By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

AML Foods has received a more than $23m payout from its insurers to cover the damage and loss caused by the mid-April blaze that destroyed its Solomon’s Old Trail and Cost Right stores.

The BISX-listed food retail and franchise group, in its fourth quarter and annual results announcement for the period to end-April 2025, disclosed that it had largely received the anticipated insurance recoveries to compensate for the $21m combined loss it suffered due to the fire.

Revealing that it had received a $3.5m payout during the two weeks between the fire and its 2025 financial year-end, AML Foods broke down its $21m loss into a $15.8m write-off of its property, equipment and plant, with further $4.1m and $1.1m write-offs relating to destroyed inventory and what was described as “other fire-related expenses”.

Some $24.234m worth of insurance claim income was recorded on AML Foods’ balance sheet at the end-April year’s close, with a $23.1m payout received from insurers subsequent to that date. The payment almost equals the $23.2m VAT-inclusive insurance receivable noted to shareholders, and the group indicated further that it has also claimed for business interruption coverage due to the fire.

Gavin Watchorn, AML Foods president and chief executive, could not be reached for comment before press time last night. However, the BISX-listed food retail and franchise group’s results provide the first insight into the extent of the financial losses and damage caused by the Old Trail Road fire.

“As a result of the fire, the company recorded losses totaling $21m, which comprised of $15.8m from write-off of property, plant and equipment; $4.1m from inventory damaged; and $1.1m from other fire-related expenses,” AML Foods said.

“The company’s assets at these locations were insured and, as a result of the losses, the company recorded insurance income of $24.2m net of VAT comprising $20.4m for property, plant and equipment losses and $3.8m for inventory losses.

“As of April 30, 2025, the company received $3.5m of the sums insured inclusive of VAT from insurers. Total receivables from insurers of $23.2m inclusive of VAT are included in the insurance claim receivable on the consolidated statement of financial provision.”

And, signalling that much of the claim has now been paid, AML Foods added: “Subsequent to April 30, 2025, the company received cash totaling $23.1m, inclusive of VAT from insurers related to the Old Trail Fire...

“The company also has various insurance policies which cover business interruption losses related to net profit, payroll and various inter-company charges. Any insurance proceeds received from claims on these policies will be reported in the period they relate to subsequent to April 30, 2025.”

The net $3.175m gain, represented by the difference between the anticipated insurance claim income of $24.234m and $21.059m fire-related losses, helped boost AML Foods’ net profits for the year-ended April 30, 2025, to $14.562m - a figure almost triple the prior year’s $4.902m.

And, even if the insurance recovery gain was stripped out, the $11.387m in full-year net income would still have been more than double, or 132 percent, higher than the prior year. This came after AML Foods’ group-wide sales broke the $200m mark for the first time, coming in at $203.01m - some $12m, or 6.3 percent, higher than 2024’s $190.955m.

With gross profits almost $10m higher than the prior year at $69.171m, AML Foods was able to almost double net operating profit to $14.06m compared to 2024’s $7.41m despite a $3.7m jump in general and administrative expenses from $52.639m to $56.381m.

Mr Watchorn, speaking to Tribune Business at the official opening of the remodelled Solomon’s Old Trail store last July just eight-and-a-half months before the blaze destroyed it, revealed then that AML Foods had “expanded our ambitions” to now target becoming a “$300m company by 2030”. This represented a $50m increase from the $250m goal unveiled just three years previously.

It is unclear how the Old Trail Road fire will impact those targets, but Mr Watchorn in his message to shareholders pledged that AML Foods is “committed” to rebuilding an Old Trail road location that also housed the group’s Cost Right location which had also recently opened in late 2024 following its move from the Town Centre Mall.

Cost Right had occupied the 55,000 square feet formerly used for Solomon’s SuperCentre, and was immediately next door to the remodelled 25,000 square foot Solomon’s Old Trail outlet. AML Foods had invested $22m in acquiring the 80,000 square feet that both its retail formats had occupied, along with the remodel and renovations, prior to the fire striking.

“During the quarter, AML Foods faced a significant challenge with the loss of our Solomon’s Old Trail and Cost Right Nassau locations due to a devastating fire. In response, we immediately activated our disaster recovery and business continuity plans, ensuring uninterrupted operations and maintaining stability across the business,” Mr Watchorn told AML Foods shareholders.

“We are proud of how our teams responded to this unfortunate event. We have retained all team members from the impacted locations, and demolition work is now underway. We are committed to rebuilding our Old Trail facility and will provide updates on the reconstruction timeline as more information becomes available.”

As for the group’s financial performance, he added: “These outcomes reflect the impact of our ongoing strategic investments in data analytics, operational efficiencies and customer engagement. By leveraging data-driven insights, we have enhanced our ability to serve customers more effectively, resulting in higher customer satisfaction scores and increased basket size.

“We have also made significant progress in improving in-stock levels, particularly for key items, and in personalising our offerings to better meet individual customer needs. Additionally, we achieved a nearly 50 percent year-over-year reduction in shrink expenses, which also significantly contributed to our improved performance.”