Businessuite #4 Caribbean Ranked Public Company for 2015
GraceKennedy Limited “On Our Way To Becoming The Global Consumer Group”

Market/Stock Exchange: Jamaica

Company: GraceKennedy Limited

2015 Rank:
2015 Rank: # 4
2014 Rank: #3

Chairman: Gordon V. Shirley, OJ
Group Chief Executive Officer: Donald G. Wehby

Address: 73 Harbour Street, Kingston, Jamaica
Website: www.gracekennedy.com
Annual Reports and Performance http://www.jamstockex.com/market-data/stock-data/gk

Company Profile:
GraceKennedy Limited is a publicly listed company on the Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchanges. The company was founded on February 14, 1922, and is the parent company of a Group of subsidiaries operating mainly in the food and financial services industries. The Group’s operations are structured as follows:

• GraceKennedy Foods (GK Foods): This comprises the business of food manufacturing
through our own factories as well as through external suppliers, the distribution of Grace
and Grace owned brands in Jamaica and internationally, and the operation of retail outlets through our Hi-Lo Supermarket chain in Jamaica.

The Group also manufactures and distributes third party brands in Jamaica and internationally. GK Foods operates primarily in Jamaica, the Caribbean, Central America, North America,
Europe and Africa.

• GraceKennedy Financial Group (GKFG): This comprises our commercial banking, general
insurance, insurance brokerage, investment banking, remittance, cambio and payment
services businesses. GKFG presently operates within the English-speaking Caribbean.

• Hardware & Lumber Limited (H&L): This is a publicly listed subsidiary on the Jamaica
Stock Exchange engaged in the retailing and wholesaling of building materials, home improvement supplies, household items and agricultural products. H&L operates within Jamaica with 10 Rapid True Value locations and six Agro Grace Retail Centres located island wide.

“Strengthening Our Jamaican Businesses, Growing Our International Presence”

The following edited extract was taken from the company’s 2014 Annual Report to shareholders.

“In 2014, the GraceKennedy Group made significant investments towards the achievement of our Company’s strategic objectives. We are also very excited about the prospects for 2015 and beyond, as the impact of 2014’s investments continue to be realized.

Group revenues for 2014 were J$77.97 billion, representing an increase of 15.9% or J$10.71 billion over 2013 (J$67.26 billion). Net profit attributable to the shareholders of the Company increased from J$3.22 billion to J$3.29 billion during 2014, representing a 2.0% increase compared to 2013. Earnings per share increased from J$9.66 in 2013 to J$9.90 in 2014.

Shareholders’ equity increased by 11.5% or J$3.77 billion moving from J$32.77 billion in 2013 to J$36.53 billion in 2014. In keeping with our Company’s objective to improve shareholder returns, dividends totalling J$2.33 per share were paid in 2014 compared to J$2.18 in 2013, an increase of 6.9%. We returned a total of J$916.12 million to our shareholders through a combination of dividends and stock repurchases. At the end of 2014, the GraceKennedy stock price closed at J$61.03, a 10.8% increase over the prior year, while the Jamaica Stock Exchange Market Index declined 5.3% over the same period.

Total assets fell by 6.2% or J$6.78 billion from J$108.64 billion in 2013 to J$101.86 billion in 2014, due primarily to the sale of our equity in First Global Financial Services Limited.

The major areas of focus for our Company during 2014 were: strengthening our Jamaican businesses, growing our international presence, specifically in Western Africa, Continental Europe and on both the East and West Coasts of North America, improving capital management, cost containment and continued attention and commitment to our customers and employees. These, along with the GraceKennedy Group’s commitment to good corporate citizenship, drove our activities during 2014.

The Foods Division experienced several changes in both the Jamaican and international markets. We executed a major initiative to expand our USA business with the acquisition of the business and assets of La Fe Foods Inc. inclusive of top Hispanic Brand, La Fe. This acquisition represents a major step for us, and will be the platform for the growth of GraceKennedy’s North American business going forward.

We anticipate that our introduction into the Hispanic food and beverage market, one of the fastest growing segments in the food market in the United States, will be a significant opportunity for growth.

We integrated the La Fe brands into GraceKennedy Foods USA LLC, and started the self-distribution of Grace Brands in the North East USA, Florida and Atlanta. We will continue to distribute these brands to surrounding areas through a network of distributors.

Notwithstanding the continued depreciation of the Jamaican currency as well as changes in consumer demand as a result of decreased purchasing power, we were able to grow revenue in the Jamaican market. We saw positive signs in Grace Agro Processors (GAP), part of our manufacturing arm in Jamaica, where pepper mash production increased significantly in 2014, enabling the production of supply for local demand and for export.

Our Foods business in the United Kingdom recorded good growth in revenue, with strong profit growth over the prior year. There was also the expansion of Grace owned brands across the retailers in the markets within that region.

Our business in Africa also saw a major development, with the start of our distribution arm for our Grace and Grace owned brands in parts of West Africa. This led to the hiring of our first employees in that region.

Following the divestment of our equity in First Global Financial Services Limited to Proven Investments Limited, GK Capital Management Limited (“GK Capital”) was established in June 2014. GK Capital’s lines of business include equity trading, corporate finance, mergers and acquisition activity and private equity.BM

Gordon V. Shirley is also Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer of the Port Authority of Jamaica. Chair of GraceKennedy’s Compensation Sub-Committee and Member of GraceKennedy’s Corporate Governance & Nomination Committee.