For a third consecutive day, One Great Studio dominated Junior Market trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Thursday, accounting 71 percent with the volume of stocks traded and was the major reason for a 20 percent fall in volume and a 12 percent fall in the value of the day’s trade than Wednesday with 45 securities trading compared with 44 on Wednesday and ended with prices of 23 stocks rising, 13 declining and nine closing unchanged.
Investors traded 21,011,494 shares for $31,863,579 versus 26,192,370 units at $36,308,731 on Wednesday.
Trading averaged 466,922 shares at $708,080 compared with 595,281 units at $825,198 on Wednesday with a month to date average of 199,010 shares at $374,909 compared with 177,933 stock units at $348,698 on the previous day. August closed with an average of 183,001 units at $460,354.
One Great Studio led trading with 14.83 million shares for 70.6 percent of total volume followed by Fosrich with 1.64 million units for 7.8 percent of the day’s trade and Mailpac Group with 1.0 million units for 4.8 percent of the day’s trade.
Price movements resulted in the Junior Market Index popping 20.71 points to end at 3,803.96.
The Junior Market ended trading with an average PE Ratio of 10.5 based on last traded prices in conjunction with earnings projected by ICInsider.com for the financial years ending between November 2023 and August 2024.
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, Blue Power dipped 15 cents and ended at $2.50 after an exchange of 446,997 shares, Cargo Handlers shed $1.25 to $14.95, with 1,131 stock units crossing the exchange, Caribbean Cream declined 55 cents to close at $3.52 in switching ownership of 4,153 stocks, Derrimon Trading rebounded by 50 cents to $2 in an exchange of 728,866 units. Dolla Financial rose 7 cents in closing at $2.27 with investors trading 151,765 stock units, EduFocal popped 12 cents to $1.34 with an exchange of 4,706 units, Elite Diagnostic gained 16 cents and ended at $1.81 with shareholders swapping 2,611 stocks, Fontana fell 10 cents to $10.30, with 16,520 shares clearing the market. Fosrich advanced 26 cents to close at $2.35 after 1,637,218 units passed through the market, Future Energy Source rallied 6 cents in closing at $3.31 with a transfer of 125,086 stock units, General Accident increased 15 cents to close at $5.25 after trading in 41,060 shares, GWest Corporation advanced 6 cents and ended at $1.01 and closed with an exchange of 67,262 stocks. 
Honey Bun gained 30 cents to end at $6.30 after a transfer of 2,500 stocks, Iron Rock Insurance popped 20 cents to $2.20, with 2 stock units changing hands, ISP Finance climbed 93 cents in closing at $44.93 in trading 2 shares, JFP Ltd increased 11 cents to $1.55 after investors exchanged 14,796 units. Knutsford Express dropped 13 cents to $11.30 with trading in 25,269 stock units, Lasco Distributors lost 15 cents to close at $4.20 with an exchange of 199,870 shares, Lasco Manufacturing rallied 8 cents and ended at $5.40 with traders dealing in 18,650 units, Limners and Bards rose 7 cents to end at $1.75, with 5,670 stocks crossing the market. Lumber Depot climbed 10 cents and ended at $2.10 after 193,070 stock units crossed the market, One Great Studio advanced 9 cents to close at a record close of $1.27 with an exchange of 14,829,035 shares, Paramount Trading skidded 28 cents to $1.72 with stakeholders exchanging 5,500 stocks. 
Regency Petroleum fell 9 cents to end at $2.10 with investors transferring 150,094 units and Tropical Battery gained 10 cents in closing at $2 after 57,552 shares passed through the market.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Miraculous turnaround at Palace
After nearly three years in the doldrums and on life support, helped by a number of popular and well patronized movies, Palace Amusement surged back to life in the December 2022 quarter when it made the first quarterly profit since March 2020. The profit back then was $44 million from revenues of $255 million, with the latest results surpassing it and easing much of the pain and nervousness the company and its staff encountered over the past three years.
Carib Cinema, the flagship for Palace Amusement.
“The company staged three block-buster pictures in the same Quarter – Woman King, Black Panther 2: Wankanda Forever and Avatar 2: The Way of Water; Our patrons’ response was close to 215,000 visits in the Quarter and this helped to push the overall attendance at the end of the six months to over 80 percent of pre-pandemic numbers,” the company’s management stated in a report accompanying the financials.
Palace aced the December quarter with revenues of $486 million, up 222 percent from just $151 million in 2021 and $736 million for the half year, up 218 percent from a mere $232 million in 2021. Accumulated profit of $304 million at June 2019, melted away by $772 million of losses, to a deficit of $468 million up to September last year as revenues were lower than cost, but profit surged to $79 million in the December quarter from a massive loss of $112 million in 2021 and for the half year a profit of $25 million from a loss of $191 million in 2021.
While revenues surged over 200 percent, direct expenses rose a more modest 98 percent in the December quarter and 97 percent, year to date, helping to swell the profit for both periods, but administrative expenses fell from $75 million to $47 million in the quarter and from $104 million for the half year to $75 million. Finance cost rose from $12 million in the 2021 last quarter to $14 million and from $17 million to $28 million for the half year. Legal and professional fees is one of the major areas of cost reduction in the period, dropping from $44 million to just $2 million for the six months period.
Segment Results show revenues of $266 million for Carib Cinema, up from just $91 million in 2021, with a profit of $11 million versus a $21 million loss in 2021. Cineplex had no revenues in 2021 but suffered a loss of $14 million and bounced back in 2022 with revenues of $99 million and profit of $20 million. Sunshine Palace generated revenues of $203 million versus $54 million in 2021 with profit of $41 million compared with a loss of $35 million in 2021. The 2022 revenues include $43 million classified as other activities for Sunshine Palace. Multiplex delivered revenues of $143 million in 2022, up from just $35 million in 2021 with a profit of $20 million versus a loss of $23 million in 2021.
Cash flow brought in $53 million compared with outflows of $163 million in 2021 and helped in boosting funds on hand at the end of the calendar year.
Palace Multiplex in Montego Bay.
From all that can be seen movies are still attracting patronage with what have been described as some good films and by the end of the fiscal year in June, the company seems set to be on its way to justifying their new bankers backing the company with a $700 million loan some of which was used to close out the Scotiabank loan and when the full history of this period unfolds the name Carol Lee, the financial controller will be high on the list for helping to save and restore the company to financial health.
The company now boast equity of $404 million thanks to the above profit and some $772 million in revaluation surplus, with $606 million of it coming in 2020. The company has some more lifting to do to steer them out of the woods while hoping that there will be no major setback in the recovery as they have $756 million in long term debt to be cleared in addition to $60 million of short term loans. There are halfway there with cash funds of $379 million on hand that should grow in the second half of the fiscal year. Palace also has accounts payable amounting to $435 million at the end of 2022 which is up from $386 million at the end of December 2021 and is covered by current assets of $481 million.
At this year’s annual general meeting, shareholders approved a 600 to 1 split as a result the stock trades x-split starting Monday, February 27, with the record date of February 28. The split will take the total number of shares to 862 million from 1.437 million currently.
The company should deliver earnings for the full year ending in June at around $100 per share.
Palace stock trades ex-split next Monday
Palace Amusement stock will trade x-split starting Monday, February 27, following approval at the January Annual general meeting of a 600 to 1 split with the record date of February 28.
The split will take the total number of shares to 862 million from 1.437 million currently and provide more liquidity in trading the company’s shares as more investors will be attracted to it than previously. The stock that traded on Monday at up to $2,700 will see the price dropping to the $4 plus range after the split takes effect next week.
The split comes at an opportune time for the company with its first profit since the March 2020 quarter and one of the best quarterly results in the company’s history.
.
The stock has enjoyed regular trading since the announcement of the split with the price reaching a record $3,300 and is now trading in the $2,700 range since releasing half year results with profits and revenues surging 222 percent to $486 million, with a profit of $79 million in the December quarter.
The split will result in the stock trading in the $4 to $6 region and will result in almost daily trading thus providing the company with regular publicity that it never had before based on the limited trading opportunities in the past. Such exposure could well result in a 10 to 20 percent jump in attendance as the name and product are beamed regularly on a wider audience than before.
Stock split to drive business for Palace
Palace Amusement stock will trade x-split starting Monday, February, with the record date of February 28 for the 600 to 1 split that will take the total number of shares to 862 million for 1.437 million currently and provide the company with added ongoing publicity.
The stock has enjoyed regular trading since the announcement of the split with the price reaching a record $3,300 and is now trading in the $2,700 range since releasing half year results with profits and revenues surging 222 percent to $486 million, with a profit of $79 million in the December quarter.
The split will result in the stock trading in the $4 to $6 region and will result in almost daily trading thus providing the company with regular publicity that it never had before based on the limited trading opportunities in the past. Such exposure could well result in a 10 to 20 percent jump in attendance as the name and product are beamed regularly on a wider audience than before.
600 to 1 stock split for Palace
Palace Amusement Company advised that the Board of directors will recommend to shareholders at their upcoming Annual General Meeting to be held on January 24, 2023, that the existing shares be split into 600 units for each currently issued and that the authorised share capital of the Company be increased from 1,500,000 shares to an Unlimited number of shares.
Palace Amusement is recommending 600 to one stock split.
If the resolution if approved at the meeting will take effect from the close of business on February 28, 2023, resulting in the total issued share capital of the company being increased from 1,437,028 ordinary shares to 862,216,800 ordinary shares.
The shares were last traded on Friday at $1,179 each on the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange but jumped nearly 20 percent in Wednesday’s trading session to $1,400, leading to a suspension in trading in the stock. The move will be welcomed by many of the company’s shareholders some of whom have been clamouring for the splitting of the stock for some time and will result in greater liquidity for the stock.
Palace considering split stock
Palace Amusement Company is set to split the stock that last traded at $620 per share on Monday, with a range of 620 to $1,150 for 2022.
The company informed the Jamaica Stock Exchange that the Directors proposed to meet on Tuesday, December 20, 2022, and will be discussing the possibility of a stock split. A split is almost a certainty, with the company having borrowed over $700 million, the opportunity exists to raise fresh capital by way of an additional public issue of shares to pay down the debt. Splitting the stock to make them more attractive to retail investors would be a logical step.
To achieve an attractive price and create wide-scale public interest would require a split in the order of 100 to 200 to one of the existing issued shares and would raise the issued number of shares to between 250 to 300 million units.
Other companies talking about stock splits that could come in 2023 are Medical Disposables that could come with a stock split and a rights issue of more shares to use to fund expansion.
Palace jumps $800 to a record $2,900.
Stationery and Office Supplies informed shareholders at the recently held Annual General Meeting that the directors have been looking but currently the liquidy of the stock does warrant one just yet.
Others that should give serious consideration to splitting their stocks are Access Financial Services, with the stock trading over $20, Dolphin Cove priced in double digits, Barita Investments, Cargo Handlers, Honey Bun, ISP Finance, Knutsford Express and Main Event.
The Show Goes On at Palace
After unprecedented closure of nearly four months, Jamaica’s sole nationwide cinema operators, Palace Amusement reopens its cinemas in Kingston and Montego Bay today with Half of Specials at the Early Show and on Thursday at the Evening Show.
Due to the current curfew, Early Shows will now start at approximately 4:45 pm and Evening Shows at 7:45 pm,
The Company has been granted a provisional 14-day period to resume operations by government, with mandatory health requirements to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Marketing Manager, Melanie Graham says Palace Amusement welcomes the opportunity to reopen after a painful but necessary closure. Palace is ready with a new operational model designed for the safety of its patrons and staff.
The Company will sell approximately 60 percent of capacity, to maintain safe social distancing for patrons seated in its auditoriums. Patrons will be required to wear masks and observe social distancing in queues at the box office and concession. A maximum of four persons from the same household will be able to sit together as a group. Individual patrons or groups, will be separated by a gap of two seats, among other safety measures as stipulated by the authorities. 
Sanitisation stations will be set up at convenient points throughout the cinemas and cleaning and sanitisation will be ramped up between shows to ensure a safe and relaxed atmosphere for all. The company stated.
Movies Opening Today My Spy– Breaking all the Rules with Jamaica’s Parisa Fitz-Henley playing Kate, a single mother to her nine-year-old daughter, Sophie (Chloe Coleman). My Spy is an action-comedy directed by Peter Sega. I Still Believe – Hope in midst of tragedy. From the makers of I Can Only Imagine comes the true life story of Christian music mega star Jeremy Camp and his remarkable journey of love and loss that proves that faith tested is the only faith worth sharing. strong>I Still Believe is a 2020 American Christian musical romantic drama directed by the Erwin Brothers and starring KJ Apa, Britt Robertson, Shania Twain, Melissa Roxburgh, and Gary Sinise and Bloodshot and Bad Boys for Life.
Palace Amusement closes cinemas
In the wake of COVID 19 in Jamaica and recent reports of community spread, the management of Palace Amusement Company has taken the decision to close its four cinemas – Carib 5 and Palace Cineplex in Kingston, Sunshine Palace in Portmore and Palace Multiplex in Montego Bay – until further notice.
Carib Cinema, the flagship for Palace Amusement.
This on the heels of increased sanitization measures rolled by the Company this week to help minimize threats to valued patrons and its staff alike.
Marketing Manager, Melanie Graham says that Palace Amusement is now in unchartered territory with the uncertainties of this global pandemic. “We have been watching developments closely and staying tuned to local advisories on the virus since the news of COVID 19 broke earlier this week”, she said. “This has been a challenging week but we have made the difficult decision to close in the best interest of patrons and our employees alike. We will certainly be hard hit on many levels and at this time we are unable to project when we will resume”.
Globally the movie industry is undergoing a sharp downturn due to COVID 19, as producers and film companies continue to pull their pictures.
Among blockbusters which have been rescheduled, are the highly anticipated Fast and Furious 9 now pushed back one year to April 2021, No Time to Die, the new James Bond movie, now set be released in November and Disney’s Mulan and New Mutants which are delayed without any new release dates attached.
The fallout has also hit Alternative Content now shown exclusively at Palace Cineplex, with the Met Opera’s recent announcement of the cancellation of all performances through March 31.
“Palace Amusement wishes to extend heartfelt sympathy to all persons and families affected by COVID 19. We all have to do our part to ensure that we get through this difficult period in the best way possible.” Graham concluded.
Seasons goodies from Palace
Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, and Daisy Ridley in Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker.
Palace is also offering Half Off Specials at all locations, for early and late shows, on Tuesday, December 24, with the exception of the movie Black Christmas.
Patrons at Sunshine Palace will enjoy late movies at approximately 11 pm this Saturday, December 21, Boxing Day, Thursday, December 26 and Saturday, December 28.
Black Christmas – A fight to the finish|Hawthorne College is quieting down for the holidays. One by one, sorority girls on campus are being killed by an unknown stalker. But the killer is about to discover that this generation’s young women aren’t willing to become hapless victims as they mount a fight to the finish.
Black Christmas is an American slasher film directed by Sophia Takal and written by Takal and April Wolfe. The film stars Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Lily Donoghue, Brittany O’Grady, Caleb Eberhardt, and Cary Elwes.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – The final chapter will open in Digital 3D at all Palace cinemas on Friday.
A seen from Black Christmas.
Terminator makes way for Doctor Sleep
Ewan Gordon McGregor starring in Doctor Sleep
The legendary, Terminator came to Palace Amusements’ cinema houses just over a week ago Friday with guns blazing and opening in 8 showings at the start but jumping to thirteen per day the next day, until Tuesday.
The popular series dropped to back to eight shows as of Wednesday, but by Friday the movie was in just three houses for four shows per day.
Doctor Sleep starring Rebecca Ferguson and Ewan McGregor takes over the lead position on Friday, with eight showings per day in all cinemas.
On Wednesday, Harriet entered the Jamaican cinemas with four shows per day. Motherless Brooklyn started on Wednesday with four shows daily and is up to five as of Friday and Countd Wn opened on the same day with three showings.
Black and Blue starring Naomie Harris and Tyrese Gibson, opening with seven daily shows in all cinemas on Wednesday, October 23, continued with 6 on Wednesday, October 30. On Friday, November 2, it fell to five showings, and is back to six shows in three cinemas on Wednesday last and fell to three shows as of Friday.
Gemini Man now in its fifth week at the cinemas, is now down to just two shows per day. with Angelina Jolie is having just one regular showing and two early shows at Cineplex and Sunshine Palace, in the 2-2:30 pm time slot.
