Why Radio Jamaica leads IC TOP 10?

April 2, 2020 by

RJR Communications Group heads the 2020 Main Market IC TOP 10, with potential gains over the next twelve months of 200 percent at a PE ratio of 20 times projected earnings per share for 2021 of 20 cents that could rise to 25 cents or more. IC Insider.com projects earnings for the year to March 2020 to end at 10 cents per share for a PE ratio of 12.5.
Results for the media group for the nine months to December 2019, was vastly better than for the similar period in 2018, resulting in the stock price rebounding from its yearly low of 80 cents by more than doubling the December 2018 price. For the rest of the 2021 fiscal year, not all things may go well with the level of dislocation to the local economy arising from business closures currently in place.
Revenue growth for the nine months to December increased 3 percent over a similar period last year, with the group recording profit of $141 million compared with just $36 million for the same period in 2018. Importantly, television brought in 11 percent more revenues in the critical December quarter than for the similar period in 2018 while radio and newsprint brought in just two percent more. The 2019 results are the best they have been, going back to 2014. Improvement in revenues is better than it appears income for the previous year included advertising revenues related to the broadcasting of World Cup football.
Importantly, while many may associate the company with old media, the group is forging ahead with new media offerings and they are slowly building out their international offerings that will bring in added revenues going forward. RJR Group will benefit from the spending on the country’s upcoming general election due by the first quarter of 2021. The continued growth in the local economy is a major factor behind the recovery, with revenues growing as demand increased for the group’s products.

RJR shareholders at the 2019 AGM at the Jamaica Pegasus

While the current period will be challenging for some of their advertisers who may cut back on spending, the future is positive for the group as they grow their product offerings locally and overseas and increase revenues. On the cost side, the group has been chipping away at excess cost, but there is still more room for further enhanced efficiency.
One advantage that the group has is the low marginal cost of generating income that allows most of the added revenue generated, to flow to the bottom-line as an of the high degree of fixed cost.
The group’s gross cash flow amounted to $430 million for the nine months, with depreciation contributing $211 million. On a negative front, receivables grew by $426 million for the year to December and $300 million in the December quarter. Both are well above the growth in revenues for the year and the December quarter. In March, a related party, a senior manager and a director bought shares in the group, although not very large volumes.

Filed Under: Buy Rated, Company News, Company Results

4 for 1 stock split for Pulse Investment?

February 19, 2020 by

Investors in Pulse Investment can look forward to a stock split that is likely to see each existing stock split into four units when it becomes effective.The directors have not yet met to determine the exact amount of the split or the total number of shares that likely to be offered for sale later, but at Tuesday’s annual general meeting, the Chairman gave shareholders some sense as to what the outturn could be.
At the general meeting, shareholders approved a resolution “That the company be authorized to issue any or all of new shares pursuant to a Rights Issue or Stock Split or both, as the Directors may determine.” The company is not only planning to split the stock but is likely to come to the market for fresh capital to assist with its venture into residential development and investments into other companies. The meeting was told of the progress being made in the hospitality sector with occupancy said to range from 30 percent up to 100 percent at various times of the year. Rental of commercial space had very high occupancy rates. The modeling segment continues to add new talent with good demand coming from overseas for some of the models.

Kingsley Cooper Chairman of Pulse Investments.

The Chairman explained to shareholders that the sum of $377 million shown in the financial statement as income represents amounts covering production expenses relating to TV shows and advertising entitlement sold or used by the company. For the 2019 fiscal year, Pulse reported profit of $688 million up from $315 million in 2018. For the six months to December 2019, the company reported profit of $230 million for the quarter versus $102 million and $473 million for the six months compared with $229 million in 2018. Operating revenues were $163 million for the December quarter and $312 million for the half-year. Fair value gains on investment property contributing $145 million to profit in the second quarter and $291 million for the half-year. Earnings per share ended at 14 cents for the quarter and 29 cents for the six months. Pulse is trading at $11.30 on Wednesday morning on the Jamaica Stock Exchange.

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

Wigton erroneous EPS

February 11, 2020 by

Last year, IC Insider.com forecasted earnings for Wigton Windfarms at six cents per share after the posted excellent first-quarter numbers that initially suggested a significant surge in profits for the year. The latest report from the Company indicates that earnings will fall well short of this forecast.

Wigton closed at anew high of $1

Wigton posted a loss in the December 2019 quarter.

IC Insider.com stated that the Company’s earnings are seasonal and investors should be informed of it, in compliance, with general accounting policy, relating to interim results. The forecasted earning was criticized by some when we reported on the first-quarter results in 2019 and stated that earnings were seasonal and as such the quarterly revenues would be less for the rest of the year and by extension profits.
The latest report to December has made it clear that there is significant seasonality in revenues and earnings.  Information on the seasonality of revenues is not in the current interim report. In addition, although notes accompanying the financial report states that it is prepared in accordance with International accounting standards relating to interim financial statements, it does not, in totality. Apart from the lack of reporting on the seasonality of operations, the earnings per share computations are wrong.
The company wrongly reports the earning per share in 2018 at $27,096 for the quarter and $56,701 for the nine months. That is incorrect. The company, in anticipation of the public sale of the existing shares, adopted a resolution on April 3, 2019, to sub-divide the Company’s 10,000 ordinary shares into 11 billion ordinary shares.
The effect of the increased share capital is that all previous periods’ earnings per share must use the increase shares. Accordingly, the comparison for the 0.2 cents loss in the December 2019 quarter is 0.25 cents and for the nine months to 2018, the earnings per share work out 5.15 cents. Year to date profit of $526 million works out at 4.78 cents and not 6 cents per share, this is a significant overstatement.
Wigton generated revenues of $363 million in the December quarter, compared with $465 million in 2018. For the nine months, revenues declined from $1.95 billion to $1.82 billion. Gross revenues fell from $279 million in the quarter to December 2018, to $159 million in 2019. In the 2019 nine months period, gross profit slipped to $1.24 billion from $1.4 billion. Other income fell from $290 million to $115 million for the quarter and the nine months, to $234 million from $465 million. While general expenses were steady at $85 million, in the latest quarter and slightly up to $266 million, year to date, finance cost rose to $210 million from $128 million in the quarter. It declined from $881 million to $512 million. The December 2019 quarter, recorded a loss of $16 million, compared to $271 million in the 2018 December quarter and $526 million in 2019, year to date versus $567 million.
IC insider.com full year’s original forecast called for earnings per share of 6 cents, but the latest numbers suggest that it is unlikely to exceed 5 cents.  The stock price pulled back from $1 per share in Novembers and 97 cents towards the end of January to 80 cents at the close of trading on the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Tuesday for a PE ratio of 16.

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

Growing Lasco Manufacturing profits

February 7, 2020 by

Profit at Lasco Manufacturing rose 10.5 percent in the December quarter, to $218 million from $197 million in 2018. For the nine months to December, profit increased by 11 percent to $781 million from $701 million in 2018.
The company’s net results rose modestly, this is due to a hike in its tax bill from $28 million in the 2018 quarter to $71 million in 2019 and from $129 million for the nine months to December 2018, to $169 million in 2019. Before the increased tax charge, the latest quarter results were up a robust 28 percent to $289 million and 14.5 percent for the year to December at $949 million.
The improved profit flowed from a rise in sales revenues of 10 percent for the quarter to $2 billion from $1.8 billion in 2018 and 4 percent for the year to date to $5.9 billion from $5.6 billion in 2018.
The gains in 2019, following on from the March 2018 fiscal year when profit moved from $561 in 2017 to $1.07 billion. The 2017 bene was off sharply from $826 million generated in 2016 and $612 million in 2015. The current fiscal year should see the company surpassing the $1m mark in profits for the second time.
Improvement in profit margin, in the first half of the year, continued into the December quarter with 36 percent from 34 percent in 2018 and for the year to date period, from 34 percent in 2018 to 37 percent this year. Input cost rose 6 percent in the December quarter, to $1.28 billion, compared to $1.2 billion in 2018, and was virtually flat for the year to date period at $3.7 billion versus $3.68 billion.  The rise in revenues and containment of cost below the growth in revenues resulted in operating profit rising 18 percent in the quarter to $719 million from $611 million and almost 11 percent for the year to date to $2.14 billion from $1.9 billion in 2018.

Lasco’s ICool drinks.

Administrative and Other operating expenses rose 7 percent to $393 million in the quarter and 9 percent in the nine months to $1.1 billion. Finance cost declined in the quarter, to $21 million from $26 million in 2018 and $90 million to $75 million for the nine months.
The company continues to expand its capacity. According to James Rawle, Managing Director, “Capital investments were primarily focused on the expansion of the dry plant at White Marl facility and is expected to be completed by the end of the financial year.”
Gross cash flow brought in $975 million, but funds were used to finance a number of items, with $314 million going into stock market investments, funding of a rise in receivables and inventories. Addition to fixed assets absorbed $166 million, while $220 million in loan net of inflows was repaid, with $250 million going into dividend payment. At the end of December, shareholders’ equity stood at $6.5 billion, with borrowings at just $1 billion inclusive of $484 million that will is payable within a year. Net current assets ended the period at $2.4 billion inclusive of trade and other receivables of $2 million, cash and bank balances of $719 million. Current liabilities ended the period at $1.6 billion.
Earnings per share came out at 5 cents for the quarter and 19 cents for the nine months. IC Insider.com is forecasting 30 cents per share for the year to March and 45 cents for the 2021 fiscal year.
The stock traded at $4.25 on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange with a PE ratio of 14 times earnings for 2020 and just seven times that of 2021. Net asset value is $1.57, with the stock selling at 2.5 times book value. At prices around the current level, the stock is a buy.

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

NCB profit in a stunning 42% rise

January 31, 2020 by

NCB Financial Group blasted off its 2020 results with a stunning 42 percent increase in profit attributable to shareholders of the group. Shareholders were only rewarded, with a mere 11 percent increase in the quarterly dividend to $1.

NCB Financial Group Q1 profit surges.

Operating income for the group’s shareholders surged 42 percent from $4.15 billion to $5.9 billion in the first quarter to December.
Net interest income jumped from $9.8 billion to $13.9 billion, net fee and commission income rose from $4.3 billion to $6.4 billion. Other income, net of credit impairment losses, climbed to $4.9 billion from $3.3 billion in 2018, even as credit impairment losses rose from $1.16 billion to $1.57 billion. Net results from banking and investment activities climbed from $17.4 billion to $25.3 billion, while results from insurance activities surged from $1.5 billion to $8 billion. The consolidation of Guardian Holdings (GHL) impacted the segment in a significant way and resulted in net operating income jumping from $18.9 billion in 2018 to $33.3 billion. Operating expenses rose from $14 billion to $23.3 billion and resulted in an operating profit of $9.95 billion compared with $4.85 billion in 2018.
Segment results show progress in most areas and stagnation in others. The Consumer Banking reflects flat results with revenues coming in at just over $8 billion and profit before internal charges of $1.8 billion in both the 2019 and 2018 quarters. Payment Services enjoyed a bounce in both revenues and profit, with the former rising from $4 billion to $4.56 billion in 2019, with profit rising from $1.2 billion to $1.68 billion. Corporate and Commercial Banking saw revenues rising from $2.67 to $3.1 billion in 2019, with profit rising from $1.25 billion to $1.86 billion. Revenues in the Treasury and Correspondent Banking segment slipped from $4.87 billion to $4.44 billion in 2019, with profit easing from $1.87 billion to $1.8 billion.

Guardian Holdings contributed to NCB Financial growth in the December quarter.

Income at Wealth, Asset Management and Investment Banking segment moved from $4.26 billion to $5.4 billion in 2019, with profit increasing from $1.69 billion to $2.67 billion.  Revenues for the Life Insurance and Pension segment jumped sharply to $28 billion, from $2.58 billion in 2018, while profit ended at $5.9 billion from just $1.69 billion in 2018, with the acquisition of majority ownership of Guardian Holdings playing a major role in the increase. The General Insurance segment jumped sharply to $16 billion from $1.47 billion in 2018, with profit rising to $1.5 billion from just $227 million in 2018. Other operations generated revenues of $1.57 billion in 2018 and saw a big jump to $14.7 billion in the December 2019 quarter, with profit falling from $319 million to a loss of $1.2 billion.
The group experienced a 17.4 percent increase in its loan portfolio to $438.4 billion from $373.5 billion in 2018, with growth since September, of 3.6 percent, or 14.5 percent annualized. Customer deposits grew from $461 billion to $499 billion, year over year. NCB now boasts total assets of $1.6 billion up from $941 billion in 2018, with shareholders’ equity of $148 billion.
Earnings for the quarter ended at $2.46 and is distorted by booking the asset tax of more than $1.8 billion for the year, in the quarter. Earnings for the full year to September should end at around $13 per share and put the share price over $250 by the end of the year. The stock remains a good long-term buy with growth coming from normal operations driven by strong loan demand and increased efficiency to flow from a restructuring of the group to eliminate areas of duplication. The group last traded on the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Thursday before the results at $189.55 at a PE ratio of 14.6 and on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange at TT$11.29 for a PE of 18.

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

Limners & Bards revise EPS

December 18, 2019 by

Kimala Bennett, Chief Executive Officer of The Lab.

Following IC Insider.com’s report that the earnings per share (EPS) for Limners & Bards were incorrect, the audited accounts of the company are now revised to reflect the EPS the article suggested they should be.
The revised audited reports now state that the calculation of earnings per stock unit is based on the profit after taxation and the weighted average number of stock units in issue during the year. Net profit attributable to shareholders of $94,746,238 in 2019, $62,313,858 in 2018. The weighted average number of ordinary stock units is 803,836,715 in 2019 and 756,552,202 in 2018, resulting in Basic and diluted earnings per stock unit of12 cents in 2019 and 8 cents in 2018.
The original audited financial statements showed the basic and diluted earnings per stock unit at 10 cents for the 2019 fiscal year and 7 cents for 2018 based on the weighted average of ordinary stock units 945,690,252 in each year.
IC Insider’s report on Tuesday stated that “Limners and Bards released full-year results with profit after taxation of $95 million, up by an impressive 52 percent from the $62 million earned in 2018 from healthy gains in revenues, with earnings per share (EPS) works out at 12 cents for 2019 and 8 cents for 2018.”
The company’s operating revenues grew 31 percent to $632 million from $483 million in 2018, with the last quarter growing a stunning 58 percent to $146 million, generating income just below the $152 million generated in the July quarter and profit before tax of $18 million versus $16.5 million in the July quarter. While revenues for the year rose 31 percent, direct cost rose at a slower pace, resulting in the gross profit climbing 39.4 percent over 2018 as gross profit margin rose to 36 percent compared to 33.7 percent in 2018. Administrative cost rose well ahead of revenue growth with a 41 percent increase over 2018, but the full-year increase is below a 70 percent surge in the July quarter while the fourth quarter saw a rise of 39 percent over 2018, is in line with the full-year increase.
In a statement accompanying the nine months results, Chairman, Steven Gooden and Kimala Bennett, Chief Executive Officer stated, “Administration expenses increased by $23.737 million, or 42 percent, which represent 16.63 percent of revenue for the nine months compared to 14.60 percent to the corresponding period ended July 31, 2018. These increases are primarily attributable to staff costs (due to increase work volume), subcontractors (on retainer contracts), depreciation charges and security costs”.
The company reports on three segments comprising Production, Media and Agency. For 2019 Production generated earnings of $226 million and profit of $100 million while Media raked in $292 million but ended with just $40 million in profit and agency the most profitable brought in $114 million and delivered $85 million in net income.
The company ended the year with cash and equivalent of $292 million with shareholders’ equity of $356 million, up from $123 million in 2018. Borrowings stood at $50 million with payables of $83 million and current assets of $387 million.
IC Insider.com forecast earnings per share of 20 cents for 2020 that puts the PE ratio at 15 with the stock closing trading at $3 on Tuesday on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange and is a stock to be watched into 2020.

Filed Under: Company News, Company Results, Stocks to watch Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Auditors spoil good Lab results

December 17, 2019 by

Limners and Bards released full-year results with profit after taxation of $95 million, up by an impressive 52 percent from the $62 million earned in 2018 from healthy gains in revenues.
Earnings per share (EPS) works out at 12 cents for 2019 and 8 cents for 2018. Operating revenues rose 31 percent to $632 million from $483 million in 2018, the last quarter grew at a stunning 58 percent to $146 million, just below the $152 million generated in the July quarter and profit before tax of $18 million versus $16.5 million in the July quarter.
Auditors are required to check records of companies and ensure that they accord with various regulations and the financial statements which they audit and certify are free form errors and misstatements.

Kimala Bennett, Managing Director of The Lab.

The Limners and Bards financials is the latest report to indicate that there is a problem with the industry and that a number of the players are eroding the confidence investors have it the financial reports they certify. To be fair to the company auditors, they are not solely to blame. Management, including the directors, is also responsible for preventing financial with errors going out to the public, as they also have to sign off on the financials.
The computation of earnings per share is an area of problem for some of the smaller audit firms. In the past, there are instances where the calculation is wrong when there are stock splits and new share issues.
According to the Limners and Bards financial statements, the basic and diluted earnings per stock unit is 10 cents for the 2019 fiscal year and 7 cents for 2018 based on the weighted average of ordinary stock units 945,690,252 in each year. That is entirely wrong.  What are the facts? The company had 756.55 million shares in issue before the sale of 189,138,050 shares to the public in July this year with the company listing on the stock exchange on July 26. The EPS computation for 2018 is to be based on 756.6 million shares and for 2019, just over 800 million units. The company’s stock closed trading on Monday at $2.78 for a PE of 21 times 2019 earnings before tax and 14 times 2020 earnings of 20 cents per share.

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

Scotia Group aiming to up profits

December 6, 2019 by

Scotia Group headquarters in Kingston.

The 2019 fiscal year is turning out to be one of the best in recent times for the number 2 banking group in Jamaica – Scotia Group. The current year was not the best performing, but it delivered on many counts for the majority Canadian owned banking group.
Critically, the primary engine driving profits – loans, grew 12.6 percent, or $23 billion to $206 billion. According to the Managing Director, David Noel, “total loan growth remained strong throughout the period with a year over year increase of 13 percent. Highlights from our Retail Banking portfolio include a 17 percent year over year growth in our Scotia Plan loan portfolio. Our mortgage portfolio continued to perform well and grew 13 percent year over year as we continue to boast one of the most competitive mortgage rates in the market. Our total commercial loan book increased by 14 percent over the prior year. Of note, commercial loans to the private sector increased by 27 percent when compared to the same period last year.”
The group reports a net profit of $13.19 billion for the year to October, an increase of $419 million or 3.28 percent over the prior year. In 2018, the group booked gains on the sale of a subsidiary of $753 million, when this gain is excluded, net profit from ongoing operations increased by stronger 9.75 percent amounting to $1.17 billion.
Performance for the year was affected by lower net interest income due to declining interest rates and higher loan loss provision, following the adoption of a new accounting standard. Net interest income after expected credit losses for the year totaled $22.5 billion, down $767 million or 3.3 percent, compared to the prior year. Importantly, the group’s final quarter numbers show marked improvement in net interest income compared to the 2018 quarter. Net interest income delivered $6.4 million to the quarterly results compared to just $6 billion in 2018, while Net interest income after expected credit losses rose from $5.35 billion in the October 2018 quarter to $5.75 billion in 2019.
Scotia reports that “our credit quality remains strong and actual delinquency is down year over year, with loans on which there is no interest being booked for representing 1.77 percent of gross loans compared to 2 percent in the prior year.”
The Group reports, “operating expenses were also higher than the prior-year due partially to increased fraud-related expenses, as well as increased investments in technology and business optimization which we believe are necessary investments for the future.”
“We will continue to make investments in our infrastructure, including a $500 million investment to create a state of the art branch. Renovations have also begun at our head office building, where we are investing $1 billion to upgrade and modernize our facilities to create a more efficient and collaborative environment.”

Scotia Group’s Falmouth branch

Operating expenses for the year amounted to $24 billion for the period, an increase of $2 billion, or 9.54 percent compared to the prior year. Salaries and staff benefit costs increased by $697 million or 6.76 percent primarily due to increased incentives to the sales team resulting in the growth of in the loan portfolio, while other operating expenses grew by $1.37 billion. The growth in other operating expenses was attributable to increased technology investments such as ATM software, online banking enhancements, security chips for credit cards and network upgrade to support our digital strategy. Tax on assets increased by $45 million to $1.13 billion.
Segment results saw Treasury generating revenues of $8.2 billion up from $7 billion in 2018 with a profit of compared to $4.1 billion in 2018. Retail revenues grew to $18.9 billion up from $18.3 billion in 2018, with a profit of $3.6 billion compared to $4.9 billion in 2018. Corporate and Commercial banking saw revenues rise from $7.8 billion to $8 billion and profit hitting $1.4 billion in 2019 versus $2.75 billion in 2018. Insurance services grew revenues from $5 billion to $5.1 billion and generated a slightly higher profit of $3.97 billion from $3.8 billion in 2018. Investment Management generated revenues of $3.5 million and a profit of $2.3 billion in 2019 compared to $3 billion in revenues and profit of $1.8 billion in 2018. Other operations raked in revenues of $1.54 in 2019 with a profit of $1.5 billion, in 2018, revenues were just $1 billion with a profit of $965 million.
Other income for the year, other than interest income, increased by $3 billion or 17.97 percent over 2018. Net fee and commission income amounted to $8 billion, marginal declining of $22 million. Insurance revenues increased by $371 million or 12.64 percent to $3.30 billion due mainly to higher premium income year over year, partially offset by lower actuarial reserve releases, the group reported.
Net gains on foreign currency activities and financial assets amounted to $8.43 billion, up by $3.3 billion or 63 percent above last year due to increased market and trading activities. Deposits by the public grew to $313 billion, up from $288 billion in the previous year.
The Group’s shareholders’ equity stands at $118 billion from which the Board of Directors approved a final dividend of 55 cents per stock unit, or $1.7 billion, up from 51 cents per share in 2018. The current dividend is payable on January 15, 2020, to stockholders of record on December 24. The January 2020 dividend brings the total payment for the year to $4.76 after the group made two special dividend payments during the year.
The group reported earnings per share of $1.09 for the final quarter and $4.24 for the full year, earnings per share for 2020 should hit the $5 mark.
Scotia Group is a good stock for income and long-term growth.

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

Profit stays strong at Sagicor Group

December 4, 2019 by

Sagicor Group last traded at $66 on the JSE.

Profit at the Jamaican based Sagicor Group climbed 26 percent in the September quarter to $4.5 billion from $3.54 billion in the 2018 quarter with profit for the nine months to September, rising 28 percent to $11.3 billion from $8.8 billion in the 2018 period.
Profit before tax rose by just 8 percent in the quarter to $5.23 billion from $4.85 billion and 27 percent for the year to September to $14.5 billion from $11.47 billion in 2018.
“The main contributing factors were the depreciation of the Jamaican dollar, which positively impacted realized and unrealized gains attributable to US dollar positions and the 36 percent appreciation of the Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market indices, benefitting the Group by way of trading gains and capital appreciation,” a statement from the chairman and CEO stated.
Net profit attributable to shareholders continues an upward trend from the start of the financial year, with Q1 posting profit of $2.7 billion and moving to $3.7 billion in Q2 and $4.4 billion in the current quarter. Earnings per stock rose to $1.15 for the September quarter compared to 91 cents in the 2018 quarter, and $2.79 for the nine months to September, versus $2.27 year to September 2018.
Total income rose 28 percent for the quarter to $25 billion from $19.5 billion and 31 percent for the year to date to $67.5 billion from $51.48 billion in 2018. “Contributing to the overall revenue outturn in the September quarter was a 23 percent increase in net premium income, investment revenue of 28 percent and an increase of 10 percent in fees and other income,” the management stated in their report accompanying the quarterly.
The results for the nine months to September reflected gains of 18 percent in net premium revenue, to $33.8 billion and 23 percent for the September quarter to reach $12.7 billion while investment income climbed 42 percent in the nine months to $19.3 billion and 28 percent for the quarter to $7.4 billion. Fees and other income rose 16 percent to $10.5 billion and 10 percent in the quarter to $3.7 billion.
Insurance benefits, administrative and other expenses climbed 37 percent to $19.46 billion from $14.24 billion, compared to a 35 percent increase to $53.66 billion from $39.87 billion in 2018 for the year to date. Net insurance benefits rose 28 percent in the quarter to $8 billion from $6.3 billion in 2018 and from $19 billion to $21.2 billion for the nine months.
Administrative expenses climbed 17 percent in the quarter to $5.2 billion from a similar period in 2018 and 16 percent in the nine months to $15.3 billion.
For the nine months to September, the group’s segment results show Individual Insurance revenues rising a healthy 24 percent to $25.8 billion from $20.9 billion in 2018 but resulting in segment profit falling from $4.1 billion to $3.8 billion. Investment Banking accounted for $4.5 billion of revenues in 2019, up 67 percent from $2.7 billion in 2018, with profit nearly doubling to $2 billion from $1.1 billion. Employee Benefits revenues climbed from $17.6 billion in 2018 to $20.4 billion, and profit rising from $2.9 billion to $3.2 billion and Commercial Banking revenues rose 19 percent from $8.3 billion in 2018 to $9.9 billion with profit hitting $1.95 billion from $1.4 billion in 2018. All other segments added revenues of $6.4 billion in 2019 from $2.9 billion, with profit rising from $270 million in 2018 to $415 million.
The stock last traded on the JSE Main Market at $66 for a PE ratio of 16.5 compared to a market average of 19, an indication that the price is undervalued.
At the end of September, shareholders’ equity stood at $88.4 billion up from $73 billion at the end of September 2018. Assets ended the period at $458 billion inclusive of financial investments of $196 billion, cash and bank balances of $25 billion and liabilities at $338 billion.
Earnings per share came out at $1.15 for the quarter and $2.79 for the nine months. IC Insider.com is forecasting $4 per share for PE of 16.5 times earnings at the last traded price of $66.
Sagicor Group results for the nine months to September include the consolidation of the new subsidiaries, Sagicor Real Estate Fund and Travel Cash Jamaica. The Group’s latest acquisition, Advantage General Insurance, in which the Group acquired a 60 percent interest on September 30, did not affect earnings for the nine months.

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

Big jump in Honey Bun profit

December 1, 2019 by

Another major milestone in Honey Bun’s brief history of listing on the JSE Junior Market was reached at the end of the 2019 fiscal year, ending in September, with record revenues and profit.
The full-year results show pretax profit rising 73 percent to $183 million versus $106 million in 2018 and profit after tax rising 67 percent to hit $157 million from a 17 percent rise in revenues to $1.54 billion. Revenues grew even faster in the final quarter by 20.4 percent improvement over the 18.9 that revenues grew in the third quarter over 2018.
The results benefited from improved efficiency with cost sales rising well below the growth in revenues, with input cost increasing 12 percent for the year, driving gross profit margin to 48 percent, an improvement from the 46 percent in 2018. Selling and Distribution expenses rose 16 percent to $250 million from $214, Administrative Cost excluding depreciation rose 18 percent $284 million from $249 million.
Earnings per share rose to 33 cents in the just concluded year from just 18 cents in 2018. Importantly, the company is on the way to earn 70 cents per share for 2020 for a profit of $335 million and should go on to earn $1 per share or $490 million in 2021 and $1.30 or $600 million in the following year when the tax concession for half the regular rate ends.

One Honey Bun’s Products.

The company is benefitting from a capital expenditure of $330 million spent over the last two years to expand the factory and bring manufacturing under one location as well as an expansion of product range. The operations generated gross cash flow of $230 million up from $145 million in 2018.
Shareholders’ equity climbed to $741 million from $618 million. Current assets increased from $209 million to $353 million with net current assets ending at $185 million from $89 million in 2018. Cash and cash equivalents stood at $193 million, up from $100 million, but the company has Investments of $92 million comprising quoted shares and money market instruments treated as non-current assets.
The company manufacture and distributes baked products for the local and export markets.
The stock receives the IC BUY RATED seal of approval. The stock traded at $7 on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market for a PE of 10.

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