Archives for August 2013

FX: Rates mostly stable

August 29, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Thursday, 29 August 2013 | Foreign exchange rates remained fairly stable on Thursday but there were noticeable swings in the Pound Sterling spot rates which fell.

The US dollar was purchased as high as $102.75 on Thursday the same as it was on Wednesday even as the average buying rate increased by 9 cents to $101.47 as US$27.35 million was purchased by dealers. Unlike Wednesday when there was an increase of 15 cents paid for the lowest rate of $84.04, the rate for selling at the high and low remained unchanged closing at $107.70 for the highest and $99.80 for the lowest. Selling took place for US$24.36 million at $102.10 at 10 cents more.

The buying rate for the Canadian dollar by 96c to $95.14 as C$641,000 was purchased and the average selling rate was down 18 cents to $97.47 for C$464,252. The Pound sterling buying rate dropped by $2.67 to $155.68 as £873,540 was purchased and £537,543 was sold at an average rate of $158.91, a fall of $1.17.

Overall the equivalents of US$29.4 million was purchased on Thursday an increase over Wednesday trade and selling amounted to $26.2 million a slight reduction form the day before.

The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar was down by $1.10 to $97.70 and the lowest was 4 cents greater to end at $78.48; the highest selling rate was $1.37 higher at $101.17 and the lowest was off 15 cents to $94.70. The Pound Sterling highest buying rate dropped by $1.85 to $159.15 and the lowest buying rate amounted to $128.65 the same as the prior day. Dealers sold the Pound as high as $165.85, a sharp $4.85 increase yet only increased the lowest rate by a $1 to $155.\

JSE: Carreras jumps $2.50

August 29, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Thursday, 29th August 2013 | Carreras shares recovered from Wednesday’s slide by putting on $2.50, which is 50 cents more than it lost, as the stock traded between $46.89 and $48. The gain in Carreras helped the Jamaica Stock market’s main indices to gain ground as the All Jamaica index gained 417.80 to end up at 84,754.04, while the Main Market Index gained 237.45 to 84,717.61. The Junior Market Index bucked the positive trend by falling 19.56 to close at 778.52. In today’s trading 31 securities traded of which 7 advanced, 9 declined and 16 traded firm as 4,856,227 shares traded with a value of $30,498,966.

Stocks that traded with good volumes include Berger Paints 450,000 units valued at $1,012,600 trading at $2.25; Carreras 51,561 valued at $2,429,258 to close at $47.50 a gain of $2.50; Caribbean Cement chipped in with 115,700 to close at $2.30 down 44 cents as trade accounted for $265,820; Desnoes & Geddes 521,832 units firm at $4.50 for a value of $2,348,244; Hardware & Lumber 105,000 units at $4.50 valued at $474,400 as the price fell by 10 cents; Mayberry Investments 90,739 units firm at $2.60; National Commercial Bank 342,222 units valued at $6,497,121 closing at $19 up 39 cents; Sagicor Life Jamaica 44,174 units as the price closed at $8.20 up 3 cents; Scotia Group Jamaica 181,319 units valued at $3,871,161 at $21.35 up 28 cents; Proven Investments 8% preference stock 1,733,460 units firm at $5.09 valued at $8,823,311.

Jamaica Stock Exchange ordinary shares traded 16,715 units lost 10 cents to close at $3.

Junior Market | The number of stocks in junior market advancing was less than those declining. Access Financial Services traded 281,700 to close at $8.20 off 5 cents; Caribbean Producers Jamaica 128,413 units at $2.03; Consolidated Bakeries 37,500 units at $1.45 as loss of 5 cents; General Accident Insurance 157,822 units at $1.70 down 20 cents; KLE Group 22,682 units to closed firm at $1.61; Lasco Distributors 22,000 units, closed at $1.46 down 8 cents; Lasco Financial Services 129,482 to close at $1.40 down 2 cents and Lasco Manufacturing 255,030 at 1.60 up a cent.

IC bid-offer Indicator | At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows that bids for 8 stocks were higher with 3 stocks having offers lower than their last selling price.

After the Bell | Scotia Group Jamaica reported net income of $3.06 billion for the third quarter ended July 31, 2013. This is $127 million above the previous quarter ended April 30, 2013 and $468 million above the quarter ended July 31, 2012. For the nine months ended July 31, 2013, net income was $8.71 billion compared to $7.95 billion for the same period last year. Earnings per share (EPS) for the nine months was $2.70 compared to $2.45 for the same period last year. Today the Board of Directors approved a third interim dividend of 40 cents per stock unit payable on October 9, 2013, to stockholders on record at September 18, 2013.

Scotia Investments Jamaica reported its unaudited financial results for the nine months ended July 31, 2013. Net income for the quarter was $562 million or 51 percent above the $372 million earned in the previous quarter and 18 percent above the $477 million made in the 2012 quarter. For the nine months ended July 31, 2013, net income was $1.421 billion, down $90 million or 6 percent when compared to the same period last year. Earnings per share (EPS) for the nine months was $3.36 compared to $3.57 for the same period last year. The Return on Average Equity (ROE) stood at 16.10 percent, down from 18.69 percent reported for the last year. The Board of Directors has approved an interim dividend of 45 cents per stock unit, payable on October 9, 2013, to stockholders on record as at September 18, 2013.

Desnoes & Geddes reported flat profits of $1.2 billion for the twelve months to June this year as redundancy payment of $150 million and an adjustment of $88 million relating to 2012 taxation bit into net profits. As such, the June quarter results came in at $161 million compared to $472 million in the same quarter last year.

First Caribbean International Bank continues to be plagued by nonperforming loans as the banking group reported another disappointing quarterly profit of US$9 million versus US$18 million last year, while the nine months results came in at US$43 million compared to US$47 million in 2012.

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

Scotia: No change in dividends

August 29, 2013 by IC Insider.com

The two Scotia companies announced dividend payments today with both payments scheduled for October.

Scotia Group Jamaica approved a third interim dividend of 40 cents per stock unit payable on October 9, 2013, to stockholders on record at September 18, 2013.

Scotia Investments approved an interim dividend of 45 cents per stock unit, payable on October 9, 2013, to stockholders on record as at September 18, 2013. The dividends to be paid represent a continuation of their dividend policy and are the same amounts that they have been paying against this year’s profits since the start of this year. Both companies raised the pay out in January this year from 37 cents for Scotia Group and from 40 cents for Scotia Investments.

Dividend announcement from Scotia published 28th August, 2013 | The Board of Directors of Scotia Group Jamaica and Scotia Investments will consider a dividend payment at a meeting to be held on August 29, 2013. It is expected that the two entities will retain the payments they have been making for the year to date of 40 cent per share in the case of Scotia Group and 45 cents in the case of Scotia Investments.

Both companies are expected to release nine months results to the end of July on Thursday, August 29 along with teh announcement of the dividends. Investors will be watching Scotia Group numbers to get an indication as to the timing for investment purposes and possibly the state of the financial market.

For Scotia Investments, the results will determine if investors in Trinidad will continue their strong interest in the stock. A return to reasonable growth in profits could see increased interest as the stocks dividend yield will be very attractive for investors in the Twin Islands.

In the April quarter in spite of a $397 million hit from the debt swap of Government of Jamaica instruments, Scotia Group was able to report 92 cents profit after tax, with the July quarter likely to recover from the negative effect from the debt swap, which resulted in a lower rate on the investment instruments. The baking group could post higher earnings in the latest quarter, but a lot will depend on how much provision have been made for non-performing loans and how much has been made from exchange rate movement of the Jamaican dollar.

Filed Under: Company News, Dividends Tagged With: Dividends, JSE Company, Scotia

TTSE: TCL up 170% since May

August 29, 2013 by IC Insider.com

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Thursday, 29th August 2013 | Trinidad Cement stock price is up 170 percent since hitting a low of 95 cents in May, propelling the stock to yet another 52 weeks high as only 7,615 shares traded at a $2.56, up 25 cents. The stock closed with the bid for 492,663 units at $2.56 with no stock on offer, a strong indicator of further price gains.

Market activity resulted in 11 securities trading of which 4 advanced, 3 declined and 4 traded firm as 107,590 shares traded with a value of $935,680.

Angostura Holding traded a mere 26,775 units valued at $254,364 as the price closed at $9.50 for a gain of 33 cents. The bid closed at $9.51 for 10,000 units whist the offer was for 76,188 units at $10. Sagicor Financial Corporation had a small volume of 52 shares as the price closed down 30 cents at $6.55. National Flour gained 5 cents to 75 cents as 6,556 shares traded.

Neal & Massy Holdings contributed 8,970 shares with a value of $502,320 and closed firm at $56. Jamaica Money Market traded 50,500 shares at 50 cents down 5 cents; Point Lisa traded 1,974 units at $3.66 off by 8 cents; National Enterprises traded 3,142 units firm at $16; Clico Investment Fund suffered a 5 cents fall to close at $21.50 as 1,655 shares valued at $35,583.

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

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

Producers profits up, is it time to buy?

August 29, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Directors of Jamaica Producers have purchased quite a bit of their company’s shares in recent months as the fortunes of the company seem to be on the improve. However, we ask the question: Is Producers right for the average investor?

The answer: Not at this time. With the stock price at the $18 level and the net book value placed at $29 per share, the gap is significant and earnings have not reached the level for the wider investing public to accord the stock a higher value, regardless of what the Directors’ buying actions may suggest.

In the just released company results, Producers reported a jump in profits by 42 percent to $158.5 million for the six months to June 2013 relative to the same period last year, and was up 59 percent for the latest quarter to June, over the June 2012 quarter to $73 million. For the six months, revenues increased by 6 percent to $3.7 billion and 5 percent to $1.84 billion for the June quarter over the same periods in 2012.

JP Europe | Revenues increased by 8 percent to $1.34 billion for the European division resulting in a 20 percent increase in pre-tax profits of $56.5 million for the second quarter and $116.4 million for the first half of 2013, more than doubling the result for the comparative six months of 2012. The turnaround in this area resulted from moderate improvement in the economies within the region, exchange rate movements between the Jamaican dollar and the Euro as well as expansion of sales to new areas within the EEC.

JP Tropical | Pre-tax profits of $26.6 million for the second quarter increased by 105 percent from $12.9 million in the 2012 period, a turnaround relative to the first quarter 2013 loss of $54.8 million, which included one-off exceptional restructuring costs of $35.9 million. With very limited banana supply, total revenues for the JP Tropical Division for the second quarter were down by 3 percent relative to the 2012 second quarter and rose by 4 percent on the first quarter.

During the latter weeks of the six month period, production of bananas resumed on the farms in St. Mary, commencing the generating of income to help cover the cost of re-development and maintenance of the resuscitated banana farms, which had negatively affected JP Tropical Division’s previous results. With the return of banana production, the JP Tropical Division improved its pre-tax profits for the second quarter compared to both the first quarter of 2013 and the comparable period last year. The primary snack production facility in Jamaica has now returned to production having been closed since Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

The recent acquisitions and investments in our JP Tropical Division collectively made a positive contribution to the divisional performance and we expect them to be an increasingly important part of the division in the future. The primary focus for the Division going forward will be to grow revenues organically by taking advantage of our installed base of productive capacity.’

“Mavis Bank has had a strong first half with operational efficiency gains allowing the company to meet export targets” management stated. Tortuga had mixed results in the first half with improved performance in Jamaica and Barbados and weaker sales in the US and other Caribbean markets. Tortuga’s overall performance was also affected by the seasonality of the product which typically generates peak sales in the fourth quarter and the Caribbean winter tourist season.

Regarding the Mining Company Limited, a subsidiary in which they hold a 51 percent interest, the company stated, “It had a satisfactory performance in the first half driven by the quality of our output and reliability of our service. We are now taking steps to expand mining operations from our base in St. Mary by opening a facility in Clarendon to allow us to participate in the South Coast market.”

The group has borrowings of $1.2 billion, which was used in funding investment in some of the associated companies as it reduced the amount in cash funds and investments that the Group held prior to the major investments. Cash and short term now stands at $435 million and $558 million for longer term investment. Investment in associated and joint venture companies amounted to $2.75 billion with the bulk of it being in Kingston Wharves. Shareholders’ equity at the end of June amounts to $5.4 billion.

Related posts | Insider Trades | Profits up at Jamaica Producers

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

FX: Rates cooling as supply match demand

August 28, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Wednesday, 28 August 2013 | There was buying of US$22,999,147 by authorised dealers at an average rate $101.38,which is down 5c from the prior day. US$23,330,434 sold with the selling rate down 5c to $102.04, The buying rate for the Canadian dollar was up 59c to $96.10 as C$1,258,194 was purchased and the average selling rate was up 9c to $97.65 for C$1,075,380. The Pound sterling buying rate rose by $2.03 to $158.35 as £1,681,727 was purchased and £1,444,075 was sold at an average rate of $160.08 an increase of $1.89.

Overall the equivalents of US$27 million was purchased on Wednesday and selling amounted to $26.94 million.

The US dollar was purchased as high as $102.75 an increase of 15 cents and as low as $84.04 the same rate as on Tuesday, while selling took place as high as $107.70 with no change for the day and as low as $99.80 an increase of $15.76.

The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar was down by 70 cents to $98.80 and the lowest was the same as the previous day at $78.44. The highest selling rate was $1.32 less at $99.80 and the lowest was up 60 cents to $94.85. For the Pound, the highest buying rate climbed $1.50 to $161 and the lowest buying rate amounted to $128.65, a small decline of 8 cents as dealers sold the Pound as high as $161, a sharp $5.49 reduction but only cut the lowest rate by 15 cents to $154.

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

Pan Jam profit stable

August 28, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Pan Jamaican Investment Trust released results for the half year to June and reported profit attributable to shareholders for the June quarter of $486 million, a slight 4 percent increase on the $468 million in the 2012 quarter. For the six months ended June, Pan Jam made $710 million, compared to $970 million for 2012, a decrease of 27 percent. The results equated with earnings per share amounted to $2.28 for the quarter and $3.34 for the six months to June.

The year to date results were negatively affected by the decision by both Pan Jam and the Sagicor group, an associate, to swap older debt with a higher book value for new government of Jamaica debt at a lower value (JDX2) which resulted in a large loss.

Helping to boost the results was the share of results of associated and joint venture companies which rose from $227 million to $532 million in the June quarter and up from $305 million in 2012. For the six months to June, these investments resulted in $769 million being booked and is largely due to an increased shareholding in Sagicor, which was partly offset by increases in finance costs of $119 million.

In their comments on the results, Management stated that “Investment income of $44 million in the second quarter was lower than last year’s comparable quarter by $36 million, as unrealised losses on securities trading of $26 million eroded foreign exchange gains, interest income and dividends. Year to date investment income of $145 million is 27 percent ahead of last year due principally to significantly higher foreign exchange gains. Property income was flat compared to last year for both the quarter and year to date, as stable occupancy levels and continuing modest growth in rental income were offset by reduced property revaluation loss.

“Group operating profit for the 2nd quarter decreased by $73 million or 32 percent, compared to last year’s 2nd quarter. For the year to date, group operating profit of $388 million is $23 million or 6 percent less than last year’s level. Total revenue was lower for the quarter compared to last year by $32 million, 7 percent, principally attributable to the decline in investment income, but ahead of last year for the 6 months.”

Occupancy | The group enjoyed overall rental occupancy exceeding 95 percent for the 2nd quarter, a slight decline from last year, while contribution to group operating profit of $158 million for the quarter ($342 million year-to-date) was $42 million ($16 million year-to-date) lower, attributable to reduced property revaluation gains.

Operating expenses | Management said that operating expenses increased by $41 million for the quarter, and $69 million for the 6 months, driven by increased levels of direct property costs, professional fees associated with investment opportunities and general increases in staff costs. Finance costs increased compared to last year by $119 million to $137 million for the quarter, and by $298 million to $331 million for the 6 months, resulting from increased loans booked.

Associated Companies | The associated companies consist principally of a 32.8 percent investment in Sagicor; minority positions in New Castle Co. Limited, owners of the Walkerswood and Busha Browne lines of sauces and seasonings; Mavis Bank Coffee Factory Limited; Hardware & Lumber Limited; Caribe Hospitality Limited (developers of the planned New Kingston Marriott Courtyard Hotel) and Chukka Caribbean Adventures.

Pan Jam’s share of Sagicor’s comprehensive income for the quarter was a loss of $426 million consisting primarily of unrealized losses on available-for-sale securities, net of exchange gains. For the year-to-date, the share of the net unrealized loss is $275 million, compared to a share of net unrealized gains of $52 million for the comparable period last year.

According to management “New Castle’s results for their fiscal year ended April 30 2013 increased more than threefold on the back of a 44 percent jump in revenue, while Mavis Bank again posted good results. Chukka overcame Hurricane Sandy-related disruptions to cruise ship passenger arrivals and the temporary closure of the cruise ship port in Turks and Caicos to post returns in line with expectations.”

Balance Sheet | Total assets at June amounted to $22 billion, compared to $21.4 billion at the end 2012. Stockholders’ equity increased to $16.6 billion equating to a book value per stock unit of $77.85.

Related posts | Pan Jam’s profit dented too

Filed Under: Company News, Company Results Tagged With: JSE Company, Pan Jam

JSE: Trading levels remains low

August 28, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Wednesday 28th August 2013 | Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange remains low keyed with stocks of 32 companies trading as 11 stocks declined an 8 advanced. Volume amounted to 5,249,151 units valued at $15.5 million.

The Main Market Index closed at 84,480.16 down 169.90, the All Jamaica Composite ended at 84,336.24 off 298.93 and the Junior Market closed at 798.08, up 8.41.

Main market | Carreras dropped $3 to $45 but with only 1,090 shares trading the stock traded as low as $45 but had a bid at the end of the day at $47 for a small volume of 250 units. Jamaica Broilers Group closed firm at $5 with 37,050; Jamaica Money Market Brokers traded 31,163 to close firm at $8; Mayberry Investments closed at $2.60 with 106,728; National Commercial Bank closed at $18.61 as 29,676 units traded as the price shed a cent; Pulse Investments closed at 85 cents down 15 cents as 114,600 changed hands and Sagicor Investments traded 86,904 units firm at $16.55. Kingston Wharves lost 40 cents to close at $7 as 4,562 units traded. Carib Cement lost 6 cents to close at $2.74 as demand dropped with a bid at the close at $2.11.

Junior market | 11 stocks in the Junior Market traded with Dolphin Cove 25,000 units to close at $8.30 after it had traded at $9 the stock lost 20 cents; General Accident Insurance saw 1,542,480 units crossing the exchange and closed at $1.90 up 5 cents; Access Financial Services traded 10,554 at $8.25 down 25 cents; Consolidated Bakeries traded 10,000 units firm to close at $1.50. KLE Group hit a new all-time low at $1.61 while trading 7,000 and lost 9 cents. Lasco Distributors traded 114,060 to close at $1.55 up 9 cents; Lasco Financial Services contributed 2,507,000 units to the total at the closing price of $1.42, up a cent.

IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows that bids for 5 stocks were higher with 4 stocks having offers lower than their last selling price.

Image courtesy of Photokanok/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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

Is C2W doomed?

August 28, 2013 by IC Insider.com

After almost two years, C2W Music, which promised that they would be making profits by now is yet to show the income, much less profits.

In its prospectus for the IPO to raise $129 million on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, the company made this statement about profitability, “As a start-up, the Company is expected to post a Pre-Tax Loss for 2012 of approximately US$241,849. The Directors expect earnings to stabilize from 2013 onwards, with a projected profit before tax of US$668,100 in that year, increasing threefold to a projected Profit before Tax of US$2.36 million in 2016.”

The results to June indicates that those projections were just a pipe dream as the company not only reported a loss of US$345,855 for the six months to June 2013, but for the similar period in 2012 when the loss was US$131,284, and there was just US$1,803 income for the six months. While it is not impossible to win contracts for songs that could change the picture, one would need to see a steady, if even small, flow of income but that is not the case with a year and a half now gone.

Shareholder equity now stands at US$377,257 down from US$1.2 million at June last year. Cash is almost gone entirely with just US$14,335 left of the sum raised in the IPO. C2W has assets in the form of advances to song writers of more than US$300,000 but that is not income and only $24,000 are due within a year.

The company needs a knight in shining armour and FAST if it is to avoid the burial ground. Crunch time is nigh.

Filed Under: Company News, Company Results Tagged With: C2W, TTSE

TTSE: Low volume, low price changes

August 28, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Wednesday 28th August 2013 | With the exception of low priced Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) with 365,027 shares crossing the Trinidad Exchange and CIF with volume of 126,841 shares, trading was relatively low and so were the price changes as 11 securities traded of which 3 advanced, 4 declined and 4 traded firm with 524,976 units changing hands for a value of $3 million.

Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) 365,027 shares changed hands for a value of $200,765 as the stock traded firm at 55 cents. Grace Kennedy volume was 15,500 shares valued at $51,150 the stock closed at $3.30 down a cent. Sagicor Financial Corporation contributed 7,057 shares with a value of $48,340, the stock closed at $$6.95 losing 5 cents in the process, while National Flour Mills added 6,076 shares valued at $4,253 up a cent to 70 cents. Angostura Holding traded 1,000 units at $9.17 a gain of 4 cents. The trade of Clico Investment Fund units amounted to $2,720,466 and the stock price advanced by 18 cents to end at $21.45. Neal & Massy Holdings closed firm at $56.00 but only 729 units traded.

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

Trinidad Cement did not trade but it had 142,796 units on the bid at $2.56 compared to $2.31 for the last traded price. There are no stocks on offer at the close of trading.