Dolphin Cove 2024 Audited Results on Lower Tides

  • After a delay in submission, Dolphin Cove Limited (DCOVE) released its Audited Financials for the year ended December 31, 2024 (FY24), which showed it recorded a 40.3% decline in net profit to US$1.83Mn. The decline was primarily driven by lower revenues, which outweighed marginal savings on total costs.
  • Revenues fell by 10.6% to US$7.51Mn as both programme[1] income (-14.1%) and ancillary services[2] (-7.0%) declined. DCOVE’s revenues were impacted by a decline in the number of park visitors, amid severe weather, primarily Hurricane Beryl, which led to park closures for 5 to 8 days. Additionally, a drop in flights to Montego Bay, particularly from major U.S. markets in the wake of the US Travel Advisory, also contributed to the decrease in visitors.
  • Lower revenues were met by marginal savings on total costs, which were down by 1.7% to US$10.59Mn. Direct costs were relatively flat, but its administrative costs were 31.0% lower, reflecting the absence of a one-off expense due to a GCT liability in FY23.
  • However, most of these savings were offset by higher operations and selling costs, up by US$0.29Mn (+7.6%) and US$0.36Mn (+13.3%) respectively. DCOVE also faced higher net finance costs, which rose by 86.4% to US$0.59Mn, as lower finance income amid lower FX gains was met by higher finance costs after the drawdown of a 12% Sagicor loan worth US$1.27Mn.
  • With lower revenues and marginal total cost savings resulting in a falloff in net profit, earnings per share declined from US$0.74 in the prior year to US$0.47.
  • At the market close on Thursday, DCOVE’s stock was J$11.50, down by 62.2% since the end of last calendar year. News that its parent company was filing for bankruptcy and boardroom disagreements contributed to the depreciation in the stock price. At its current price, DCOVE trades at a P/E of 17.10x, which is above the Junior Market Others Sector average of 16.20x.

(Source: Dolphin Cove Limited & NCBCM Research)

 

[1] Programme attraction revenue represents programme fees from hotels, cruise ships and walk-in guests.

[2] Ancillary services revenue represents revenue from the operation of restaurants, gift shops, photo shops and other adventure tours.