Can Shareholders Trust Derrimon’s Numbers Again?
Employees have left involuntarily, three people are before the courts, and Derrimon could pursue legal action against the company that implemented its failed ERP system.
But after nearly 4 billion Jamaican dollars in inventory write-offs, the biggest question is: Can shareholders trust Derrimon’s numbers again?
You may have heard about the issue. A badly implemented enterprise resource planning—or ERP—system left Derrimon without reliable information about its inventory, costs and profit margins for almost two years.
The company ultimately restated its financial results going back to 2023 and reported a J$2.5-billion group loss for 2025.
In an interview on Taking Stock, founder and executive chairman Derrick Cotterell disclosed that three people are before the courts in connection with alleged fraud at one Derrimon location, linked to weaknesses created by the ERP system.
He also confirmed that some employees left the company involuntarily—but he also accepted overall responsibility.
“Some voluntarily, some not voluntarily. So we have done a lot of the accountability thing. Ultimately, you know, I take accountability for Derrimon Trading. I am the executive chairman and I’m also the major shareholder of the company, between myself and the family. So I ultimately take responsibility. I can’t not.”
Derrick Cotterell, Chairman, Derrimon
But accepting responsibility does not automatically restore trust.
Cotterell said Derrimon has introduced another software system to double-check its ERP data, increased its physical inventory checks and appointed an independent accounting firm.
“The audit committee of the board has appointed an independent company to review our numbers at the end of each quarter. And so the numbers that we produce are not just, quote-unquote, in-house numbers, but are reviewed by an independent third-party accounting firm.”
Derrick Cotterell, Chairman, Derrimon
Derrimon’s parent company returned to profitability in the first quarter, but the overall group still lost J$169 million, while revenue fell by almost one-third.
Derrimon says its turnaround has begun. But trust will only return if the company consistently delivers accurate, timely and profitable results.
And that’s The Bottom Line.
So do you have confidence that Derrimon can turn things around?
