KINGSTON, Jamaica — Mayberry Jamaican Equities Limited experienced a dramatic financial reversal in 2025 as widespread declines on the Jamaica Stock Exchange triggered substantial unrealized losses within its investment portfolio. The market downturn effectively erased previous gains and significantly diminished the company’s net asset value.
The investment firm reported unaudited results showing a total comprehensive loss of $5.7 billion for the twelve-month period ending December 31, 2025—a stark contrast to the $584 million gain recorded in 2024. Net losses reached $4.9 billion, with loss per share expanding dramatically to $4.10 from just 12 cents the previous year.
Notably, the losses stemmed not from operational deficiencies but from depreciating market valuations. Operating expenses actually decreased throughout the year, while dividend income from portfolio companies increased. The comprehensive loss primarily reflected declining equity prices across the local exchange, reversing valuation gains achieved in 2024.
The company’s asset value contracted by 22.4% to $18.3 billion as share prices fell. Shareholders’ equity declined by approximately one-third to $12.2 billion, reducing net asset value per share to $10.12 from $14.89 at the close of 2024.
Mayberry’s share price mirrored this downward trajectory, closing the year at $8.75—a 26.2% year-on-year decrease. The stock currently trades below its reported underlying value, indicating persistent investor caution toward the sector.
Portfolio concentration emerged as a critical vulnerability during the market downturn. More than half of Mayberry’s investment value remains concentrated in a single holding, Supreme Ventures Limited, with the remainder distributed across 24 other Jamaica Stock Exchange-listed companies. This concentration strategy, while potentially rewarding during bull markets, amplified losses during the downturn, with declines in a limited number of large holdings—including investments classified as associates—accounting for most of the portfolio’s value reduction.
The market weakness occurred despite improving macroeconomic conditions. Jamaica’s economy expanded in 2025 following hurricane-related disruptions the previous year, supported by growth in both services and goods-producing industries. However, this recovery failed to translate into equity market gains, with both the Main and Junior Market indices closing lower due to valuation adjustments, elevated inflation in the latter half of the year, and ongoing uncertainty regarding extreme weather risks.
Additional market pressures included modest weakening of the Jamaican dollar against the US dollar, prompting repeated foreign-exchange interventions by the Bank of Jamaica to stabilize market conditions.
Despite the substantial losses, Mayberry Jamaican Equities concluded the year with financial stability intact, maintaining positive shareholders’ equity and manageable debt levels without immediate signs of financial distress. However, the erosion of asset values has diminished the company’s capacity to withstand further market volatility in 2026. Future performance will likely depend less on cost control—which remained effective throughout 2025—and more on the recovery of equity prices, particularly among its largest holdings.