Archives for June 2013

FX: More buying than selling

June 29, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Friday, 28th June 2013 | In today’s foreign exchange trading, authorised dealers bought much more foreign exchange than they sold, an unusual occurrence for a Friday. This seems to have signalled to Bank of Jamaica that speculation could be re-entering the market. As such, the BOJ initiated a pre-emptive strike in an after hours move in which they announced two Certificates of Deposit instruments to mop up Jamaican dollar liquidity and pry foreign currency into the NIR in the coming week.

The total amount of currency purchased on Friday amounted to US$32.2 million and selling US$24.5 million. While the actual selling of US dollars was nearly $6 million less than purchases, the selling rate inched down by just 1 cent and the buying rate by 11 cents. There was more buying of Pound Sterling and the Canadian dollars than the amounts sold to end users.

The average selling rate for Canadian dollar gained 4 cents and for the buying rate, 9 cents. The rate for the Pound fell all of $1.18 for the buying rate to close at $152.75 and was down only 6 cents on the selling rate.

Traders dropped the minimum selling rate for three currencies between 5 cent and $1.94, while the highest selling rate hardly changed. The highest buying rate for the US dollar moved up 20 cents but for the Canadian dollar it fell by 20 cents and the pound was also off 50 cents.

JSE: Junior market index over 800

June 29, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Friday, 28th June 2013 | The junior market index was the only one to advance today surpassing the 800 point level for the first time since November 11, 2011 and is now within a stone throw from the all-time high of 811 points. Although the majority of the indices fell today the advance decline ratio was once again positive with 7 stocks moving up in price whilst 3 declined. Trading levels picked up as 8.19 million shares changed hands with a value of $116.17 million.

There was heavy trading in Carreras shares which fell 77 cents to $52 as 1.146 million units valued at $60.7 million traded, Sagicor Life traded 1.456 million units valued at $12.45 million, Scotia Group traded 563,000 units valued at $11.9 million, and Seprod traded 285,000 units at $4.14 million. Cable & Wireless, which has more than 30 million shares on offer at 15 cents, traded 650,000 units 15 cents each. Jamaica Producers gained 45 cents to close at $18.50 with nearly 25,000 shares trading, Sagicor Investments gained 49 cents but hardly any shares traded.

Proven Preference shares traded 1.7 million units at a value of $8.7 million.

Junior market | Nine junior market stocks traded, as Lasco Financial closed at an all-time high of $13 gaining a $1 in the process, having traded 162,300 share between $11 and $13. Lasco Manufacturing traded over 300,000 shares closing at $15.60 while Lasco Distributors closed at $15.90 with only 73,600 units trading. Consolidated Bakeries moved back to $1.60 at the close while trading 847,000 shares. AMG packaging which had put on 20 cents yesterday while trading a very small amount, closed at $4.20 today with 55,613 shares changing hands and lost 50 cents.

The junior market is in the golden cross which indicates that further big increases are ahead.

IC bid-offer Indicator | At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer market sentiment indicator shows that bids for 1 stock was higher with 2 stocks that had offers lower than their last selling price.

Filed Under: JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Daily Trading, JSE Company, Trading Activity

TTSE: Witco’s new high, only 5 stocks traded

June 29, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Friday, 28th June 2013 | The West Indian Tobacco Company recording a new record trading at 52 weeks high when it closed up by $1 at $117, as 3 stocks enjoyed positive changes in price with only 5 stocks trading with a volume of 217,976 shares valued at $8,117,281.

Neal & Massy Holdings had 94,995 shares changing hands for a value of $5,604,705. Republic Bank traded 10,663 shares at a value of $1,173,112. Angostura Holdings traded 92,274 shares for a value of $830,466. National Flour Mills contributed 15,800 shares to the total amount that traded, with a value of $12,450.

IC bid-offer Indicator | At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer market sentiment indicator shows that bids for 2 stocks were higher with 4 stocks that had offers lower than their last selling price.

Filed Under: Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: Daily Trading, Trading Activity, TTSE

Major management changes at D&G

June 28, 2013 by IC Insider.com

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Desnoes & Geddes Limited (DG) has advised that Jed Dryer, Finance Director, has come to the end of his three year rotation at Red Stripe and will be transitioning to a role in Miami as Finance Director for Projects commencing July 1, 2013. Dryer will remain on the boards of DG and Celebration Brands Limited.

Vernon Douglas, Group Financial Controller at Red Stripe will be Acting Finance Director effective July 1, 2013. As a result of the reorganisation of the operations in D&G, the role of Human Resources Director will no longer exist as of June 30, 2013. Lisa Lewis, Human Resources Director, Red Stripe will therefore no longer be working in this capacity as of June 30, 2013. Lisa will be resigning from the Board of Directors and Board of Trustees for the pension plan as at that date. She will be working as HR Director for Projects, Diageo WestLAC, from July 1, 2013 to September 30, 2013. After September 30, 2013 she will be leaving Diageo to pursue other interests.

Ali McLennan, former Diageo Global Beer, People and Talent Manager, will be Acting Head of HR for the company effective July 1, 2013. Marguerite Cremin Chung, Head of Corporate Relations will be taking the role of Head of Corporate Relations for Central America and the Caribbean effective July 1, 2013. Her replacement will be the subject of a future announcement. Daan De Kroon, Head of Red Stripe International & Licensed Brewing will be taking up the role of Export Director, Ypioca, Brazil. His replacement will be the subject of a future announcement.

Profit | Desnoes & Geddes reported improved results for the nine months to the end of March this year with profits after tax being up 30 percent to $1.050 billion, but in the latest quarter profits was down 18 percent to $243 million after tax. The company took a $152 million charge in the third quarter for making workers redundant, flowing from the decision to transfer the sales and distribution of its products to Celebration Brands, a joint venture company with Pepsi. The company’s management indicates that the amount written off in the quarter is 50 percent of the total separation cost.

Overseas production | The results reflect the decision last year to switch the production and sales of Red Stripe to the USA. Export sales are down as a result, but so is cost relating to exports. Local sales grew to $2.67 billion up from $2.56 billion in 2012 and for exports it was $564 million in the current fiscal year versus $450 million.

Filed Under: Company News, General Business News Tagged With: D&G, JSE Company

Scotia Insurance enters 15th year

June 28, 2013 by IC Insider.com

[Press release dated June 26, 2013] Scotia Jamaica Life Insurance Company Ltd (Scotia Insurance) marks its 15th year with more than 200,000 policy holders, assets in excess of J$50B, and in 2012, recorded over J$4.1billion in new premiums.

Hugh Reid, President of Scotia Insurance, attributed the company’s success over the last fifteen years to the dedication and commitment of its staff, loyalty of its customers and keen attention to developing products that respond to customers’ needs. “We did all the right things very early, including developing a world class team, listening carefully to our customers and investing heavily in research so that we were able to provide exactly what the market needed, “Mr. Reid said. But a major part of the success it the association with the original parent company, Bank of Nova Scotia, which provides a ready source of customers as well as a strong sense of sfability.

Scotia Insurance’s most well-known product is ScotiaMINT, an interest-sensitive universal life insurance policy and long term savings plan that includes tax-advantaged benefits when invested for five years or more. This product, which heralded the birth of the Company in June 1998, had $41 billion in assets as at December 2012.

Scotia Insurance now offers eight products including the market leading ScotiaBRIDGE, an approved retirement scheme (ARS). The company has been the ARS market leader every year since 2009 when ScotiaBRIDGE was launched and now has more than J$2.4 billion under management.

Other products offered by the Company include two new whole life products launched last year: Lifetime Security – designed to provide beneficiaries with financial support in the event of death, personal accident or terminal illness and its companion, Life Shelter, which provides coverage for final medical and funeral expenses.

One of the traditionally areas for Scotia Insurance is the provision of Credit Insurance to Scotiabank retail customers who have loans and credit cards. There has been consistent double digit growth in this area which Mr. Reid attributes to increasing awareness among consumers of the importance of a contingency plan their credit facilities, in the event of death or critical illness.

“As we look forward to the next fifteen years, Scotia Insurance will continue its aggressive product expansion which has seen six new products launched in the four years since 2009. The company has acquired a new core life insurance administration system and this platform will allow us to develop new products faster and more efficiently. We look forward to the future knowing that our work and contribution helps to make individuals and families more secure in planning and shaping their lives,” Mr Reid said.

Filed Under: Company News, General Business News Tagged With: JSE Company, Scotia

Jamaica Broilers major profit gains

June 27, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Jamaica Broilers (JBG) is reporting 17 percent improvement in after tax results for the year to April 2013 with profits of $1.1 billion versus $936 million in 2012. Earnings per share is 91 cents for the latest year based on 1.2 billion shares issued.

These results arise from a 12.5 percent increase in revenues to $26.7 billion, a record in nominal terms. Profit growth did not come from the company’s traditional business but from ethanol production and other operations. The increase may not seem impressive when looked at for the full year but it represents a major recovery from the results at the end of January when profit was down for the nine months from $687 million to $562 million, resulting in a comeback in the last quarter with profits jumping by 114 percent. Profit before tax was up less impressively, by 70 percent from $307 million to $521 million.

Most of the profit growth came from the ethanol and other operations according to the segment data. Poultry contributed $82 million less than in 2012 and feeds contribution was $215 million less. Ethanol delivered $273 million and others $385 million more than 2012. The ethanol operations made the bulk of the profit in the April quarter. Up to January, only $74 million was generated from this operation but it jumped considerably in the last quarter.

Cost pressures hit the operations with segment profits lower to December for poultry and feeds as well as in the last quarter compared with the same period in 2012. In the last quarter, things were coming back for the poultry with segment profit of $296 million versus 300 million in 2012 and for the feeds segment, it was still off badly as just $161 million was generated in April quarter compared to $271 million in 2012. For the nine months to January, the poultry had a segment profit of $633 million versus $713 million in 2012 and for the feeds segment it was $749 million compared with $854 million.

The company took on more debt to fund assets acquisitions during the year as net debt climbed $1.38 billion to reach $5.49 billion but equity is up by $1.3 billion.

Filed Under: Company News, Company Results Tagged With: Jamaica Broilers, JSE Company

FX: Moderate change to buying & selling rates

June 27, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Thursday, 27th June 2013 | There was more selling of US dollar than on Wednesday and less buying by dealers but the actual purchases of US currency exceeded the sales of the US currency by US$7.6 million. There was more buying of the Pound Sterling and the Canadian dollars than the amounts sold to end users. Total buying amounted to the equivalent of US$25.767 million and selling was US$32.72 million.

The average rates for the US dollar inched down by 10 cents on the buy side and moved up 7 cents for sales with the selling rate closing at $101.38. That for the Canadian dollar gained 64 cents for the buying rate but was down 32 cents for the average sell rate, which moved to $96.66. The rate for the Pound fell 5 cents for the buying rate to close at $153.93 and was down 95 cents on the selling rate to end at $154.54.

Traders drop back the minimum selling rate for the US dollar by $14.31 to $84.19. On Thursday the rate moved by $16.17 to a $98.50 on the day when they bought at 20 cents less or at $101.80 at the highest price from the public than they did on Wednesday. The Canadian dollar traded again today at $96.80 at the high, no change for both the buying at the highs and lows. The lowest rate went up by 45 cents to $92.85 and the highest was down by 27 cents to $99.35. The Pound sterling buying was 30 cents more for the highest rate of $157 and $6.48 less for the lowest buying rate while the selling rates moved up by $1.48 on the highest of $160.71 and the lowest which was $150.2 was greater by $4 than on Wednesday.

Filed Under: FX Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Daily Trading, FX Market, Trading Activity

All 3 Lasco companies approve splits

June 27, 2013 by IC Insider.com

All three Lasco listed companies approved a 10 for 1 stock split at yesterday’s meetings called solely for that purpose. While the notice suggest that the splits take effect immediately the stocks traded at the old price levels in Thursdays trading. Lascelles Chin, the Chairman of all three companies confirmed to IC Insider that the record date for the Lasco splits is July 9, 2013 and the ex-date is July 5, 2013.

It will mean that Lasco Manufacturing will have 4.087 billion shares, Lasco Distributors will have 3.3664 billion shares in issue and Lasco Finance 1.228 billion shares. The split will mean that the stocks will trade for less than $2 initially as they are all priced under $16 now. Improved results for the first quarter of the 2014 financial year which ends in March should help pushed the prices up when they are released by early August this year.

Filed Under: Company News, Dividends Tagged With: Dividends, JSE Company, Lasco, Stock Split

JSE: Advancing stocks ahead but indices down

June 27, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Thursday, 27th June 2013 | Trading picked up today as the amount spent on stocks increased to more than $42.8 million as 4.66 million shares changed hands with 27 stocks trading resulting in 11 being up while 6 declined in price. Two new all-time closing highs were reached on the day, a third stock closed at its 52 weeks high and Lasco Financial Services closed at $12 for an all-time closing high. All indices that had stocks that traded declined marginally at the close.

Junior market | Much interest continued in the three Lasco companies as all three traded more than 500,000 units each. Lasco Distributors traded 1,090,159 units at a value of $16.978 million and Lasco Financial Services traded 518,000 at a cost of $5.73 million as the stock closed up 20 cents at $12. Lasco Manufacturing, closed off 20 cents at $15.60 with 531,000 units trading. General Accident traded 467,000 units at $2.04 accounting for $952,000, Access traded 8,988 units at new high of $8.25 while Blue Power had trading in 500,000 units, costing $5 million as the stock retreated 50 cents on the day to close at $10.

Trading took place in the stocks of 9 junior companies. All three Lasco companies approved a 10 for 1 stock split at an extra ordinary general meeting on Wednesday. The record date for the Lasco splits is July 9, 2013 and the ex-date is July 5, 2013.

Main Market | Prices generally recovered from declines earlier in the week even as the indices slipped marginally. While Berger slipped 15 cents to close at $2.30 with 19,000 shares crossing the exchange, Carreras regained $1 off of the amount which was lost yesterday recovering from the initial reaction to the proposed ban on the smoking of cigarettes in public, the stock closed at $53.50, on very small volume. Pan Jamaican gained $2.08 while trading under 3,000 units to close at $52.60, the same level as the bid. Scotia Investments put on $1 to close at $27.50 but only 1,000 units traded. The bid on the stock on Trinidad exchange is at the equivalent of J$28 and it could trade higher as there is little supply in the market currently.

IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer market sentiment indicator shows that bids for 3 stocks were higher with 3 stocks that had offers lower than their last selling price.

Filed Under: JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Daily Trading, JSE Company, Trading Activity

TTSE: Only 5 stocks trade

June 27, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Thursday, 27th June 2013 | Only one stock recorded a price change from the last traded price in today’s trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange the stock price fell moderately. Trading took place in 10 stocks on Thursday as the main market saw a volume of 419,688 shares trading valued at $1,837,719. Buying was much more tempered in the mutual fund market as Clico Investments, the sole trader, amassed a mere 242 shares at a value of $5,566.

Angostura Holdings recorded 148,598 shares changing hands for a value of $1,337,382, Sagicor Financial Corporation had 23,467 shares trading valued at $147,138, Trinidad Cement contributed 161,487 shares at a value of $153,413. National Flour Mills contributed 76,673 shares to the total amount that traded with a value of $57,515.