C2W Music announced today, that it will shift its business model, from music publishing to artiste management under the 360 model. The change is aimed at increasing revenue streams, at the cash strapped company, said CEO Ivan Berry, Saturday at the annual general meeting, held at the Knutsford Court Hotel, in Kingston.
“The 360 model is an all rights model. We are not in the music publishing business, we are now in the all rights business,” Berry told roughly 20 shareholders at the early morning meeting. “We are going to sign fantastic songwriters and create copyright, we are going to sign fantastic artistes and help them get global recognition and going to sign producers and make earnings from producer fees.”
C2W made a net loss of US$620,000 for 2013 which mirrored a US$602,700 loss, a year earlier and virtually wiped out the capital it raised in early 2012, leaving only US$42,000 at the end of 2013.
C2W will follow the model of global company BMG which sold its record label to Sony then immediately set-up BMG Rights Management. “It is tough operating without revenue and it will continue to be tough. As CEO we value the trust that shareholders have put in us and we will continue to grow this company,” stated Berry. “Where we need to go is to be a fluid flexible operation that can move in on the drop of a dime.”
Berry lamented that under the music publishing model the publisher is the first to spend cash and last to get paid.“As we give these artistes songs. The artiste immediately goes on tour and [earns] from our songs but we have to wait another 14 months for our royalties to be collected globally…we are the last to be paid,” explained Berry in his trademark muscle shirt and chain.
The shift actually reflects the more ‘Jamaicanised’ directorship which includes local music experts Sly Dunbar and Clyde McKenzie.
“So we are fast going into the 360 model…so that we get a piece of live shows, we get a piece of the endorsement deals, sponsorship deals and all that comes along with an artiste,” he concluded.
General Accident flat 2014 profit
General Accident Insurance marginally improved profit for the first half of 2014, with net profit rising to just $187 million, from $178 million in 2013. Earnings per share for the six months rose to 18 cents. This year’s performance is not, however, as strong as last year’s 57 percent increase for the same period. For the June quarter, profit came out at $88 million up from $80 million in 2013. Investment income for the first half of 2014 was $125 million, well below the $145 million earned, in the first half of 2013.
For the year to June, gross premiums income grew to $3.44 billion, from $3.24 billion for the first half of last year. Net earned premiums grew to $485 million, from $443 million for the six months in 2013. Premium income fell to $1.9 billion from $2.09 billion and commission income ended at $90 million from $84 million, for the June quarter. For the six months, commission income amounted to $175 million, from $117 million for 2013. The company said, the performance was “as a result of improvement in our core business of underwriting commercial property and motor insurance.”
Claim expenses rose from $310 million for the year to June last year, to $316 million in 2014 and for the June quarters from $157 million to $169 million. Management expenses rose from $165 million for the year to June 2013 by to $2055 million in 2014, and in the latest quarter, from $88 million to $110 million
Assets down| Total assets totalling $7 billion at the end of June last year has seen a major fall to June this year to $4.3 billion mainly as result of amounts due from reinsurers and co-insurers and from policy holders declined back to normal levels. Equity stood at $1.55 billion and cash and short term investments stood at $2 billion.
If the company can maintain the current profit levels then earnings per share should reach 35 cents for the year which makes the stock now priced at $1.62 cents cheap, at a PE of only 4.6.
Purity’s 2014 profit & stock price falls
Periods of major economic adjustment negatively affecting consumers, can be tough for bakeries, as demand pressures tend to squeeze margins. That is exactly what happened to Consolidated Bakeries, better known as Purity, for the first six months of 2014.
For although sales’ revenues for the period to June 2014, grew 17.9 percent over the six months to June 2013, profit fell 19 percent to $14.7 million from $24.4 million in 2013. Profit, in the June quarter fell 28 percent to $7.3 million while sales’ revenues for the quarter rose 22 percent. During the six-months, Consolidated said, exports grew 25 percent in US dollars, over the same period last year.
According to management in their report to shareholders for the June results “revenue growth over the six month period in 2013, represent growth in all product categories. This growth is a result of our strategy to grow distribution and volume. During this period, price increases were low due to market competition and in a response to difficulties shoppers face.”
Gross profit| Gross profit margin that ended last fiscal year at 54 percent, fell to 44 percent in the March quarter, 47 percent for the June quarter and for the six months 46 percent. The decline was a major factor dragging profit down for 2014. For 2011, gross profit ended at 62 percent, leaving much room for improvement for management going forward.
Operating cost| comprising administrative, selling and distribution cost, rose sharply by 21 percent for the June quarter to $57 million and 15 percent for the six months, hitting $113 million, faster than the increase in gross profit.
The company has lots of work to do, to improve gross profit margin as well as the paltry return on equity of 6 percent for 2014.
Borrowed funds amount to $57 million at the end of June at a very comfortable level with equity at $518 million. Cash funds available amount to $111 million.
Property plant and equipment was increased by $17 million up to June 2014, additional machinery was ordered to build capacity.
Watch this one| The company has room to grow faster than the economy for a while, this can make it a good growth prospects for investors looking long term. IC Insider’s forecast for earnings per share is around 15 cents for 2014. It may not be until 2015 that the earnings could show improvement to help push the stock price upwards in a major way.
BNS & NCB in grand US$ sell off on Friday
Authorized Dealers sold much more foreign currency that they bought on Friday. Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) and National Commercial Bank (NCB) were big net sellers of the US dollar, the second consecutive day of a big net sell off by dealers. BNS was the largest net seller, with US$4.58 million bought to US$15.26 million sold, followed by NCB buying US$4.13 million and selling US$12.6 million. On Thursday BNS bought US$7.33 million and sold US$14.23 million while National Commercial Bank, was buying US$2.67 million and selling US$5.54 million.
The Jamaican dollar slipped slightly against the US dollar, but appreciated against the Pound and the Canadian dollar, in Friday’s forex trading. Authorized dealers purchased the equivalent of US$49,065,272 versus US$27,673,332 on Thursday. The equivalent of US$60,366,852 was sold, compared with US$42,183,198 on Thursday.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$43,058,325 compared to US$25,657,012 on Thursday. The buying rate for the US dollar was up 6 cents to $112.29 and US$56,237,305 was sold versus US$40,190,794 on Thursday, the selling rate rose 3 cents to $112.65. The Canadian dollar buying rate, climbed 53 cents to $99.51 with dealers buying C$2,347,380 and selling C$2,099,384 at an average selling rate that declined 63 cents, to $100.49. The rate for buying the British Pound is up by 82 cents to $179.22, for the purchase of £1,814,232, while £918,229 was sold, at $180.70, down 73 cents. Other currencies bought, amounted to the equivalent of US$1,031,148, while selling was for the equivalent of US$783,955.
Highs & Lows| The highest buying rate for the US dollar, closed 10 cents lower, at $112.75, the lowest buying and the highest selling rates, were unchanged at $91.85 and $117.70 respectively, the lowest selling rate dropped $2.18 to $91.85. The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar remained at $101, the lowest buying rate rose 83 cents to $80.26, the highest selling rate fell 46 cents to $103.54. The lowest selling rate closed down 10 cents to $96.20. The highest buying rate for the British Pound, increased by 55 cents to $182, the lowest buying rate was unchanged at $144.96. The highest selling rate, dropped $1.23 to $185.65 and the lowest selling rate rose $1.15 to $175.80.
Scotia Group & Kingston Wharves push index
Friday’s activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, resulted in the prices of 9 stocks rising and 4 declining as 18 securities changed hands, culminating in 20,710,115 units trading, valued at $66,213,940, in all market segments. Cable & Wireless traded just over 10 Million units, Desnoes & Geddes 2 million and Kingston Wharves 3 million units.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index gained 1,023.10 points to 72,675.75 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite index rose 1,144.00 points to close at 79,972.88.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator showed 5 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 9 stocks with offers that were lower. Although the signal is weak most of the weakness is in the junior market.
Gains| Stocks gaining with last traded prices, at the end of trading in the main market are, Cable & Wireless with 10,149,579 shares to close a cent higher, at 30 cents, Carreras had only 262 units being active, but gained 15 cents to $34.65, Jamaica Broilers returned to trade at $4 by putting on 15 cents in trading 45,621 shares, Kingston Wharves enjoyed a buoyant day with 3,190,455 shares, the price gained $1, to land at $6.50, Proven Investments traded 63,730 ordinary shares at 0.5 cent up to close at 17.5 US cents, Radio Jamaica gained 11 cents with 3,965 units, to end at $1.15, Sagicor Group had 9,880 units changing hands, as the price rose 2 cents to $9.50, Scotia Group had a good volume of 1,254,000 shares, the price climbed 50 cents to $20 and Scotia Investments had 38,228 units changing hands, to rise 4 cents to $21.75.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in the last traded prices are, Desnoes & Geddes in closing trading with 2,073,524 shares at $4.70, followed by Jamaica Money Market Brokers with only 1,100 ordinary shares at $7.01 and Supreme Ventures with 39,000 shares at $1.80.
Declines| Gleaner with 1,400 shares lost 1 cent in closing at $1.05 and Grace Kennedy with 10,566 shares, lost 50 cents at $58.50, were the only two stocks with losses at the end of trading in the main market.
Lasco companies lift trading on junior market
Lasco water treatment machines, part of the new factory facility at the White Marl in St Catherine,
The executives of all three Lasco listed companies, hosted a briefing at which the companies performance for the financial year to March this year and results for the June 2014 quarter, were highlighted, along with explanations for some of the new developments, including the addition of more warehousing space, to meet projected increased demand and some of the prospects for growth going forward.
Fresh on the heels of the tour, the two main Lasco companies that will directly benefit from the expansion, traded the largest quantity for some time. Lasco Distributors traded 1.26 million shares and Lasco Manufacturing 1.78 million units.
The Junior Market had trading in 3,828,805 units valued at $4,547,128. The last time the junior market traded with such volume is September 9 when nearly 19 million units were traded. At the close of the market, the JSE Junior Market Index fell 3.01 points to close at 667.90. Only 4 securities traded, none advanced while 2 declined.
At the close of the market, there were 2 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 6 stocks with offers that were lower. The likelihood of continuing weakness is reflected in the 9 stocks that had no bids to buy, against 6 that had no stocks being offered for sale.
In trading, General Accident with 613,089 shares lost 7 cents to end at $1.62, Medical Disposables closed at the lowest price since it was listed in December last year, by shedding 12 cents in ending at $1.88, while trading 172,587 shares. The stock price is close to the IPO price of $1.83. Lasco Distributors traded 1,264,872 units at $1.15 and Lasco Manufacturing traded 1,778,257 shares to close at $1.
5 million JMMB shares trade
In Friday’s trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange 15 securities were active with Jamaica Money Market Brokers dominating with 5 million units. At the close of the market 4 stocks advanced, 5 declined and 6 traded firm with 5,392,038 units changing hands, valued at $7,934,277.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index lost 0.80 points to close at 1,142.11, the All T&T Index declined by 1.52 points to close at 1,970.02 and the Cross Listed Index fell by a mere 0.01 points to end at 41.14.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, Clico Investment Fund with 109,200 shares trading at a value of $2,403,597, advanced 1 cent to end at $22.01, First Citizens Bank with 1,314 shares, closed at $36.53, up 2 cents, Republic Bank with 80 units, rose 9 cents to end at $121.59 and West Indian Tobacco added 15,648 shares valued at $1,848,518 to close at $118.16, for a small gain of 4 cents.
Declines| The stocks declining, at the close of the market are Ansa Mcal trading 1,676 shares with a decline of 3 cents, to end at $66.16, a 52 weeks’ low, National Flour Mills 511 shares at $1.20, down 5 cents, Sagicor Financial Corporation contributed 31,148 shares with a value of $193,224, to close 1 cent lower at $6.20, Scotiabank with 1,023 units, declined 1 cent to end at $59.48, for a new 52 weeks’ low and Trinidad Cement suffered a loss of 22 cents to close at $1.92 with 14,622 shares trading.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, Grace Kennedy with 6,816 shares at $3.76, Guardian Holdings with 6,000 shares to end at $13.50, Jamaica Money Market Brokers with 5,000,000 shares changing hands, valued at $2,250,000 to close at 45 cents, Sagicor Financial Corporation 6.5% preference shares traded 291 units at US$1.13, followed by Scotia Investments with 100,000 shares for $150,000 to close at $1.50 and L.J. Williams $0.10 A shares, traded 4,000 units at 26 cents.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 3 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 2 stocks with offers that were lower.
Jamaica’s remittance inflows grow
Remittance inflows into Jamaica, this year, continue to grow, with an increase of US$50 million or 5.6 percent in net remittances for the six months to June, over the same period in 2013, to reach US$949 million, according to information released by the country’s central bank.
“Total remittance inflows were US$1.06 billion, an increase of US$35 million while outflows declined compared with the 2013 period,” the Bank of Jamaica report states. Net remittances for June 2014, were US$154 million, an increase of US$8 million or 5.4 percent over the corresponding period of 2013, resulting from an increase in gross remittance inflows and a contraction in outflows. Gross remittance inflows for the month were US$168 million, an increase of US$2.3 million or just 1.4 percent relative to the corresponding month of 2013.
For June, total Remittance Outflows amounted to $15 million a reduction from the $20 million in June 2013 and for the six months, $106 million and $121 million in 2013.
Most banks offload US dollars on Thursday
Seven of the ten Authorized Dealers were net sellers of US dollars on Thursday. Bank of Nova Scotia was the largest net seller, with US$7.33 million bought, to US$14.23 million sold, followed by National Commercial Bank, buying US$2.67 million and selling US$5.54 million.
The Jamaican dollar was steady against the US dollar, but declined against the Pound and the Canadian dollar, in Thursday’s forex trading. Selling of foreign currency to the public, was more than dealers purchased. Authorized dealers purchased the equivalent of US$27,673,332 versus US$33,495,564 on Wednesday. The equivalent of US$42,183,198 was sold, compared with US$34,385,274 on Wednesday. 
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$25,657,012 compared to US$27,894,689 on Wednesday. The buying rate for the US dollar was up 4 cents to $112.23 and US$40,190,794 was sold versus US$30,711,153 on Wednesday, the selling rate remained at $112.62. The Canadian dollar buying rate, declined 58 cents to $98.98 with dealers buying C$920,445 and selling C$556,969 at an average selling rate that climbed 70 cents, to $101.12. The rate for buying the British Pound fell 95 cents to $178.40, for the purchase of £678,302, while £638,797 was sold, at $181.43, up by 72 cents. Other currencies bought, amounted to the equivalent of US$126,298, while selling was for the equivalent of US$463,163.
Highs & Lows| The highest buying rate for the US dollar, closed 10 cents higher, at $112.85, the lowest buying and the highest selling rates, were unchanged at $91.85 and $117.70 respectively, the lowest selling rate dropped $16.47 to $94.03. 
The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar climbed 50 cents to $101, the lowest buying rate was unchanged at $79.43, the highest selling rate rose $1.28 to $104. The lowest selling rate closed down 70 cents to $96.30. The highest buying rate for the British Pound, increased by 70 cents to $181.45, the lowest buying rate was up 95 cents, to $144.96. The highest selling rate, jumped $2.01 to $186.88 and the lowest selling rate declined $1.15 to $174.65.
Trading volume & main indices up
strong> Thursday’s activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, resulted in the prices of 4 stocks rising and 7 declining as 21 securities changed hands, cumulating in 8,271,202 units trading, valued at $38,526,528, In all market segments.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index gained 554.58 points to 71,652.65 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite index rose 620.12 points to close at 78,828.88.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator showed 5 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 10 stocks with offers that were lower, with the junior market having 6 of the lower offers.
Gains| Stocks gaining with last traded prices, at the end of trading in the main market are, Grace Kennedy with 118,600 shares trading, gaining $2.45 to $59, Jamaica Broilers 17,931 shares traded with a gain of 34 cents to $3.85, Kingston Wharves with 88,794 shares changing hands, gained 50 cents to $5.50 and Scotia Group closed with 31,749 units with a gain of 48 cents at $19.50.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in the last traded prices are, Ciboney with only 200 units at 7 cents, Desnoes & Geddes with 2,286,959 shares at $4.70, Radio Jamaica with 3,900 share trading closed at $1.04, Sagicor Real Estate Fund had 33,100 units changing hands to close at $6.60 and Supreme Ventures with 1,044,250 shares trading to close at $1.80.
Declines| The last traded prices of stocks with losses at the end of trading in the main market are, with shares, lost cents to end at , traded just units at loss and with only.
Cable & Wireless with 839,349 shares, closed with a cent loss at 29 cents, Carreras with 9,220 shares lost 15 cents to end at $34.50, Pan Jamaican Investment 15,300 units trading lost a cent to end at $49,
Proven Investments with 353,660 shares lost I cent to end at 17 US cents, Sagicor Group closed with 9,260 shares trading as the price ended down 1 cent at $9.50 and Scotia Investments 1,772 shares trading dropped 4 cents to end at $21.71.
Preference| Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share traded 2,852,171 units at $3.02 and Proven Investments 8% preference share traded 1,900 units at $5.
