Shareholders in Trinidad Cement will be offered additional shares in the company by way of a rights Issue of 124,882,568 new shares, to be priced at TT$2.90 per share. Shareholders will be offered the right to purchase one new share for every two shares held. The stock last traded at $2.70 on Thursday on the Trinidad Stock exchange. The issue if fully taken up will raise $362,159,447 for the company.
The issue will be underwritten by up to US$45 million by Sierra Trading an affiliate of Cemex SAB to ensure that the minimum funding targeted of US50 is met. In order to have the underwriting of that magnitude the company needed to and got permission of shares at an extraordinary meeting to lift a 20 percent shareholding limitation, in case the shareholders did not subscribed to enough of the rights they are entitled to. Sierra Trading will take up the rights due them on their 20 percent ownership of the group. The agreement stipulates that if after the rights issue the underwriting company does not get up to 35 percent of the shares of TCL then there will be a private placement of TCL shares to bring the holdings to 35 percent of TCL issued shares.
Carib Cement One of the groups subsidiaries
For the nine months to September, profit for the group’s shareholders amounted to $60 million versus $69 million in 2013. The 2014 figures reflect cost of nearly $29 million associated with an attempt at restructuring the heavy debt the company has, but the 2013 results benefited from a tax credit of $27 million.
TCL is loaded down with debt at relatively high interest rates. The debt at the end of 2013 was just under TT$2 billion all of which has been switched to current liabilities as a result of the default occasioned by the decision of the company to suspend payment on the debt pending negotiation of the terms. Equity stood at TT$570 million at the end of September, well below the debt. All amounts are in TT dollars. If the fresh capital is raised equity will reach around $1 billion and loans should decline to around $1.3 billion by the end of 2015 or close to a one for one relationship between debt and equity. The improved capital profile of the company should allow them to finance the remaining debt at a more advantageous cost than currently.
The rights is not badly priced as the stock an IC Insider BUY RATED seal of approval is severely undervalued on the TTSE. Investors will of course take into consideration negative economic development in Trinidad its main market with the fall in oil prices world wide an its impact on revenues for the country.
There has been much made about the OUR cutting the rate for Jamaica Public Service (JPS) and the likely effect on investment in the sector. Unfortunately, many who are critical of the reduction failed to make the point that when JPS was guaranteed a 16 percent rate of return, interest rates locally were well above present levels.
Secondly, just over 12 percent after tax is a good rate of return when one considers that international interest rate are so low and treasury bills rate locally, have been declining and is now under 7 per annum. One of the most telling factors is that JPS is by no means the most efficient company especially with its plants, and newer ones will reduce cost to operate, thus helping to improve their bottom line. Most telling now, is that the lower price of electricity occasioned by lower oil prices will drive up consumption thus helping to improve JPS profits. With the latest announcement of a cut in billing rates JPS must be quietly cheering and hoping that oil remains low for a very long time.
In its latest release the power company states that “the Fuel & IPP charge on bills will be reduced by 18%, moving from $19.350 per kWh in January to $15.760 per kWh on bills this month. This will contribute to an overall reduction of 11% on customers’ bills should their usage remain consistent.”
It is also important to note that the Fuel and IPP Rate in US terms for February is 13.608 cents, the lowest the rate has been in US denomination in almost six years. The Fuel and IPP charge makes up more than 60% of customers’ electricity bills, and changes from one month to the next, depending on how much JPS pays Petrojam for the oil used to produce electricity. The fuel rate that appears on bills each month is based on the cost of the fuel used to generate electricity in the previous month.”
“JPS encourages customers to continue their conservation efforts, despite the drop in the Fuel Charge on bills, as the total amount on bills is determined by how much electricity is used.”
In Thursday’s activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, Jamaica Producers was the dominant trade with 3.3 million shares valued at more than $56 million. The bulk of the trades were done between Proven Wealth as the broker selling and JMMB securities as the buying broker. The market closed with the prices of 7 stocks rising, 11 declining as 21 securities changed hands, ending in 9,405,774 units trading, valued at $71,370,572, in all market segments.
strong> Main Market| The JSE Market Index lost 74.26 points to 78,232.91, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index fell 83.03 points to close at 86,186.33 and the JSE combined index declined by 115.44 points to 80,117.64. IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 9 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and only 2 stocks with offers that were lower. Gains| Stocks gaining with last traded prices, at the end of trading in the main market are, Desnoes & Geddes in concluding trading with 17,732 shares, the price jumped 8 cents to $4.90, Hardware & Lumber closing with 69,100 shares while gaining 7 cents to $6.57, but after 49,100 units traded at $7.70. Palace Amusement finished with 150 shares to end with an increase of $4 to $70 and Sagicor Real Estate Fund in trading 850 units, put on 15 cents to $6.95. Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in the last traded prices are, Jamaica Money Market Brokers finished with 121,051 ordinary shares trading at $7 and Jamaica Producers closed with 3,306,500 shares changing hands at $17. Declines| The last traded prices of stocks with losses at the end of trading in the main market are, Caribbean Cement finishing with 2,535 units trading to end 1 cents lower at $2.40. Carreras ending trading with 3,681 shares to decline by 50 cents at $44.50, Jamaica Broilers closing with 12,085 shares changing hands 5 cents down at $4, Margaritaville closed with just 190 units trading, as the price slipped 7 cents to 9.80 US cents. Mayberry Investments had 75,000 shares trading lower by 4 cents to $1.96, Radio Jamaica closed with 5,642 shares changing hands to close lower by 1 cent to $1.10, Sagicor Group ending with 10,000 units trading 5 cents lower to $10.25 and Scotia Group finished with 96,000 units to fall 45 cents to $20.05. Preference| Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share closed with 5,132,700 units changing hands $2.
Activity on the Junior Market ended with Caribbean Producers pulling back today, after gaining on Wednesday, on robust volume of 4,393,426 shares. The company reported much improved results over the poor first quarter numbers, with the latest figures showing slightly lower profit for the December quarter of US$1.03 million versus US$1.18 million, for the similar period in 2013. For the year to December, profit is in at US$1.012 million versus US$1.62 million. Trading closed with 6 securities being active, ending with 552,558 units changing hands valued at $1,033,150. The JSE Junior Market Index declined 4.90 points to close at 701.53, with the prices of 2 stocks advancing and 3 declining.
At the close of the market, there were 3 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 1 with the offer that was lower. The junior market ended with 5 securities closing with no bids to buy and 7 securities that had no stocks being offered for sale.
Stocks trading in the junior market are, Lasco Distributors ending trading with 11,540 shares changing hands, 1 cent higher at $1.46, Lasco Manufacturing closing with just 4,000 shares trading as the price gained 1 cent to end at $1.16, General Accident ending with 236,240 shares trading at $1.65. AMG Packaging lost 27 cents with 7,500 units trading as the price closed at $2.22, Caribbean Producers trading 276,000 shares and closed lower by 20 cents to $2.10 and Lasco Financial closed with 17,278 shares changing hands 4 cents lower at $1.06.
West Indian Tobacco closed at a new 52 weeks’ high of $124 on Thursday.
Trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange closed with 11 securities changing hands of which 2 advanced, 3 declined and 6 traded firm with a total of 297,532 units, valued at $1,836,996 with West Indian Tobacco closing at a new 52 weeks’ high after putting on $1.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index lost 0.17 points to close at 1,147.44, the All T&T Index rose by just 0.02 points to close at 1,980.45 and the Cross Listed Index fell 0.05 points to end at 41.16. Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, Trinidad Cement with 168,280 shares changing hands for a value of $447,913 and gained 2 cents to end at $2.78 and West Indian Tobacco traded 2,500 shares, increasing 80 cents to a new 52 weeks’ high of $124. Declines| The stocks declining at the end of trading are, Grace Kennedy traded 57,898 shares being traded for $208,483 but lost 5 cents to end at $3.60. Massy Holdings declined 12 cents to close at a new 52 weeks’ low of $63.75 while 7,825 units were traded, valued at $498,844, National Enterprises traded 400 shares to close at$17.35 after shedding 5 cents and Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, Clico Investment Fund trading 6,085 shares valued at $136,988 at $22.51, First Citizens Bank trading 310 shares at $35.75, Jamaica Money Market Brokers with 5,000 shares closing at 43 cents. National Flour Mills adding 10,050 shares at $1.45, Point Lisas Industrial Port Development trading 485 units at $3.75 and Sagicor Financial Corporation contributed 36,199 shares with a value of $180,995 to end at $5. IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 7 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 4 stocks with offers that were lower.
Kurk Boothe – Medical Disposables Managing Director. the company stock fell a new low on Monday, in spite of healthy profit gains.
Medical Disposables is enjoying buoyant business, resulting in an impressive 30 percent jump in sales for the December quarter and 27 percent for the nine months period.
For quarter revenues jumped to $308 million compared to $236 million for the quarter to December 2013 and in gross profit climbing 42 percent to $81 million for the December 2014 quarter. Gross profit for the nine months to December amounted to $216 million, an increase of 32 percent. Sales revenue for the nine months ended at $848 million, an increase of $183 million or 27 percent.
Expenses rose sharply for the quarter and the year to date. Sales and distribution rose 45 percent in the quarter and 20 percent for the nine months. Administrative expenses increase by a lower 29 percent for the quarter and a robust 49 percent for the nine months. Finance and o0ther cost moved up strongly for both the quarter and year to date to hit $14 million and $27 million respectively. “The increase in expenses was driven mainly by staff related expenses, utilities, professional fees and information technology services. Staff related expenses, in particular, increased because of the strategic decision to realign the staff complement and compensation to sustain the current growth, development and expansion of the business” Kurt Boothe, General Manager stated in his report to shareholders.
Profit for the quarter came in at $18.6 million as it surged by 59.4 percent compared to $11.7 million generated in 2013. Profit after tax for the nine months hits $57 million, an increase of 60 percent. Earnings per share came in at 7 cents for the quarter and 22 cents for the nine months and should end up around 30 cents for the full year.
Medical Disposables is listed on the junior market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange and last traded at $1.80.
Trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange ended Wednesday with 12 securities changing hands of which 3 advanced, 3 declined and 6 traded firm with a total of 1,192,767 units, valued at $6,189,604. At the close of the market, the Composite Index rose 0.54 points to close at 1,147.61, the All T&T Index gained 1.19 points to close at 1,980.43 and the Cross Listed Index fell by a mere 0.02 points to end at 41.21. Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, National Flour Mills contributed 66,687 shares with a value of $97,346.73, closed at $1.46 with a 1 cent gain. Prestige Holdings closed with 1,953 shares traded gained 4 cents to a new 52 weeks’ high of $9.70 and Trinidad Cement with a volume of 242,192 shares being traded for $667,888 and put on 16 cents to end at $2.76. Declines| The stocks declining at the end of trading are, Massy Holdings with 500 shares changing hands suffered 1 cent decline to $63.87, a 52 weeks’ low. One Caribbean Media stock price fell by 1 cent to close at $23.95 while trading 2,183 shares and Sagicor Financial Corporation with 811,070 shares changing hands for a value of $4,056,478, ended at $5 with a 2 cents loss. Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, Berger Paints traded 26 units at $3.65, Clico Investment Fund had 38,050 shares changing hands valued at $856,125 and remained at $22.50, First Citizens Bank traded 7,038 shares valued at $251,608, to close at $35.75. National Commercial Bank with 6,603 shares traded to end at $1.18, Scotiabank traded 2,065 shares at $62.10 and Scotia Investments added 14,400 shares and closed at $1.45. IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 5 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 4 stocks with offers that were lower.
There was much more selling of US dollars and buying on Wednesday with purchases of all currencies by dealers, amounting to US$36,565,083 compared with the US$52,472,921, on Tuesday and selling amounted the equivalent of US$48,322,723 versus US$52,667,402 sold on Tuesday. In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$33,977,211 compared to US$47,894,069 on Tuesday. The buying rate for the US dollar fell 9 cents to $115.37 and US$45,963,520 was sold versus US$50,135,525 on Tuesday, the selling rate fell 1 cent to $115.76. The Canadian dollar buying rate lost 66 cents to $89.68 with dealers buying C$864,019, and selling C$908,229, at an average rate that climbed $1.05, to $93.04. The rate for buying the British Pound declined $1.35 to $173.71 for the purchase of £821,183, while £669,848 was sold, at an average rate of $175.98, a fall of 2 cents. At the end of trading it took J$131.10 to purchase the Euro, 17 cents lower than on Tuesday, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$128.78 for a gain of 6 cents from Tuesday. Other currencies bought, amounted to the equivalent of US$679,837 while the equivalent of US$610,927, was sold. Highs & Lows| The highest buying rate for the US dollar, fell 20 cents to $115.75, the lowest buying rate declined 67 cents to $93.69 and the highest selling rate declined 54 cents to $120.37. The lowest selling rate jumped $18.90 to $110.10. The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar rose $5.25 to $98, the lowest buying rate rose $2.78 to $76.24. The highest selling rate climbed $6.14 to $100.10 and the lowest selling rate rose $3.35 to $91.85. The highest buying rate for the British Pound, dipped $1.45 to $175.40. The lowest buying rate fell $1.12 to $139.77, the highest selling rate dropped $1.44 to $180.19 and the lowest selling rate declined $1.35 to $168.40.
Carreras closed at a new 52 weeks’ high on Wednesday as investors pushed the stock to $45 at the close.
Wednesday’s activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, resulted in the prices of 12 stocks rising, 5 declining as 25 securities changed hands, ending in 7,797,647 units trading, valued at $31,654,420, in all market segments. Main Market| The JSE Market Index gained 493.53 points to 78,307.17, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index rose 551.80 points to 86,269.36 and the JSE combined index gained 431.35 points 80,233.08. IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 10 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 with offers that were lower.
Kingston Properties closed up 50 cents to $7.50 on Wednesday
Gains| Stocks gaining with last traded prices, at the end of trading in the main market are, Caribbean Cement closing with 36,956 units while gaining 16 cents to $2.41. Carreras closed with 57,242 units with a gain of $2 to a new 52 weeks’ high of $45, Kingston Properties closing with 100,000 shares trading 50 cents higher to $7.50, National Commercial Bank ended trading with 23,030 shares with an increase of 5 cents to $20.50. Radio Jamaica closing with 2,405 shares while gaining 1 cent to $1.11, Sagicor Group finishing with 448,735 shares as the price moved up 5 cents, to $10.30 and Sagicor Real Estate Fund trading 45,120 shares to end with an increase of 10 cents to $6.80. Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in the last traded prices are, Cable & Wireless closed with 13,017 shares changing hands to close at 50 cents, Grace Kennedy had 32,532 units trading at $60, Jamaica Broilers closed with 11,229 shares changing hands at $4.05, Jamaica Money Market Brokers ending with 2,369 shares trading at $7, Mayberry Investments ending with 3,765 units trading at $2, Pan Jamaican Investment finished with 43,700 shares changing hands at $53. Declines| The last traded prices of stocks with losses at the close of the main market are, Desnoes & Geddes closing with 6,000 units, the price slipped 3 cents to $4.82, Proven Investments finishing with 120,400 units, ended 1 cent down to 19 US cents and Scotia Investments in trading 10,400 shares closed lower by 44 cents, to $22.56. Preference| Brokers 8.75% preference share ended trading with 1,040,303 units changing hands and gained 8 cents to $3.10, a 52 weeks’ high and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share finished with 716,489 units trading at $2.
Caribbean Producers traded nearly 4.4 million shares and rose in trading on Wednesday. Mayberry Investment was the broker that did all the buying while Stocks & Securities did the bulk of the selling, except for two smaller trades, amounting to 143,000 units. Activity on the Junior Market closed with 6 securities traded ending with 5,082,755 units changing hands valued at $11,034,581. The JSE Junior Market Index declined 3.54 points to close at 706.43, with the prices of 3 stock advancing and 2 declining. At the close of the market, there were 4 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and only 1 stock with an offer that was lower. The junior market ended with 5 securities closing with no bids to buy and 7 securities that had no stocks being offered for sale.
Stocks trading in the junior market are, Caribbean Cream in trading 200 shares closed with a gain of 1 cent to 76 cents, Caribbean Producers finished with 4,393,426 units trading 10 cents higher to $2.30, Lasco Financial closed with 6,472 units and put on 5 cents to $1.10, Lasco Distributors closing with 5,310 shares trading at unchanged at $1.45, General Accident ended trading with 281,669 shares changing hands to close lower by 10 cents to $1.65 and Lasco Manufacturing closing with 395,678 units trading lower by 5 cents to $1.15.
Shareholders in Trinidad Cement will be offered additional shares in the company by way of a rights Issue of 124,882,568 new shares, to be priced at TT$2.90 per share. Shareholders will be offered the right to purchase one new share for every two shares held. The stock last traded at $2.70 on Thursday on the Trinidad Stock exchange. The issue if fully taken up will raise $362,159,447 for the company.
