Trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange ended with 14 securities changing hands of which 4 advanced, 1 declined and 9 traded firm with a total of 157,147 units, valued at $1,903,518.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index inched up 0.03 points to close at 1,143.20, the All T&T Index rose 0.05 points to close at 1,968.06 and the Cross Listed Index remained at 41.69.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, Ansa Merchant Bank that gained a cent in closing at $39.42 while trading 185 shares. First Citizens Bank traded 3,373 shares, to close with a gain of 1 cent at $36.76, Massy Holdings traded 16,941 shares valued at $1,159,616, gained 3 cents to close at $68.48. and Praetorian Property Mutual Fund traded 50,000 shares valued at $175,000 and advanced by 10 cents, to end at $3.50.
Declines| The stock declining at the end of trading is, Point Lisas Industrial Port Development declined 2 cents to end the day at $4 and traded just 100 units.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, Angostura Holdings contributed 10,823 shares with a value of $138,101 and closed at $12.76. Agostini’s with 402 shares ended at $17.33, Flavorite Foods traded 100 units at $4.90, Jamaica Money Market Brokers added 7,823 shares to close at 45 cents, National Commercial Bank with 50,000 shares changing hands, closed at $1.10. National Enterprises ended with 2,000 shares trading at $17.47, One Caribbean Media traded 4,900 units at $25.10, Prestige Holdings had 500 shares traded at $9.56 and Sagicor Financial Corporation 6.5% preference shares traded 10,000 units at US$1.10.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 7 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and only 1 stock with the offer that was lower, this is the second day of such strong signal, an indication that prices should be rising in the session ahead.
Archives for November 2014
Rising prices ahead on TTSE
138 Student Living long term inflation play
Artist’s drawing of apartment blocks of 138 Student Living
The growing population of university students, attending colleges within the Kingston area means a steady demand for affordable accommodation for students. Apart from Jamaicans, there are many overseas’ students attending the universities and in need of accommodation.
Historically, the Mona Heights homeowners utilized their helpers’ quarters to accommodate many youngsters and generate added income at the same time. These were very popular with students, as they were within walking distance of the colleges. The university’s population has grown vastly, since the 1960s and seventies, when these units could have provided a decent supply of rooms for the community. According to 138 Student Living Jamaica Limited who are seeking capital to build out the development of 1,584 student residence units, there is currently a shortage of on – campus student accommodation at the UWI Mona campus, which has in total 3,356 rooms for student accommodation. In the 2013/14 academic year, 5031 first year students applied for the 1,678 available allocated rooms for first year students. The remaining rooms were allocated to returning students. Helping to push demand is that enrolment at Mona has nearly doubled since 2001 moving from 8,758 students to 16,518 in 2013, 138 Students Living states.
The company is partnering with UWI Mona, under the Concession Agreement to construct and manage 1,584 rooms. The UWI guarantees 90% occupancy of the constructed units in any 51 – week period for as long as the Concession Agreement is in place, which is currently contemplated to be a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of 65 years.
Opening|Effective November 27, the Company invites applications for up to 82,900,000 Ordinary Shares at $4 each and initially, 33,680,000 subject to an increase up to 60,000,000 Cumulative Redeemable Preference Shares at $5.
The issue is underwritten by JMMB, the Underwriter, who has given an irrevocable commitment to subscribe for any of the 82,900,000 Ordinary Shares and/or the 13,680,000 Preference Shares that are not taken up by Applicants on the Closing Date of the Invitation up to a maximum of $400M. The existing shareholders are also selling 15,716,667 units. The offers will close on Thursday, 4 December 2014. With the ordinary share issue have been fully underwritten it is expected that the directors will be making the application to the Jamaica Stock Exchange the Ordinary Shares and the Preference Shares on the Main Market.
The preference shares| Cumulative preferential dividends will be paid at a rate equal to the Government of Jamaica 180 days Weighted Average Treasury Bill Yield plus 3% per annum (WATBY + 3%). Dividends will accrue from the issue date, and paid on the 4th anniversary. Thereafter dividends will accrue and be due and payable semi-annually. With 182 days Treasury bills rate is now at 7.385 percent the yield initially will be just over 10 percent, but that is sure to decline within months and could remain pretty low going forward as the country sorts out its economy and enter a period of economic stability. The listing will provide a market for investors to quit early, if they so desire, the question then will be at what price?The Company is a special purpose real estate investment company. It was established by the Founder, its majority shareholder K Limited, which is a company owned and controlled by the Chairman of the Company John Lee former PriceWaterhouse Partner and his immediate family members inclusive of his wife Director Marrynette Lee. Under the direction of John Lee and Marrynette Lee, K Limited has in the past 7 years developed a number of multiple – residential accommodation complexes comprising over 100 units in the aggregate, in and around Kingston and Saint Andrew.
Future income| On the positive side, it could be a good dividend payer with the potential for steady revenues due the demand for housing at UWI and the agreement they have with UWI re guaranteed income. The real payoff will be long term as interest cost falls while revenues grow.The projections are for a loss in 2016 of $71 million and profit of $28.4 million in 2017, then $161 million in the following year and $269 million in 2019. The projection factors in very high levels of debt servicing cost that exceeds 50 percent of projected income. That of course is going in the opposite direction to what is happening to interest rates currently and could redound to the benefit of investors with increased profits, if interest rates decline. That is assuming the company is not tied into high fixed interest rates on loans to fund the development, as Jamaica comes to grips with its high interest cost, which it seems poised to do, with government’s focus on wiping out high fiscal deficits and reduction in its debt load. At November 13, the company had incurred $436 million in construction of the units so far.
The overall project, to cost $4.4 billion, is to be funded by $3.8 billion of debt and would make the company highly leveraged with long-term capital of just over $900 million. While the company could and should raise added equity capital going forward, the projection for high debt funding, could delay or derail the full build out of the units in the time frame expected which is up to 2017 as such the forecasted.
12 stocks rise 4 declines on JSE
In Thursday’s activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, Sagicor Investments bought and sold 5,130,557 National Commercial Bank shares at $92.8 million, accounting for the bulk of trading on the exchange. At the close the prices of 12 stocks rose and 4 declined as 27 securities changed hands, ending in 8,932,509 units trading, valued at $99,815,205, in all market segments.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had only 2 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 8 stocks with offers that were lower, reflecting short term negative sentiments.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index lost 137.73 points to 74,025.31, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index fell 154.01 points to close at 81,481.88 and the JSE combined index gained declined by 68.49 points to close at 76,011.41.
Gains| Stocks gaining with last traded prices, at the end of trading in the main market are, Cable & Wireless with 7,500 units to close with a gain of 1 cent at 44 cents, Jamaica Money Market Brokers concluded trading with 4,500 units to close with a gain of 5 cents at $7.05, Jamaica Producers concluded trading with 2,123 units and put on 50 cent down at $16, Sagicor Group closed with 209,069 shares as the price climbed 2 cents to $9.90 and Scotia Investments closed with 1,500 shares changing hands to close with a gain of 4 cents at $22.55.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in the last traded prices are, Caribbean Cement ended trading with 713 shares at $2.40, Carreras exchanged a mere 100 shares at $37, Gleaner in trading with 100,000 shares, to close at $1. Grace Kennedy exchanged 4,380 shares at $60.40, Kingston Wharves ended trading with 12,000 shares changing hands at $6, Proven Investments contributed 3,300 units at 17.99 US cents, Radio Jamaica ended trading with 1,635 shares at $1.18, Sagicor Real Estate Fund finished trading with 22,000 units changing hands at $6.85 and Seprod closed with 18,593 units at $12.
Declines| The last traded prices of stocks with losses at the end of trading in the main market are, Desnoes & Geddes ended with 2,020 units as the price slipped 6 cents to $4.76, Jamaica Broilers closed with 9,318 shares trading 1 cent lower at $4, National Commercial Bank finished with 5,149,153 shares with a loss of 8 cents to $18.01, Scotia Group finished trading with 2,300 units and fell 5 cents to $19.50
Preference| Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.50% preference share traded 12,000 units and gained 7 cents to $3.50 and Proven Investments 8% preference share ended with 3,846 shares changing hands to close with an increase of 70 cents to stocks closed at all-time highs $5.70.
Lasco Manufacturing dominates juniors
Heating of raw material to make bottles for Lasco’s new drinks
At the close of the market, there were 1 stock with the bid higher than the last selling price and 5 stocks with offers that were lower. The junior market continues to exhibit weakness with 7 securities closing with no bids to buy. There were 5 securities that had no stocks being offered for sale.
Cargo Handlers concluded trading with 500 shares while gaining 90 cent $15, the high first reached in February this year. Lasco Distributors ended trading with 407,000 shares and increased of 10 cents to $1.50, Lasco Financial closed with 3,000 shares as the price climbed 1 cent to 94 cents. Lasco Manufacturing finished trading with 2,483,104 shares changing hands, to close 3 cents higher to $1.02, Paramount Trading saw trading in 15,255 shares as the price climbed 5 cents to $2.60, Caribbean Cream ended with 457,500 shares changing hands, to close at 71 cents and Access Financial ended with 100 shares changing hands to close at $10.01.
Blue Power released six months results to October showing profits of $52 million compared to $55 million in the same in 2013. For the three months profit declined to $22.8 million from $25.2 million as the lumber division contributed lower revenues than in 2013. Earnings per share are still strong at 91 cents and should go on to approach the $2 level by year end.
Negative Inflation for rest of 2014?
Prices increased for October rose by a mere 0.1 percent over September this year, and is in line with the increase in February and June but above a negative 0.3 percent in April. The rate for the rest of the year could be negative based on developments locally and overseas.
The inflation rate, the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (Statin) reveals was mainly due to a 0.2 percent increase in the index for the category of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages and 0.3 per cent increase in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels. This increase in the index for the latter division was mainly as a result of higher water and sewerage charges in October 2014 Statin stated. A 0.8 percent fall of prices in transportation, moderated the effect of the increases, in the other areas. Statin said that the ‘Transport’ division’s index fell as a result of the decline in the cost of airfares, as well as the price of fuel.
Lower airfares helped to keep October inflation low
J$ lost further ground on Wednesday
The Jamaican dollar lost ground against the British pound, the US and Canadian dollars, on Wednesday as authorized dealers purchased the equivalent of US$31,732,868 versus US$30,942,384, on Tuesday, and sold the equivalent of US$31,966,559 compared with US$29,655,767 on Tuesday.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$28,285,332 compared to US$27,266,191 on Tuesday. The buying rate for the US dollar gained 1 cent to $112.92 and US$30,430,998 was sold versus US$27,247,706 on Tuesday. The selling rate climbed 5 cents to $113.49. The Canadian dollar buying rate declined 97 cents to $98.08 with dealers buying C$1,061,213 and selling C$835,588, at an average selling rate that rose 13 cents, to $100.44. The rate for buying the British Pound rose 83 cents to $175.89, for the purchase of £1,529,272, while £406,362 was sold, the rate climbed 87 cents to $178.21. Other currencies bought, amounted to the equivalent of US$143,573, while the equivalent of US$157,923, was sold.
Highs & Lows| The highest buying rate for the US dollar, closed 7 cents higher at $113.70, the lowest buying and highest selling rates are unchanged at $93.10 and $119.30 respectively, but the lowest selling rate rose $17.40 to $110.50. The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar fell 5 cents to $100.80, the lowest buying rate and highest selling rates are unchanged at $80.51 and $103.79 respectively. The lowest selling rate climbed 55 cents to $97.55. The highest buying rate for the British Pound, ended up 90 cents to $179. The lowest buying rate rose $4.06 to $143.26, the highest selling rate remained unchanged at $184.68 and the lowest selling rate gained $1.65 to $174.25.
Trading sinks to only $7M on JSE
In a very moderate trading Wednesday on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, the prices of 5 stocks rose and 8 declined as 23 securities changed hands, ending in only 1,348,967 units trading, valued at $6,683,127, in all market segments.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 6 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 6 stocks with offers that were lower.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index shed 384.01 points to 74,163.04, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index fell 429.38 points to close at 81,635.89 and the JSE combined index declined by 414.46 points to close at 76,079.90.
Gains| Stocks gaining with last traded prices, at the end of trading in the main market are, Carreras concluded trading with 30,485 shares while gaining 50 cents to $37, Grace Kennedy finished trading with 9,710 shares rising 40 cents to $60.40, Proven Investments concluded trading with 26,880 units and put on 0.69 cent to 17.99 us cents and Seprod ended trading with 80,000 shares with an increase of 20 cents to $12.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in their last traded prices are, Caribbean Cement ending with 193,500 shares trading at $2.40, followed by Ciboney in exchanging 2,000 shares, to close at 7 cents, Jamaica Money Market Brokers ended trading with 2,120 ordinary shares at $7. Kingston Wharves ended trading with 130,544 shares at $6, Radio Jamaica finished trading with 12,696 shares at $1.18, Sagicor Real Estate Fund had 30,000 shares changing hands at $6.85 and Scotia Group ended with 13,040 units to close $19.55.
Declines| The last traded prices of stocks with losses at the end of trading in the main market are, Cable & Wireless that closed with 79,383 shares trading 1 cent lower, at 43 cents, Desnoes & Geddes with 28,292 shares, at a loss of 1 cent to $4.82, Jamaica Broilers finished trading with 43,836 units, fell 9 cents to $4.01. Mayberry Investments exchanged 65,000 shares to close 2 cents lower at $1.48, National Commercial Bank concluded trading with 16,878 shares changing hands to close at 76 cents down at $18.09 and Salada Foods ended with 10,000 shares changing hands to close at 35 cents lower at $7.50.
Preference| Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded contributed 98,000 units at $2.
Blue Power at 52 weeks’ low
Trading in the Junior Market closed with only 5 securities traded, with the price 1 advancing and 2 declining. Blue Power closed at a new 52 weeks’ low, of $6.05, on small volume. Trading ended with 476,603 units valued at $712,470. The JSE Junior Market Index dropped 5.71 points to close at 678.96.
At the close of the market, there were 3 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 4 stocks with offers that were lower. The junior market continues to exhibit weakness with 6 securities closing with no bids to buy. There were 5 securities that had no stocks being offered for sale.
The active stocks in the junior market on Wednesday are, General Accident closed trading with 10,000 units, to gain 8 cents at $1.58, Blue Power ended with a mere 250 units trading, as the price slipped 75 cents to $6.05. Lasco Distributors ended with 436,420 shares changing hands to close with a loss of 11 cents at $1.40, the bid close at $1.50 to buy 25,254 shares. Caribbean Flavours had 12,710 shares changing hands to close at $2.35, Caribbean Producers concluded trading with 17,223 shares trading at $2.20.
Business sector don’t get it
Jamaica has to rely on the private sector, to help lift it from the economic quagmire it finds itself in, for the past 3 decades. A look at certain data shed some light on the task the country faces.
It tells of a nation where the business sector leaders seem to be managing more from the seat of their pants than based on properly informed position. Take the case of inflation, which ran at 5.1 percent up to August, for 2014, for an average of just less than 0.68 percent per month, and against the back ground of slippage in the exchange rate in the early months that would have helped spike inflation then. With an almost stable Jamaican dollar in September a survey done by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica on behalf of the Bank of Jamaica to ascertain the expectations of Chief Executive Officers, Managing Directors and Financial Controllers about the future movement of prices in September this year, to which 270 responded, found that their expectation for inflation for 2014, will end at 10.2 percent. On what basis is they arrive at this forecasted amount.
Interestingly, the official inflation rate to October is 7.3 percent, the full year’s figure should hoover around this level with the price of oil on the world market having declined sharply, pulling some local cost down with it.
The business sector record on business confidence both on the current state as well as a year out has no better record as ca be seen from the wild fluctuation in the periodic results.
On the matter of Treasury bill rate, while rates have been declining monthly from a peak in March, this year. The survey respondents expected the rate for the 182 day Treasury bill to come out at 8.6 percent at a time the rate had already declined to 8 percent. Admittedly, the interest rate forecast is not totally inconsistent with the managerial group inflation forecast, as investors would want to be compensated with an interest rates above the inflation as they see it. But if the inflation rate forecasted is as high as the private sector figures there would also be need for a greater slippage in the rate of exchange for the Jamaican dollar versus the US dollar. Yet their perception that the exchange rate would slip by 1.3 percent by the end of 2014 from September, would not be in keeping with the high inflation rate they projected.
No declining stocks in Trinidad
Scotiabank T&T closed with a bid at $5.76 for 6,695 shares, as the price continues to recover.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index rose 0.67 points to close at 1,143.17, the All T&T Index put on 1.33 points to close at 1,968.01 and the Cross Listed Index remained at 41.69.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price, at the close are, ANSA McAL traded 19,610 shares valued at $1,300,143, to close with a gain of 12 cents, at $66.30. Clico Investment Fund with 40,340 shares valued at $911,514 trading, advanced by 10 cent, to end at $22.60, Scotiabank’s stock price increased by 15 cents, to end the day at $58.70, while trading 1,120 shares. The bid at the end of trading stood at $5.76 to buy 6,695 shares and Trinidad Cement contributed 29,488 shares and closed 5 cents higher at $2.15.
Declines| There were no stocks declining at the end of trading on Wednesday.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged, at the end of trading are, Angostura Holdings traded 1,057 shares at $12.76. Firstcaribbean International Bank traded 9,130 shares at $5, First Citizens Bank traded 277 shares to close at $36.76, Grace Kennedy put through 3,854 shares to close at $3.84, Jamaica Money Market Brokers traded 221,395 shares valued at $99,628 and ended at 45 cents. Massy Holdings with 2,000 shares valued at $136,900 ended at $68.45, National Commercial Bank closed at $1.10 while trading 93,370 shares. National Enterprises added 830 shares, to end at $17.47, One Caribbean Media contributed only 100 shares as the price closed unchanged at $25.10, Sagicor Financial Corporation traded 6,000 shares at $6.IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 6 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 1 stock with the offer that was lower.
