent to $24 million, but management announced measures to prop up sales.
The fourth quarter of 2023 as usual was our weakest quarter for the entire year, and for good reason, SOS, led by managing director Allan McDaniel said.
In December 2023, SOS had limited output due to only 15 working days and projects extending into the new year because of holiday season closures.
Despite the fourth quarter pullback, at the end of the year, SOS increased its total assets by 25 per cent to $1.74 billion. The company benefited from higher cash and a one-third rise in receivables and prepayments.
Capital grew to $1.3 billion from $1.1 billion in the previous financial year.
During the year, the SOS shipped six containers to Trinidad to “The Office Authority”. It added a new regional distributor, ‘Décor Office’ in St Lucia.
SOS also purchased new machinery for Seek, its subsidiary that makes schoolbooks and notebooks.
“This new machinery is expected to arrive mid-2024 and is expected to double Seek’s output,” said the company.
As SOS continues to grow, inventory management becomes even more important and to be able to keep up with the rapid changes, SOS said it has to continue to grow its warehousing capacity.
During 2023, SOS increased its storage capabilities in Montego Bay by 3,000 square feet and built an additional 5,000 square foot building on its Beechwood Avenue property, bringing its total warehousing space up to just over 50,000 square feet.
At the end of 2023, SOS also purchased two new properties in Kingston with plans to erect two additional warehouses to increase its storage capacity by an additional 40 per cent.
