If one of the resolutions to be put to shareholders of Barita Investments at the upcoming Annual General Meeting set for March 21 is anything to go by, the company is set for some major changes.
According to the notice of meeting, shareholders are being asked, to approve a major increase in the authorized capital of the brokerage house, to 15 billion units up from 1 billion currently. The increase will result in the creation of 13.5 billion new ordinary shares and 500 Million preference shares.
The meeting is being asked to give Directors authority to dispose of the newly created shares in such manner as they think most beneficial to the Company. The company did not state the purpose of the added shares.
The company by the end of March, will be issuing new shares to existing shareholders, following the approval of a right issue, 10 new share for 17 existing ones at $15.50 each. The proceeds of the rights issue will take the issued capital up by 262.28 million units to 708 million shares. At this level the shares will not be very liquid and the company will need to split the stock to help improve liquidity.
The rights issue seems to be just one of a series of moves by the company to increase the number of issued shares. In 2018, IC Insider.com suggested that the company was set to issue rights to existing shareholders as well as the likelihood of splitting the stock. The move to increase the authorised capital seems poised to fulfill the splitting of the stock. The odds favour a stock bonus that could well result in issued shares moving to between 2.1 billion and 2.8 billion units. Such a move would result in more liquidity for the closely held stock and not the most liquid on the market. A stock split that
Barita Investments shareholders seem poised to get a stock split sooner than later.
would use of just 2 billion of the increased share capital, suggests that there is much more to the move than the annual report speaks to. This publication is of the view that one or more major regional financial institutions are likely to buy into Barita well ahead of the final quarter of 2019. The move would result in Conerstone, the current major shareholders reducing their percentage holdings. Barita could well go back to the market to garner funds from a wider cross section of investors and thereby increasing the number of investors in the company.
At the end of December, Barita shareholder’s capital was $3.05 billion with total assets of $19 billion. The company reported profit of $108 million after foreign exchange and trading gains of $156 million up from a loss of $39 million in 2017.
ended at $17, with 360,982 shares changing hands, Kingston Wharves dropped $3.50 and settled at $71.50, with an exchange of 3,346 units. Mayberry Equities rose 90 cents and ended trading of 475,175 shares at $10, NCB Financial Group traded 96,803 shares but fell 50 cents to end at $144.50, PanJam Investment gained 55 cents to end at $80, trading 4,986 units. Sagicor Group added 95 cents in trading 5,281 shares to close at $41, Salada Foods shed $2 trading 5,018 units to close at $29.50, Scotia Group lost 40 cents trading 24,927 stock units at $53, Seprod lost $1.88 and closed at $42.52, trading 9,628 shares. Supreme Ventures jumped $2 to finish at $22 with 118,409 units changing hands and Wisynco Group lost 45 cents and ended trading of 80,089 shares at $11.50.
Trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange ended trading on Friday with 26 securities changing hands, compared with 25 securities trading on Thursday and ending with the prices of 6 securities advancing, 13 declining and 6 remaining unchanged.
cents higher at $3.14, trading 36,886 shares, Iron Rock settled at $3.50, with an exchange of 27,500 shares, Jamaican Teas traded 58,475 units with a loss of 26 cents to end at $4.24. Jetcon Corporation finished trading 3,768 shares and rose 20 cents to $3.30, Lasco Distributors finished with a loss of 1 cent at $3.79, with 28,381 units changing hands, Lasco Financial settled with a loss of 20 cents at $4.40, with 4,261 shares crossing the trading platform. Lasco Manufacturing ended trading 54,369 shares, with a loss of 1 cent to close at $3.24, Main Event traded 3,080 shares with a loss of 10 cents to end at $5.40, Medical Disposables finished with a loss of 20 cents at $6.60, trading 8,700 stock units and tTech settled 70 cents higher at $6.20, with just 200 stock units trading. In the junior market preference segment, Derrimon Trading preference share ended at $2.10, with 76,382 stock units changing hands.
The Jamaica Stock Exchange introduces the long overdue JSE Financial Index on Friday. The index will track the performance of financial services companies, listed on the exchange.
$18, with 22,755 shares changing hands, Kingston Wharves dropped $2 and settled at $75, with an exchange of 7,729 units, PanJam Investment gained 45 cents to end at $79.45, trading 2,503 units. Sagicor Group shed $1.94 trading 83,879 shares to close at $40.05, Salada Foods shed $2.50 trading 25,900 units to close at $31.50, Scotia Group gained 90 cents trading 8,275 stock units at $53.40 and Sygnus Credit Investments rose 28 cents trading 182,345 shares to close at $14.
$1.80, with 35,447 units traded, Honey Bun concluded trading of 4,800 shares with a loss of 2 cents at $3.80, ICreate traded 399,531 shares with a lost of 2 cents to close at $1.02. Indies Pharma finished 24 cents higher at $3, with 728,417 shares changing hands, Jamaican Teas traded 1,037,035 units and rose 50 cents higher to close at $4.50. Jetcon Corporation finished trading 1,098,133 shares, with a loss of 5 cents at $3.10, Knutsford Express concluded trading of 1,700 stock units at $12.87, Lasco Distributors finished 5 cents higher at $3.80, with 44,807 units changing hands, Lasco Financial settled 10 cents higher at $4.60, in trading 16,244 shares. Lasco Manufacturing ended trading of 61,113 shares at $3.25, Main Event traded 13,409 shares with a loss of 10 cents to close at $5.50 and Medical Disposables finished trading 100,000 stock units with a loss of 20 cents at $6.80.
Market activity on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange ended on Thursday with trading in 17 securities against 15 on Wednesday, with 2 advancing, 5 declining and 10 remaining unchanged.
trading 600 shares.
Falling stocks dominated the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Wednesday with the Index diving 51.63 points to close at 3,127.51 as the prices of 6 securities rose, 12 fell and 9 remained unchanged. 
Indies Pharma finished trading of 183,190 shares with a loss of 7 cents at $2.76, Jamaican Teas traded 17,119 units at $4, Jetcon Corporation finished trading 15 cents higher at $3.15, with 98,264 shares traded, KLE Group ended with a loss of 10 cents at $3.10, exchanging 5,918 shares. Knutsford Express concluded trading of 3,250 stock units with a loss of 3 cents at $12.87, Lasco Distributors finished with a loss of 5 cents at $3.75, with an exchange of 24,883 units, Lasco Financial settled with a loss of 10 cents at $4.50, trading 138,706 shares. Lasco Manufacturing ended trading of 9,370 shares at $3.25, Main Event exchanged 13,250 shares, at $5.60, Medical Disposables finished trading 40 cents higher at $7, with 140,000 stock units changing hands, SSL Venture Capital closed at $1.95, with an exchange of 35,000 shares and Stationery and Office concluded trading with 81,850 shares after rising 17 cents to $8.50.
Republic Financial Holdings jumped $14 points to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $125 and helped in pushing the All T&T Index up 50.51 to close at 1,772.90, Composite Index gained 25.43 points to 1,339.33 while the Cross Listed Index rose 0.04 points to close at 122.25.
253,624 stock units at $8, One Caribbean Media rose 1 cent to $10.01, after exchanging 1,605 shares and Republic Financial Holdings advanced $14 concluded at $125, after exchanging 561 shares but the stock was offered at $120 at the close to sell 15,407 shares.
