Carreras grew income

June 4, 2013 by

In the just concluded financial year ending March, Carreras grew its income from increased volumes and some price adjustment. Operating profit climbed from $5.175 billion to $5.68 billion. Administrative distribution and marketing expenses rose from $1.745 billion to $2 billion. The company is reporting profits of $6.49 billion up from $2.6 billion in 2012.

The latest results have been impacted by a $5.08 billion inflow from the pension funds representing a portion of the pension fund surplus which was distributed to Carreras. The company reported earnings per share from ongoing business of $6.14 versus $5.35 in 2012. Most of the pension surplus was distributed to shareholders as a special dividend. Carreras also picked up foreign exchange gains of $161 million during the year up from $19 in 2012. This may or may not recur in the current financial year ending 2014 and investors will need to pay attention to that.

Tax refund | Of import, is a refund of $1.7 billion of taxes that was paid over to the government and is to be refunded plus cost of legal fees and interest. The government has made provision of half a billion in this year’s budget to pay interest on the indebtedness. The entire amount is expected to be paid out as dividend when received.

Carreras_tobacco150x150The company’s product is not only mature but seems to be less socially accepted. The company has done most of the cost cutting hence increased profits in the future will come mostly from price adjustments. If the company is allowed to keep the price relatively stable for a while, then the possibility of picking up some volume increases may occur.

At the end of the financial year, the company had cash funds of $3.9 billion, some of which will be paid out as dividend in June. Liquidity is good with current assets exceeding current liabilities $4.76 billion to $3 billion. There are no borrowed funds being used in the operations.

Income stock | The stock is essentially one for dividends with the company paying the equivalent of $5.20 per share for the year. Lower interest rates in the financial sector is likely to drive more investors to this stock for the relatively high yield, but with withholding tax at 15 percent on dividends and an unsure growth path for profits, investors may be taking on added risk to eke out a slightly higher return from the dividends paid by Carreras.

Stock outlook | At this time, the stock is price to almost perfection in earnings with a PE of 10 times the latest earnings. The price of the stock to net book value is the highest in the market at more than 11 times.

Investors in this stock should ensure that their portfolio is appropriately balanced. In other words, investors should ensure the stock does not dominate their portfolio.

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

FX gains & securities boost Proven

June 4, 2013 by

Increased gains from foreign exchange and securities trading helped Proven Investments to report higher profits than in 2012 in its latest release of its audited financial statements to March this year. The investment bank reported 26 percent higher profits than in the previous year.

While interest income grew from US$7.076 million to $7.36 million, net interest income fell to US$2.89 million from US$3.1 in 2012. However, dividend income grew from $900,000 in 2012 to US$1.26 million in the latest year. Net fair value adjustments and realised gains accounted for US$4.51 million versus US$3.31 million in 2012. But foreign exchange trades delivered US$1.57 million, a turnaround from a loss of US$417,000 in 2012.

Us$_Bankroll280X150Bad debt of US$637 million helped to move up other operating expenses from US$1.9 million to US$2.8 million. The earnings work out at US$0.0141 per share versus US$0.0112 in 2012. The stock closed up slightly at US$0.115 at the end of Monday’s trading before these results were released. There seems to be room for further gains in the stock price with the PE ratio of the stock being 7.7 times the latest earnings. Management will have to pull out all the stops and be creative to drive earnings in the immediate future to continue to make the stock attractive to a wide array of investors.

The company reported assets of US$144 million up from $140 million in 2012. Equity capital stood at US$35.8 million at the end of March 2013. The company is reporting that exchange movement reduced the value of the preference shares during the year from US$11.24 million down US$9.922 million.

Going forward, much will depend on the ability of management to extract more gains from foreign currency trade as well as how well they do in investing in other forms of securities. In this regard investors, who may be interested in the stock, would need to focus on the management’s track record as there is less predictability in the potential earnings in trading securities and currencies.

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LASCO Distributors lowers profit

June 3, 2013 by

Revenue for the year to March increased 11 percent, but profits fell by 8 percent cooling the rapid growth experienced in the previous year for Lasco Distributors. The stock price nevertheless jumped just before the release of the results from $10.50 to $15 in response to an announced stock split.  Profit came in at $507 million without any tax charge, down from $550 in 2012 after a tax charge of $30 million. The result helped to maintain the stock at the level reached before the actual results were published as earnings per share came in at $1.51.

Revenues grew by $795 million to $8,255 billion in a period when official data says the local economy recorded negative growth. Gross profit margin declined quite sharply to 19.9 percent  from 21 percent in the prior year due to a what management states is “a one off adjustment to cost of sales related to import duties, absorption in increased volumes for institutional sales at lower margins, and the impact of the volatility of the exchange rate.”

The management statement continued “during the last financial year there were unavoidable disruptions in the supply chain for key products which impacted on revenue and profit performance. Whilst the company makes efforts to improve efficiencies there were also investments for future growth.

lasco_logo_150x150“Administrative and other expenses increased by 15 percent to $871 million, due to organisational changes in staff resources to strengthen the company’s market presence and preparation for impending new projects.

“The company has had success in its marketing activities as it has seen growth in some core categories and deeper penetration in targeted distribution channels. The widening of appeal and stronger brand presence is the platform for newly launched products and other planned projects with our partners.”

Balance sheet | Inventories increased by $535 million over the corresponding period in 2012, primarily due to inventory carried for important institutions and planned major promotional activities for key products which extend beyond March. Trade and other receivables increased by $315 million due to the increased marketing activity and extended credit arrangements for key institutions. “The trade receivables continue to be managed within industry standards and extended terms for supplies to key accounts is achieved in collaboration with our suppliers. Current liabilities also increased as trade and other payables was $267 million over the corresponding period and this is due to the continued supply agreement with our strategic partners,” the company stated in a release to shareholders.

Equity capital stood at $1.89 billion while current assets amounted to $2.7 billion versus current liabilities of $1.16 billion. The company is virtually debt free with just $46 million in overdraft outstanding on the books at March.

LASCOPharma_logo150x150Looking forward | The company has geared up for improved business. Some of it seems to be government related. Additionally, Lasco Manufacturing expansion is well on its way and when completed and in full production, Lasco Distributors will benefit from increased flow of items to market locally.

The stock may be fully valued, currently at $15 each, bearing in mind the valuation of other junior market companies, but profits should improve going forward thus providing opportunities for further gains in the future.

Legal matter | There is a claim by Pfizer Limited (Pfizer) against Lasco Distributors Limited  and others for damages for breach of a patent relating to a particular product. The action has been tried and judgement entered in favour of the company. The judgement has been appealed by Pfizer. The appeal has been heard in the Supreme Court of Jamaica and the court has reserved its judgement. The matter has been further appealed to the Privy Council and the records of appeal have now been settled and communicated to London. It is anticipated that the matter should come before the Privy Council either by the end of this year or during the first quarter of next year.

The attorneys are of the opinion that the company should be successful on this appeal and anticipate that the amount to be recovered by the company may be approximately $400m. If not, the company will be liable for cost estimated at $25M and for an accounting as to profits made by the company as damages to Pfizer for its loss of profit attributable to the sale of the product from the commencement of the company’s dealing to the date of the interim injunction issued on 29 March 2005.

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

Lasco Financial strong profit

June 3, 2013 by
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The smallest of the three listed Lasco companies, Lasco Financial posted impressive results for the year ended March 2013. Revenues climbed 30 percent to $485 million and profits jumped 60 percent to $164 million. The net results is even more impressive considering that in 2012 there was net addition to profits coming from revaluation of a $90.3 million property which was partially offset by the write off of $$46.28 million for the full purchase costs incurred from the take over of Supreme Venture Financial Services MoneyGram operations, in December 2011.

Quarterly results | In the quarter to March 2013, revenue was $144 million versus $184 million but the latest quarter figures are better than the $132 million generated in the December 2012 quarter. The revaluation gain was booked in the March 2012 quarter thus swelling the revenue figure in the period.

The quarterly profit for March was also down compared to 2012. More importantly, the $52 million earned in the last quarter of the 2013 financial year was just $2.5 million less than that earned in the high-earning December 2012 quarter.

Cost has been kept under control with a slight dip in administrative cost, most of that would relate to the removal of the one-off cost of $46 million reflected above. Selling and promotional cost were up by half to reach $152 million but the growth was much slower than the rise in trading revenues of 73 percent.

LascoCambioServices_logo150x150Business lines | The company is involved primarily in the business of cambio operations, money transfer and lending. It has a ready market for the foreign currencies that it purchases which it can sell to the other companies within the family.

Much of last year’s growth came from the acquisition of the business purchased. Operations have been extended to Barbados but it will take hard work to come close to repeating the 2013 performance.

The capital base is $475 million with total assets of $640 million and enjoys return on equity of a strong 39 percent and a gross profit margin of 34 percent.

The stock | This company seems to be coming into its own and investors have noticed. The stocks has gained 100 percent since December last year, when it traded at $4.90 and closing on Friday at $9.80. The results were released after trading closed on Friday. The other two Lasco companies are trading around 10 times 2013 earnings and if this company does the same it should be trading around $13 this coming week.  The PE is currently 7.5 and the share price to book 2.6 times. The company, which is not subject to taxation on profits for another three years, should report around $1.70 per share for the 2013/14 year.

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JMMB posts improved profit

June 3, 2013 by

Jamaica Money Market Brokers reported improved 2013 fiscal year results to March with net profits of $3.87 billion, the first time in its history. Not even the $750 million loss incurred in the write-off of investment premiums that the company had to effect in swapping government debt for lower yielding ones could dent the profit for the year.

All the good news did not come about from normal operations. In 2012 the company acquired all the shares of Capital & Credit Group (CCFG) and merged some elements into JMMB‘s other operations. The acquisition price was less than the net asset value of the acquired company resulting in a book gain of $2 billion. Had it not been for these one-off items, profit would have been lower by approximately $1.1 billion. In 2012, the company earned $2.2 billion after tax but those results were boosted by a large one-off gain from a security sale. IC Insider’s assessment is that earnings from ongoing operations, is around $1.65 per share.

Interest earned | For the year ending March, JMMB earned $11.25 billion in interest. In 2012, the comparative amount was $9.17 billion. The company improved the interest margin considerably, from 63 percent to 70 percent, garnering $4.648 billion compared to $3.54 billion in 2012. Net interest and other income amounted to $6.997 billion up from $5.99 billion in the previous year. The 2013 figures have 9 months income from the CCFG acquisition. Unfortunately, operating cost rose faster that the income with expenses climbing $1.4 billion to $4.6 billion. When the one-off gain in income realised in 2012 is taken into consideration, the increase cost does not look that bad against the growth in income.

jmmbGrouplogo150x150Size can matter | Total assets climbed to $167 billion, higher than the amount at the time of the take over. Growth here is important if the group is to keep profits on the rise. Mergers and acquisitions usually result in duplicated cost which is reduced overtime. JMMB should fully integrate CCFG operations during this year and should minimize cost and start to enjoy most of the benefits of the merger. To date, not much is seen in the profit results to suggest that the group has benefited much from the acquisition. The improved interest margin may have been one of the benefits.

The last quarter had revenues of $3.85 billion, a gain of 28 percent over the similar period in 2012 and is up from an increase of 20 percent realised in the December quarter. Pretax profit before exceptional income and charges was up to $735 million compared to $590 million in 2012. In spite of the debt swap charge, a tax credit of $791 million for the quarter resulted in after tax profit climbing to $647 million versus $441 million in 2012. In the March 2012 quarter, there was a tax charge of $144 million.

Capital | In spite of the write-off of the premium on GOJ bonds that were swapped, JMMB still carries $1.7 billion as investment fair value reserves up from just $400 million in 2012. The gains have helped, along with the profit reported for the year, to push the equity capital to $16.7 billion up from $10.8 billion in 2012.

Undervalued | JMMB will be acquiring the shares it does not already own in International Bank in Trinidad, no terms have yet been announced. This acquisition will put management in full control and enable them to optimize business and returns from it. The annual accounts show minority interest of $118 million, so this share of profit plus whatever increase obtains for this year will flow to profit.

JMMB could produce net earnings in the order of $3.2 billion for the year ending in March 2014. The outcome could be positively influenced by trading gains and how active the stock market becomes. An active stock market would result in increase brokerage fees and gains from trading shares for their own account as well as increase in the size of the unit trust portfolio that would also result in increased fee income.

Stock outlook | The shares that were languishing at $8 jumped on the release of the results to $9 on heavy volume. The shares which are listed in Trinidad are also in demand on that stock exchange. The PE is around 6 times 2013 earnings from ongoing business and is selling below net book value as well.

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

Scotia Investments one time dent

May 31, 2013 by

The Government of Jamaica debt exchange cost shareholders $238 million as Scotia Investments participation resulted in the write-off of premium that was originally booked on the bonds that were swapped. The effect after tax would translate to a third less. Net profit for the half year to April was $858 million, down $176 million or 17 percent from the same period last year. Earnings per share was $2.03 compared to $2.45 for the same six month period last year.

Profit for the quarter was $371 million, down $115 million or 24 percent below the $487 million earned in the previous quarter and also below the $536 million earned in 2012. Had it not been for the debt exchange, profits in the quarter would have close to that earned in the similar quarter of 2012.

Net Interest | After impairment losses Net Interest for the six months was $1.39 billion, remaining relatively flat over the same period last year and for the quarter it was $625 million, $137 million or 18 percent below the results of the previous quarter as well as below the 2012 quarter of $706 million. Interest earnings continue to be impacted by lower yields on the securities portfolio and would have suffered from lower yields on government bonds based on the debt swap.  Gains on foreign currency trading and the impact of the movement of the Jamaican dollar on holding of foreign exchange denominated investments would have helped to cushion some of the effects of the lower interest yields.

scotiabanklogo150x150Non-Interest Income | Non-interest income, which includes fee income, securities trading gains and net foreign exchange trading income, was $669 million for the period, down $8 million or 1 percent compared to the same period last year; and $324 million for the quarter, down $21 million or 6 percent over the $345 million recorded last quarter.

Total operating expenses for the quarter was $417 million, 3  percent below the previous quarter. Year-to-date operating expenses was $845 million, representing an increase of 29 percent or $188 million over same period last year. This variance was mainly reflected in staff related costs and other operating expenses associated with the newly imposed asset tax.

Managed Funds | The investment bank is reporting that the Scotia Premium Money Market Fund surpassed the $3 billion mark in just over 18 months since its launch; and the Caribbean Income Fund surpassed the US$75 million mark. The company is placing more emphasis on pooled investment funds so as to move away form the repos investment where the company takes the risk on the underlying investments while granting investors fixed rates of return for a specified period.

As these funds grow either from new investments inflows in or by improvement in values as a result of income or growth in the underlying assets in the funds, management fees earned will increase going forward. This is where the company is planning much of its growth.

PreferenceStock150x150As interest rates stay low, investors will be looking at ways of boosting their income and in some cases with flexibility. The low rates favour increased stock market activities, increased values for stocks and more fees for Scotia Investments as their brokerage arm enjoy more trading income from trading stocks for clients as well as for the equity fund they manage.

Assets under management including the Company’s custody book were $109.5 billion as at the end of the quarter, up $10.8 billion or 11 percent above the same period last year and $2.7 billion or 2.5 percent over the previous quarter. The growth was driven by increased net asset values in managed funds. The company would most likely be holding stocks in its portfolio that would benefit from a stock market rally.

Stock Outlook | The price earnings ratio for the stock is around 6 at $27, the last selling price and a net asset value of $34, placing the stock in the undervalued category.

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Scotia Group’s profit surprise

May 29, 2013 by

Scotia Group Jamaica was the one exception of the financial institutions to buck the trend of lower profit resulting from the write-off of fair value investments gains from the debt swap of Government of Jamaica bonds in February.

The banking group reported improved results for the second quarter of the 2013 financial year to April, with net income of $2,930 million, $210 million above the previous quarter and $214 million above the quarter ended April, 2012. For the six months ended April, 2013, net profit was $5,651 million compared to $5,364 million for the same period last year. Profit available to shareholders was $5.47 billion, resulting in earnings per share of $1.76, this is after the group took a one time charge of $397 million for the write-off of fair value securities gains.

Net interest income | After impairment losses for the period, Net Interest Income was $11.13 billion, up $341 million or 3%  compared to the same period last year. For the quarter, interest income and interest cost declined but net income fell compared with the January 2013 quarter by $470 million and was marginally up on the similar quarter for 2012 by $48 million. The reduction in interest rates that obtained after the debt swap would have been a major contributing factor to the decline. A partial switch in the portfolio from Jamaican dollar denominated investments to foreign currency ones would also be a contributing factor as foreign exchange gains climbed to $955 million versus $526 million in the first quarter.

scotiabankBuilding150x150Other Revenue | For the six months Other Revenue was $5.5 billion, up $858 million or 18.6% compared with prior year due to increased insurance revenue and fee income gains on securities trading as well as higher gains on foreign currency trading and investments.

Operating Expenses | $9.11 billion for the quarter, an increase of $1 billion or 13% over prior year. Staff related costs represented $439 million (10.2% increase), other operating expenses increased by $606 million reflecting primarily inflationary increases, devaluation of the Jamaican dollar and the impact of new tax measures.

Non-performing loans | (NPLs) at April stood at $5 billion, $440 million less that at April 2012, an increase of $270 million over January this year, the increase is a charge against the income for the year to date. During the six months period in 2012, the bank recovered a large corporate loan that was classified as non-performing during 2011, resulting in a net charge in 2012. Total NPLs is down to 3.88% of total gross loans compared to 4.83% last year and 3.82% as at January 2013 due greatly to the growth in the loan portfolio.

Balance Sheet | Total assets increased year over year by $33 billion or 9.46% to $382 billion as at April this year. Loans grew by $16.2 billion to $127.26 billion. Customer liabilities (deposits, repo liabilities and policyholder’s funds) grew to $294 billion, an increase of $28 billion over last year. As per the management report, “This growth was mainly reflected in the deposit portfolio as we continued to acquire new customers and see increased balances from existing customers.”

scotiabanklogo150x150Bruce Bowen, President and CEO said, “Scotia Group generated strong results for Q2 with continued growth in all of our key business lines. Our culture of prudent risk management and strong liquidity enabled us to weather the challenges in the market during the quarter. Looking forward, the National Debt Exchange (NDX) has reduced margins and recent tax measures have increased operating costs. To offset these effects we are focused on deepening our relationship with clients and growing our customer base, while improving operating efficiencies and maintaining tight control of expenses.”

Bowen went on to say, “In times of turmoil in the financial sector Scotiabank is known for providing Jamaicans a safe place to bank. With the addition of Scotia Investments, Scotia Jamaica Life Insurance and Scotia Jamaica Building Society, and our commitment to providing a great customer experience, I believe that we can truly help our customers be financially better off. If we focus on our customers we are in an excellent position to build market share during this difficult economic period.”

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General Accident’s profit up 65 percent

May 27, 2013 by

Junior market listed company General Accident had a strong first quarter but only because higher investment income more than compensated for a decline in underwriting profit. Can we expect the same trend for the full year’s results? Based in the key factors contributing to the increase, the answer is no.

Profit | Net profit for the quarter was $97.6 million or $0.09 per share an increase of 65 percent over the prior year results. Last year, the reported profit was $59.3 million or $0.06 per share for the same period. The quarterly results have benefited from significant foreign exchange gains.

Premium income | Gross written premiums grew to $1.15 billion, an increase of 19 percent over the first quarter last year while net earned premiums grew by 5 percent to $257 million. Management stated, “The premium income growth was driven both by the organic growth of our core commercial property and motor businesses as well as a rise in large facultative transactions.”

GeneralAccident_logo150x150Management further stated in their report, “Despite increasing our net earned premiums, our combined ratio worsened from 93 percent in the first quarter of last year to 96 percent in the first quarter of 2013. This was driven mainly by an increase in our loss ratio which deteriorated from 53 percent in the first quarter last year to 60 percent this year. As a result, our underwriting profit declined from $17.6 million to $10 million”.

Investment Performance | Investment income grew 96 percent to $92.4 million. Last year, the company made $47 million of investment income for the first quarter. The returns, the company says, “represent an annualized return on our average investment portfolio of 18 percent. When unrealized losses on our available for sale investments are included, our total annualized return was 14 percent. Increases in our investment income are the result of efforts to diversify our holdings. This decision also limited our losses in the National Debt Exchange to less than $2 million.”

During 2012, the company’s investments returns was 9.58 percent including foreign exchange gains. With the exchange rate of the local currency stabilizing, large scale gains from this area could be limited going forward.

A dividend of $50 million amounting to $0.0485 per share was paid in March this year. The company says it intends to maintain the dividend policy for the remainder of the year. The policy is set out in the prospectus that was published in 2011 and states that they  pay no less than 25 percent of distributable profits per year as dividends.

Book value | General Accident ended the quarter with a book value of $1.31 billion and generated a return on average equity for shareholders of 31 percent. The company also has cash and investments amounting to $1.74 billion plus loans receivables of $384 million. Amounts that was due to reinsurers and coinsurers amounted to $790 million but amounts that are due to this same group was $1.04 billion and for clients and brokers $41 billion. Insurance reserves stood at $2.4 billion at the end of March.

Investing600x250Stock outlook | Looking forward, the rate of return generated on investments is high in an environment when rates on investments were less than 10 percent on most short term instruments. What clearly took place is that a large portion of the gains came from foreign exchange rate movement. The big question is, will they be able to maintain such returns going forward and if not, will the insurance claim experience be better? Last year the company earned 28 cents per share for the full year. With 9 cents already in the bag it’s quite possible to exceed last year’s earnings. Fortunately the stock is now priced quite well. Even a little disappointment on the earnings front will still allow room for some more appreciation in the stock price.

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

Pan Jam’s profit dented too

May 26, 2013 by

Pan Jamaican investment trust reported net profit of $224 million, down 55 percent on 2012 earnings of $502 million for the quarter ending March.  The results were impacted significantly by Sagicor Life Jamaica Limited (SLJ) participation in the Government of Jamaica National Debt Exchange in February. SLJ recorded a realised loss on the exchange of bonds tendered in the NDX of $1.1 billion. Associated and joint venture companies contributed less profit for the quarter, declining by $136 million compared to the 2012 1st quarter amount of $373 million. The share of SLJ’s earnings, decreased by $175 million (47%) to $194 million.

The earnings per stock come out at $1.05 (2012: $2.36).  The fall in earnings from the associates is temporary and will not affect the company’s operations in a major way going forward. The effect is a reduction in interest income as the bonds swapped carry lower coupon rates than the original ones.

Increased cost | The group incurred an increase in finance costs of $179 million and a decrease of $136 million in the share of results of associated and joint venture companies, this was partly offset by increased investment income of $67 million resulting from foreign exchange gains on our US$ investments. Property income was flat year on year, as a $10 million improvement in rental income was offset by reduced net lease recoveries and property appreciation. Operating expenses increased 13 percent or $28 million, driven principally by a 27% increase in general and administrative costs as a result of staff realignment and increased professional fees.

Sagicor150x150As per the company’s report: “Finance costs increased by $179 million to $195 million for the quarter, resulting from increased debt used to fund the purchase of an additional 8% of SLJ’s shares in July, 2012 and the drawdown of the remainder of the US$17.5 million IFC loan in December, 2012. We have, however, retained a net long position in US$ to ensure that our stockholders’ equity is appropriately protected against devaluation risk. Rentable properties enjoyed occupancy levels exceeding 95% for the 1st quarter, while segment operating profit of $184 million for the quarter was $26 million, 16%, better than last year. Our investment management segment posted operating profit of $28 million for the quarter, more than double last year’s 1st quarter segment operating profit of $12 million.”

Associate & Joint Ventures | “Associated companies consist principally of our 32.8% investment in SLJ. We also hold minority positions in New Castle Co. Limited (owners of the Walkerswood and Busha Browne lines of sauces and seasonings), Mavis Bank Coffee Factory Limited (“Mavis Bank”), Hardware & Lumber Limited (“H&L”), Caribe Hospitality Limited (developers of the planned New Kingston Marriott Courtyard Hotel) and Chukka Caribbean Adventures (“Chukka”) acquired in April 2012.”

PamJamChukkaCove150x150H&L reported net earnings of $9.9 million for the 1st quarter, compared to $3.9 million for the same period last year. Revenue and gross margin both increased compared to last year. The investments in Chukka and Mavis Bank produced solid results.

Total assets amount to $21.7 billion and stockholders’ equity increased to $16.5 billion, equating to a book value per stock unit of $78.

Stock outlook | A dividend of $1.10 per stock unit was paid March 2013.  The company will not pay the usual quarterly dividend in June, having doubled up on the one paid in March.The stock which traded on Wednesday, 22nd May at $54 is considered to be severely undervalued and is a good long term investment.

To read IC Insider’s latest report “Sagicor undervalued despite $B NDX hit” , click here.

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SVL: Revenues down, big profit increase

May 26, 2013 by

Supreme Ventures Limited posted net profit after tax for the first quarter of $301 million, a 64 percent increase over $184 million for the comparative period in 2012. The improvement was directly attributable to low lottery game payments for the quarter and a huge change to taxation charge on profit. While pretax profit climbed by $38 million, the tax on profit fell from $162 million in 2012 to just $82 million in 2013. The reduction in taxation is not sustainable. The rate used in the quarter was 25 percent, going forward it will be 30 percent. In all likelihood the charge for the first quarter may also have to be adjusted upwards to 30 percent as well.

“We continue to remind our investors that volatilities in game liabilities can adversely impact profitability in any financial quarter. The overall profitability of the company was also positively impacted by a $791.3 million reduction in direct expenses, reorganization of the company’s operating structure and interest income”, a management statement said.

SupremeVenturesSVLlogo_150x150Challenges | The second quarter onwards is poised to be a very challenging, as new tax measures for the sector took effect in April 2013. The tax package aims to collect a further $1.5 billion from the gaming industry.

The measures increase the tax rate for each lottery game from 17 percent to 20 percent and 23 percent to 25 percent respectively. The Company has taken the decision to absorb the fees for 2013, in light of what they see as uncertainty with the implementation process for this new licensing regime. They also speak of the elimination of the unclaimed prize allocation previously retained by the company. This allocation now has to be paid over to the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission. The effect of these new tax measures will no doubt affect the Company’s ability to achieve the levels of profitability projected over 2012.

SupremeVenturesSVLAcropolislogo150x150Revenues | Revenue for the quarter was down 9 percent to $7.4 billion compared to $8.15 billion for the corresponding quarter in 2012. The gaming company management indicated that the decline was mainly due to decreases in lottery and VLT revenues of 11 percent and 39 percent respectively when compared to the same period in 2012. The significant decline in VLT revenues was directly attributable to closure of the Coral Cliff gaming lounge in Montego Bay for refurbishing which was rebranded and reopened as Acropolis Montego Bay on 7th March. Acropolis Portmore was also temporarily closed in January for refurbishing and new layout of the gaming floor. It is yet to be reopened. The Odyssey Gaming Lounge opened on 7th February and is enjoying early market support.

The Earnings per Share was $0.11, compared to $0.07 for the corresponding period in 2012.

The company has equity of $4 billion and borrowed debt of only $324 million. Cash was $1.45 billion at the end of March, more than enough to cover short term liabilities.

SupremeVenturesSVL_150x150A dividend of $0.10 per share amounting to $263.725 million was paid in March. The company says it continues to execute an aggressive dividend payment policy, of quarterly payments based on the company’s performance.

During the quarter, the company commenced a scheme of amalgamating the betting, gaming and lottery operations of its subsidiaries into a single operating entity called Prime Sports (Jamaica) Limited.

The Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission renewed the lottery license which has been issued to Prime Sports (Jamaica) Limited and will expire in January 2033. The company’s Bookmaker’s Permit was also renewed and issued to Prime Sports (Jamaica) Limited with the next renewal date being 31st March 2015.

Stock outlook | The stock traded on Monday, 2oth May at $3, up from $2.80 before the release of the results and is up from $2.60 at the start of May. Investing in the stock with the hope of short-term gains seem to be a bit of a gamble at this time.

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