Archives for August 2021

Mixed fortune for JSE Main market

August 4, 2021 by

Market activity ended on Wednesday with mixed results after an exchange of 15 percent fewer shares, with a 131 percent greater value than on Tuesday on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market leaving the market indices with mixed results at the close.
The All Jamaican Composite Index rose 170.16 points to 461,596.19, the JSE Main Index shed 189.24 points to end at 421,657.62 and the JSE Financial Index dipped 0.18 points to 103.56.
Trading ended with 46 securities down from 52 on Tuesday, with 16 stocks rising, 15 declining and 15 ending unchanged. The PE Ratio, a measure that computes an appropriate stock value averages 16.5 based on ICInsider.com’s forecast of 2021-22 earnings.
The market closed with 6,341,667 shares trading for $102,594,305 versus 7,489,347 units at $44,473,648 on Tuesday. Scotia Group led trading with 21.6 percent of total volume for an exchange of 1.37 million shares followed by Transjamaican Highway 18 percent with 1.14 million units and Wigton Windfarm 16.1 percent with 1.02 million units.
Trading averaged 137,862 units at $2,230,311, compared to 144,026 shares at $855,262 on Tuesday. Trading month to date averages 141,133 units at $1,500,693. July ended with an average of 322,932 units at $15,201,099.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading has ten stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
At the close, Caribbean Cement rallied $1 to $93 in exchanging 2,758 shares, Eppley spiked $1.70 to $40 in switching ownership of 521 units, First Rock Capital rose 93 cents to $14.38 with 688 stock units changing hands, GraceKennedy climbed $4 to $102 in trading 30,011 units. Guardian Holdings dropped $20 to a 52 weeks’ low of $630 with the swapping of 29,390 stock units, JMMB Group slipped 40 cents to $37 in an exchange of 92,682 shares, Kingston Properties popped $1.29 to $9.79 with the transfer of 1,290 units. Mayberry Jamaican Equities lost 30 cents in closing at $8.70 in trading 3,500 stock units, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy spiked $7 to $137 in exchanging 1 share, NCB Financial fell $1.10 to $138.50 in exchanging 18,337 stocks. Proven Investments rose 38 cents to $35.29, with 6,916 units crossing the market, Pulse Investments picked up 21 cents to end at $4.01 in switching ownership of 435,468 stock units, Sagicor Group spiked $1 to $57 with 11,682 units crossing the exchange. Scotia Group popped $1 to $42 in trading 1,366,726 shares, Seprod fell $1 to $71 in an exchange of 3,804 stocks, Supreme Ventures gained 30 cents in closing at $20.50 with a transfer of 113,365 stock units. Sygnus Credit Investments popped 58 cents to $14.80 after exchanging 63,362 shares but after trading at a 52 weeks’ intraday low of $13.99 and Wisynco Group lost 22 cents to settle at $15.65 with 362,752 stocks crossing the market.
In the preference segment, Eppley 8.25% shed 40 cents to close at $6.10 in an exchange of 5,544 shares and JMMB Group 7.25% lost 20 cents in ending at $1.30 after ownership of 13,508 units was switched.
In the corporate Bond segment, Guardian Holdings 6.5% due 2025 rose 35 cents to close at 4103.51 after 5 million units were exchanged.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Trading remains buoyant on TTSE

August 4, 2021 by

Market activity ended on Wednesday resulted in more securities trading but with 20 percent fewer shares carrying a slightly higher value than on Tuesday, resulting in an equal number of stocks rising and falling at the close of the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange.

Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange Head Quarters

Twenty two (22) securities traded compared to 21 on Tuesday, with five rising, five declining and 12 closing unchanged. The Composite Index rose 1.14 points to 1,421.49, the All T&T Index popped 1.10 points to close at 1,933.91 and the Cross-Listed Index added 0.17 points to end at 122.37.
A total of 353,428 shares were traded for $3,625,335 compared to 441,934 units at $3,562,074 on Tuesday. An average of 16,065 units traded at $164,788 compared to 21,044 shares at $169,623 on Tuesday. The average trade month to date, amounts to 18,497 units at $167,150. The average trade for July ended at 20,941 units at $221,079.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows four stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and none with lower offers.
At the close, Agostini’s traded 848 stocks at $24.55, Angostura Holdings ended at $16.49 in exchanging 1,182 units, Ansa Mcal had an exchange of 20 shares at $59. Calypso Macro Investment Fund shed 6 cents to close at $16.16 trading 5 stock units, Clico Investment Fund closed at $27 after trading 14,500 units, Endeavour Holdings fell 93 cents to end at a 52 weeks’ low of $7.01 with an exchange of 1,500 stocks First Citizens Bank fell 10 cents to $50.10 while exchanging 3,717 stock units, FirstCaribbean International Bank remained at $6.50 after 200 stocks changed hands, GraceKennedy ended at $6.30 in exchanging 243,414 units. Guardian Holdings traded 2,410 shares at $32.50, Guardian Media ended at $3.10 after 3,180 stock units crossed the market, JMMB Group closed at $2.05 after exchanging 650 units. Massy Holdings rose 40 cents to $80.50 after the trading of 2,988 stocks, MPC Caribbean Clean Energy climbed 8 cents to 98 US cents, with an exchange of 1,000 units. National Enterprises settled at $3.90 with an exchange of 20,616 units, NCB Financial Group popped 1 cent to $8.01 in switching ownership of 44,734 stocks. One Caribbean Media rallied 10 cents to $4.15 with the swapping of 1,000 stocks, Republic Financial Holdings spiked $2.50 to $138 in exchanging 3,033 stock units, Scotiabank closed at $59 after exchanging 1,508 stocks. Trinidad & Tobago NGL shed 25 cents to $17.70, with 620 shares crossing the market,  Cement lost 4 cents to close at $3.96 in switching ownership of 1,003 stocks and West Indian Tobacco settled at $32, with 5,300 stock units changed hands.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Filed Under: Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Construction boom boost Fosrich profits

August 4, 2021 by

After a few years of mediocre performance since it was listed in late 2017 on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, Fosrich is enjoying a most robust year in 2021, with a surge in revenues and a major blast in profits as the construction sector is enjoying the best performance in history and lifting sales of entities involved in the sector.
Revenues for the June quarter blasted 33 percent to $544 million, from $408 million in the similar 2020 period, helping to contribute to a 28 percent increase in six months revenues of $1,093 million, up from $857 million in 2020. Net Profit leaped 336 percent in the second quarter to $76 million, up from just $17 million in 2020 and for the half year, profit bolted 414 percent to $115 million from a mere $22 million in 2020.
Gross Profit blew 44 percent past $169 million for the June quarter last year to $244 million this year and rose 29 percent from $339 million in last year to $435 million for the six months this year, resulting in improvement in profit margins.
“These increases were attributed primarily to the greater availability of the products required by the market. While the overall increase in revenues was 28 percent, the product lines that had significant increases were PVC which saw increases of 105 percent, hardware 93 percent, wiring devices 52 percent and control devices 48 percent,” the Managing Director, Cecil Foster advised shareholders about the increase in sales, in his commentary of the results.

FosRich traded at $7.99 on Tuesday.

Administration expenses, year-to-date, were $310 million, an increase of 14 percent over 2020, with $271 million. For the quarter, these expenses grew much faster than in the first quarter at 32 percent to $166 million from $126 million in 2020. “The changes were driven primarily by increased staff related costs for salary adjustments, increased sales commission due to improved sales performance and improvements in staff benefits, increased staff training cost with the launch of the new FosRich Corporate University, increased motor vehicle expenses, increased occupancy cost due to the commencement of obligations in January for the second Hayes factory building and increased depreciation charges,” Foster advised shareholders. Finance cost for the year-to-date was $51 million compared to $57 million for the prior reporting period.
The operations delivered gross cash flow of $152 million, but growth in receivables, reduction of inventories, addition to fixed assets and payments on loans and lease funding of $58 million left the net position, with a cash flow deficit of just $1 million. Current assets ended the period at $1.99 billion, including inventories of $1.37 billion, trade and other receivables of $424 million, and cash and bank balances of $33 million. At the end of June, current liabilities stood at $496 million and resulted in net current assets of $1.5 billion. A related party owes $288 million, being funds loaned to complete an apartment complex, with sales expected to be completed this year, with proceeds slated to pay off the amount during 2021.
 Shareholders’ equity stands at $983 million, up from the $869 million at the end of December 2020. Borrowings amount to $1.8 billion.
Earnings per share for the second quarter surged to 15 cents from 3 cents in the prior year and climbed to 23 cents compared to 4 cents in 2020. ICInsider.com forecasts 60 cents per share for 2021 and $1 for 2022. The current year’s PE is now 13.3, with the last traded stock price at $7.99 on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange. The average Junior Market trades at a PE of 12.7 and net asset value is $1.96, with the stock selling at 4 times net book value.

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

Big Spike in trading volume on Tuesday

August 3, 2021 by
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Lumber Depot dominated trading with

Lumber Depot traded 61.5 percent of the total volume of stocks, trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange after sellers pushed 9.62 million shares, with the price plunging to a low of $2.50 during the day but recovered to close at $2.94, but with the bid at $2.58 to buy 22,010 shares.
Jetcon Corporation closed with just one bid to buy 73,805 shares at 65 cents, well off the last traded price of $1.30.
Market activity led to 36 securities trading compared to 34 on Friday and ended with the prices of 14 stocks rising, 17 declining and five closing unchanged.
The Junior Market Index slipped 3.54 points to 3,319.23. The PE Ratio, a measure used to compute an appropriate value of a stock, averages 12.9 based on ICInsider.com’s 2021-22 earnings forecast.
The market closed on Tuesday, with the volume of stocks traded spiking 627 percent, with 537 percent greater value than on Friday. Trading volume surged to 15,655,131 shares for $44,661,348 compared to 2,153,858 units at $7,010,164 on Friday.
Derrimon Trading had the second highest volume with 11.2 percent of the day’s trade after an exchange of 1.75 million shares and  Future Energy Source was next, with a 9.3 percent market share with an exchange of 1.46 million units.
Trading averaged 434,865 units at $1,240,593 in contrast to 63,349 at $206,181 on Friday. Trading for July closed with an average of 163,918 units at $481,755.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows one stock ending with the bid higher than its last selling price and one with a lower offer.
At the close, Blue Power rose 9 cents to $3.35 with 9,841 shares changing hands, CAC 2000 gained $1.42 to finish at $10.92, with an exchange of 921 stocks, Caribbean Cream slipped 8 cents to $5.80 with investors switching ownership of 880,910 units.  Future Energy Source added 5 cents to close at $1.43,  with 1,459,917 stock units traded, GWest Corporation rallied by 5 cents to 99 cents with a transfer of 800 shares, Indies Pharma advanced 19 cents to $3.79,  with 60,800 stocks changing hands. Iron Rock Insurance climbed 28 cents to $3.88 with an exchange of 33,165 stock units, Jamaican Teas lost 7 cents to finish at $3.95, with 233,852 units passing through the market, Lasco Manufacturing slipped 5 cents to $5.20 with 116,657 shares traded. Lumber Depot fell 36 cents to $2.94 with a transfer of 9,623,115 stock units, Medical Disposables shed 49 cents to finish at $4.50 with 825 units changing hands, SSL Venture popped 11 cents to 87 cents, in switching ownership of 5,744 shares. Stationery and Office Supplies rallied $1.12 to $6.88 with 879 stock units traded and Tropical Battery lost 10 cents to close at $1.30 with 28,827 units crossing the exchange.
In the preference segment, CAC 2000 9.5% advanced 20 cents to $1 with 8,606 stocks changing hands.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, JSE Junior Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

JSE USD market rallies into August

August 3, 2021 by

 The JSE USD Equity Index climbed 7.62 points to 194.37 to start off the new month on a positive note on Tuesday, as the market builds on gains made on Friday to close out the old month after an exchange of 43 percent fewer shares than on Friday, with the value falling 50 percent.
Seven securities changing hands up from four on Friday, with the prices of three stocks rising,  three declining and one ending unchanged.
The PE Ratio, a measure that computes appropriate values for stock, averages 11.9 based on ICInsider.com’s forecast of 2021-22 earnings.
Trading accounted for 127,924 shares changing hands for US$32,789 down from 224,358 units at US$65,431 on Friday.
Trading averaged 18,275 units at US$4,684, compared to 56,090 shares at US$16,358 on Friday. July ended with an average of 178,541 units for US$18,099.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows two stocks ended with bids higher than the last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close, First Rock Capital rose 0.01 of a cent to 7.26 US cents after trading 45,850 shares, Margaritaville settled at 9 US cents with 20 stocks changing hands, Productive Business Solutions fell 3 cents to 77 US cents with a transfer of 194 units. Proven Investments lost 1.96 cents to close at 23.04 US cents with 75,056 shares passing through the market,  Sygnus Credit Investments popped 1 cent to 13 US cents with 1,504 units traded and Transjamaican Highway climbed 0.17 of a cent to 0.92 US cents with 100 stock units crossing the exchange.
In the preference segment, JMMB Group 5.5% shed 30 cents to close at US$2 with 5,200 shares changing hands.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Filed Under: Global Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

August off to steady start in TTSE trading

August 3, 2021 by

Market activity ended on Tuesday, the first trading day of August, with the majority of stocks prices closing unchanged as rising stocks edged out those falling on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange as the volume of stocks changing hands jumped 143 percent, but with 21 percent fall in value compared to Friday’s activities.
Trading ended with 21 active securities, up from 18 on Friday, with five stocks rising, three declining and 13 ending unchanged.
The Composite Index rallied 2.87 points to close at 1,420.35, the All T&T Index gained 2.96 points to settle at 1,932.81 and the Cross-Listed Index advanced 0.39 points tand finished at  122.20.
A total of, 441,934 shares traded for $3,562,098 compared to 182,034 units at $4,513,902 on Friday
An average of 21,044 units traded at $169,623 compared to 10,113 at $250,772 on Friday. The average trade for July amounts to 20,941 units at $221,079.
The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows four stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close, Agostini’s ended at $24.55 in switching ownership of 534 shares, Angostura Holdings ended at $16.49 after trading 5 shares, Ansa Mcal remained at $59, with 2,855 stock units clearing the market. Clico Investment Fund closed at $27 after exchanging 1,021 stock units, Endeavour Holdings ended at $7.94 in exchanging 3 units. First Citizens Bank traded 100 stock units at $50.20, GraceKennedy advanced 15 cents to $6.30 while exchanging 353,258 units, Guardian Holdings ended at $32.50 with an exchange of 6,905 shares. JMMB Group gained 2 cents in closing at $2.05 in exchanging 4 stock units, L.J Williams B share slipped 16 cents to $1.34 in an exchange of 50 stock units, Massy Holdings shed 40 cents to $80.10 while exchanging 1,887 stocks. National Enterprises remained at $3.90 in trading 22,770 stocks, National Flour Mills increased 5 cents to $2.05 trading 7,600 stock units, NCB Financial Group closed at $8, with 29,779 stock units changing hands. Prestige Holdings settled at $7.50 after exchanging 197 stocks, Republic Financial Holdings ended at $135.50, with 200 stock units crossing the market, Scotiabank remained at $59 in switching ownership of 2,160 stock units. Trinidad & Tobago NGL climbed 45 cents to $17.95 in trading 5,577 shares, Trinidad Cement rose 25 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $4, with 1,010 stock units clearing the market, Unilever Caribbean slipped 1 cent to $16.32 in switching ownership of 1,205 shares and West Indian Tobacco remained at $32 with the swapping of 4,814 stock units.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Filed Under: Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Profit climbs 20% at Paramount

August 3, 2021 by

Reduced administrative, selling and distribution expenses overcame a fall in revenues for the Junior Market listed Paramount Trading, for the fiscal year ending May 2021, to deliver a 20 percent rise in after tax profit to $64 million from $53 million in 2020 after profit surged more than nine times in the final quarter versus the similar period in 2020.

Paramount Trading had expanded into Chlorine and bleach processing.

In the final quarter, revenues rose 15 percent to $421 million from $366 million in 2020 and netted a profit of $36 million versus just $4 million in 2020. Sales revenue slipped 5 percent for the year to $1.44 billion, from $1.52 billion. Other income slipped from $25 million to $23 million, but foreign exchange gains contributed $19 million in 2021 versus $10 million in 2020.
Improvement in profit margin in the year saw margins rise from 30.9 percent in 2020 to 31.6 percent in 2021, but gross profit slipped 3 percent to $454 million, from $468 million in 2020.
Administrative expenses fell 32 percent to $68 million in the quarter, up from $100 million in 2020, and slipped 3 percent for the year, to $355 million from $367 million, a fall of $27 million in staff costs accounted for the bulk of the decline as salaries and wages fell from $179 million to $152 million as the average number of workers employed fell from 91 to 70. Distribution and sales expenses dipped from $19 million to $11 million. Finance cost inched higher from $48 million to $49 million in 2021.
The operations delivered gross cash flow of $121 million, but after changes in working capital, net cash flow from operations ended at $135 million. The company increased fixed assets by $9 million, had a net $15 million repayment of loans and paid $62 million in dividends, ended with increased funds at the end of the year of $49 million, pushing cash and investments to $261 million at the end of the fiscal year.

Paramount lubricant factory.

At the end of May, net current assets stood at $472 million. Current assets ended the period at $836 million inclusive of trade and other receivables of $323 million, cash and bank balances of $91 million. Current liabilities closed the year with $364 million. Non-current Investments being held for more than a year stood at $170 million. Shareholders’ equity ended at $796 million with long term borrowings at $473 million, down from $492 million in 2020 and short term loans amounted to $47 million versus $43 million in 2020.
Earnings per share amount to 4.1 cents for the year. ICInsider.com forecasts 10 cents per share for the fiscal year ending May 2022 with a PE of 12.5 at the last traded stock price at $1.25 on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange. Net asset value is 52 cents per share, with the stock selling at 2.5 net book value.
The Company’s principal activity is the importation and distribution of chemicals, lubricants and other related products, provision of haulage services and blends lubricants.

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

Change in ICTOP10 picks

August 2, 2021 by

Mid-year results are now flowing unlike anything seen in the local market in recent years. Most companies reported gains in revenues and profits, but investors’ interest seems lukewarm in the aftermath of the results, even as interest in ICTOP10 number 1 stock, Radio Jamaica (RJR) continues to be robust as more investors turn their eyes to what is a major turnaround in fortunes.
GraceKennedy reported continued strong numbers, showing improvement in revenues and profit, so too did Caribbean Cement and Berger Paints. Investors don’t seem to buy into Berger’s major change in operations and the implication for profit from the major surge in revenues. Based on the six months numbers, the company’s earnings for 2021 is upgraded to $2 per share. All three Lasco companies reported improved revenues and profit for the June Quarter, but the stocks are stuck at prerelease prices.
Investors should ignore the lukewarm response now and accumulate some of these stocks to profit from later in the year when the inevitable buying comes in for them. Access Financial reported improved results for the June quarter after reporting modest gains in lending. NCB Financial also released results but the details suggest caution, with the performance being helped by onetime income or cost reduction. Jamaica Stock Exchange reported improved June quarter numbers, but improvement is not strong enough to justify the current price the stock trades at.
Sterling Investments returns to the TOP10 Main Market listing, after replacing Scotia Group that recorded a rise in its price from last weeks’ $38.75 to $42 at the close of trading on Friday. There are no changes in or out of the Junior Market list.
The top three stocks in the Junior Market, continue, with Elite Diagnostic, followed by Caribbean Assurance Brokers and Medical Disposables, with the potential to gain between 221 percent and 287 percent compared to 237 and 291 percent, last week. The top three Main Market stocks are Radio Jamaica in the number one spot, followed by JMMB Group and Guardian Holdings, with expected gains of 184 to 296 percent, versus last weeks’ 183 to 292 percent.
This past week the average gains projected for the Junior Market, moved up from 202 percent last week, back to 207 percent and Main Market stocks moved to 173 percent from 164 percent.
The Junior Market closed the week with an average PE 13.3 based on ICInsider.com’s 2021-22 earnings and currently trades well below the target of 20 as well as the recent historical average of 17, for the period to March this year based on 2020 earnings.
The JSE Main Market ended the week with an overall PE of 16.4, a little distance from the 19 the market ended at in March, suggesting just a 17 percent rise at a PE of 19 and 23 percent at a PE of 20 from now to March 2022. The Main Market TOP 10 trades at a PE of 7.6 or 46 percent of the PE of that market, well off the potential of 20.
For the Junior Market to trade at the historical average, the PE Ratio would have to rise 28 percent and requires a rise of 50 percent to reach the targeted PE of 20 by March 2022. Main Market stocks would have to rise by 17 percent to hit a PE of 19 and 23 percent to get to the target of 20. The Junior Market Top 10 stocks average PE is a mere 6.7, just 50 percent of the market average, indicating substantial gains ahead.
The TOP10 stocks are not always the best stocks in the market but ones that are most likely to be the best winners within a fifteen months period. IC ranked stocks to filter out the big winners, allowing investors to focus on potentially big winners and help to keep out emotional attachments to stocks.
 IC TOP10 stocks are likely to deliver the best returns up to March 2022 and ranked in order of potential gains, based on likely increase for each company, taking into account the earnings and PE ratios for the current fiscal year. Expected values will change as stock prices fluctuate and result in movements in and out of the lists weekly. Revisions to earnings per share are ongoing, based on receipt of new information.

Persons who compiled this report may have an interest in securities commented on in this report.

 

Filed Under: Buy Rated Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Profit up for Jamaica Stock Exchange

August 2, 2021 by

Fee income climbed 23 percent from $273 million in the 2020 June quarter to $336 million and rose marginally for the year to date to $646 million from $635 in 2020, but income from other sources was mainly flat to declining in both periods for the leading stock exchange in the Caribbean operated by the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
Revenues climbed 16.7 percent in the latest quarter to $442 million from $378 million in 2020 and for the six months, revenues fell from $887 million to $852 million as trading activity on the market remains subdued, with the main market still trading well below the highs of 2020 and financial stocks that dominate the market capitalization, mostly out of favour. Segment results show a $200 million decline in revenues as a result of lower trading activity on the stock market. Investment income was essentially flat at $10 for the quarter but fell from $32.6 million in 2020 for the half year to $24.6 million in 2021.
While revenues fell year to date, expenses for the half year rose 2.6 percent to $590 million from $575 million even as fees payable to the Financial Services Commission slipped from $27 million to $20 million. For the June Quarter, expenses rose by 10 percent, from $259 million to $285, with staff cost climbing 23 percent to $136 million from $110 million in 2020. Taxation gobbled up $51 million for the June quarter and $91 million for the half year.
The operations generated gross cash flow of $315 million, after an increase in working capital, the amount was reduced to $266 million and after acquiring investments, purchasing fixed assets and paying $112 million in dividends, the company reduced the cash funds of $140 million at the end of 2020 by $19 million. Net current assets ended the period at $540 million, with current assets of $892 million. Current liabilities at the end of the half year amount to $352 million. Trade and other receivables amount to $286 million, cash and bank balance $121 million and investments $434 million. At the end of June, shareholders’ equity stood at $1.8 billion, with no borrowings used in funding its operation.
Looking forward, the last half of the year tends to be more bullish than the first half. As the local economy continues to recover from the 2020 depression, greater activity in the wider economy is likely and should result in improved profitability of listed stocks, resulting in increased demand for them. Additionally, there will continue to be more listings that will generate fixed fees for the exchange and fee income based on trading in the stocks of the additional listings going forward. The exchange could also improve its results if it took a critical look at its fee structure, with a move to generating more fixed fee income and reduced reliance on varying fee income, which is the way it was in years gone by until some fixed fees were frozen for many years and have not changed much since. Short term, the stock may be considered overpriced, longer term, but it offers good growth potential with a decent dividend yield.
Earnings per share ended the June quarter at 17 cents and the six months at 27 cents and could end the year around 70-80 cents, depending a great deal on trading activities in the second half of the year.  The stock last traded at $17.79 on the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange with a PE ratio of 24 times 2021 earnings, in contrast to an average of 16.4 for the Main Market.  Net asset value was $2.57 at the end of the quarter, with the stock selling at 6.9 times book value.

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

Profit jumps 33% at Carreras but..

August 2, 2021 by

Sale revenues for the June quarter this year jumped 27 percent to $3.4 billion at Carreras, from a depressed $2.7 billion in 2020, with profit after corporate taxes surging 33 percent to $863 million from $651 million in 2020.

Carreras is one of Jamaica’s best dividend payers

The latest results, while looking impressive, have resulted mainly from a 27 percent fall in revenues in the 2020 June quarter from revenues of $3.458 billion in 2019. The 2021 profit is lower than the $923 million aftertax profit earned in 2019.
Cost of goods sold rose faster than revenues with a 30 percent increase from $1.37billion to $1.78 billion percent. Other operating and administrative expenses, including finance costs, rose four percent from $514 million in the 2020 quarter to $536 million.
The operations generated gross cash flows of $820 million, but after paying dividends of $1.2 million, resulting in a reduction of $786 million in cash on hand at the end of March. At the end of the quarter, shareholders’ equity stood at $1.75 billion, with lease financing at $251 million. Current assets ended at $3.47 billion, including cash and equivalent of $1.4 billion and Receivables of $1.56 billion. Current liabilities ended at $2 billion.
Earnings per share came out at 17.8 cents for the quarter, with ICInsider.com forecasting 80 cents per share for the year to March 2022, with a PE of 11.5 times earnings at the last traded price of $9.19 for the stock on the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange. The stock is now mostly regarded as a good dividend payer with a high yield of 8 percent, with profit hardly growing as the product it sells is not expected to enjoy much growth.

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