Declining sales and rising cost in the February quarter over the November quarter were the noticeable features for Paramount Trading. The result, lower profit only $26.4 million versus $49.2 million.
Profit nevertheless jumped 121 percent to $109 million for the nine months to February this year with the February quarter rising 82 percent over that of 2014.
The slippage in performance in the latest quarter came from a drop in sales to $209 million from $228 million in the November quarter and a fall in gross profit margin from 37 percent to 32 percent as cost of sales remained at roughly $146 million in both quarters. Total administrative and other expenses also rose in the last quarter over that of November by close to $6 million or 13 percent but they were lower than in the 2014 quarter as finance cost fell sharply from $8 million to only $2 million.
Total revenues rose 18 percent in the February quarter and 25 percent for the nine month period to hit $213 million and $651 million respectively.
The company reported earnings of 17 cents per share for the quarter and 71 for the nine months and is on its way to reporting profit of $1.10 per share for the current year ending in May and $1.50 for the following year.
Finances| Paramount has seen a slight improvement in receivables with a reduction in the number of weeks amounts are due for falling from around 10 weeks in February 2014 down to 9 weeks in 2015 even as the amount increased from $139 million to $151 million. Inventories rose to $275 million from $216 million in 2014 and cash funds rose to $79 million. Amounts due to suppliers is steady at $127 million with the 2014 year-end figures and down from the amounts due at February 2014.
The company deals mainly in chemicals and is listed on the junior market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, the last price is $3.55, giving it a PE of 3.2 thus maintaining its BUY RATED status.
Paramount’s Q3 sales fell cost rose
JMMB Group confusion
A check on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange (TTSE) website and trading data, leads to confusion as to the correct name of the JMMB Group Limited, the incorrect name was still being carried up to Friday in the trading summary, but based on IC Insider’s intervention the TTSE indicates that the error will be corrected.TTSE in a release on Tuesday posted on its website captioned: NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTORS – JAMAICA MONEY MARKET BROKERS GROUP LIMITED (JMMBGL).The contents of the release includes this: “The Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange (TTSE) received notice that pursuant to the Scheme of Arrangement filed with the Companies Office of Jamaica, the following Directors have been appointed to the JMMB Group Limited Board of Directors effective April 13th, 2015”.
The release raises questions as to the correct name of the company that was listed on Monday on three exchanges within the region? The fact that the TSE statement has both names, is strange to say the least. Coming from the exchange one gets the impression that they ought to know the name, so when they head the release with the old name and then add Group to it, one wonders why? The Trinidad Stock Exchange fact sheet of listed companies has the company’s name incorrectly stated as Jamaica Money Market Brokers Group Limited. A check with the Jamaica Stock Exchange show the company correctly listed as JMMB Group Ltd but a release from the JSE when the stock was listed on Monday reports the company as Jamaica Money Market Brokers Group Limited.
The scheme of arrangements puts the matter beyond doubt. According to that document “JMMB Group” means JMMB Group Limited, whose principal office is situated at 6 Haughton Terrace, Kingston 10, Jamaica, a company duly incorporated in Jamaica under the Companies Act 2004. The document goes on further to state that “As a result, the understanding that JMMB has reached with the BOJ is that the combined group will see a new financial holding company being introduced at the pinnacle of the structure. JMMB Group Limited (“JMMB Group”) was therefore formed for this purpose on May 16, 2012, and it is intended that if the Scheme is approved, this company will be the publicly listed ultimate holding company of the combined group. The evidence is clear the correct name is JMMB group Ltd.
IC Insider checked with the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange, and was advised by a representative: Marlon Crew that the error will be corrected by the end of Friday, April 17.
Knutsford riding high
Junior market Knutsford Express, enjoyed a very profitable 2014 with a 92 percent increase in pretax profit for the February quarter of $19 million and 45 percent increase for the nine months to $48.5 million.
Contributing to the big jump in profits is a 46.9 percent climb in revenues to $334 million for the nine months and $126.5 million for the quarter, for a 39.6 percent gain. Administrative and other cost rose 33.7 percent in the quarter and 46 percent for the nine months. The earnings translate to 19 cents per share for the quarter and 49 cents for the nine months.
Borrowed funds amount to $23 million with cash funds of $55 million. The company added to its fixed assets which moved from $126 million as of May last year, to $173 million as it expands the fleet of buses on the road and now covers Jamaica with land transportation from north to south and east to west.
The company’s stock traded at $5.60 with a gain of 40 cents after the results were released. the stock remains IC Insider Buy Rated, but it is not expected that there will be much more gains in the short term with a current PE of 8 times 2015 earnings.
VMBS raises profit in 2014
Victoria Mutual Building Society (VMBS) reports a slight increase in profit of $1 billion for 2014 up from $943 million in 2013.
VMBS generated income of $7.2 billion in 2014 and in 2013 revenues of $6.5 million. The group ended with assets of $97 billion up from $86 billion. Equity capital rose to $11.35 billion from $10.37 in 2013. Mortgage loans rose $31 billion from$27 billion in 2013 and cash funds of $10 billion. Other major assets are Repos amounting to $16 billion, investments mostly in government securities $33.5 billion. VMBS is primarily in the business of providing home mortgages.
Kremi profit up 40%
Kremi profit jumped 184% in the February quarter over that of 2014.
Revenue increased 11 percent for the February 2014 quarter, reaching $274 million but most of that is due to price increase and 19 percent to $1 billion for the twelve months.
Gross profit margin climbed to 28.44 percent in the latest quarter from 25.9 percent in the 2014 period but for the full year, the margin was at 27.59 percent compared to 23.67 percent for the 2014 period. Going forward, the margin should improve even more with the blast freezer installed in November, which management says will reduce utility cost and create capacity for greater production to enhance sales volume.
Administrative cost rose by 37.7 percent to $168.8 million for the full year and by 6.9 percent to $44.5 million for the quarter. The slower growth in the latest quarter is an indication that cost increase in the area is normalising and that is a god sign going forward. The company should also benefit from lower marketing cost in 2015 with the upfront cost for the rebranding and advertising picked up last year repeating in the current year. The last quarter reflects the lower on going marketing cost at just $6 million compared to $11.4 million in 2014 and $37.8 million for the full year versus $27 million in 2014. Finance cost in the quarter jumped to $10 million from $4 million in the prior year and an average of just over $5 million in the prior quarters. Based on the funds borrowed the cost going forward should be around $5 million per quarter subject to repayments and changes in interest rates if any.Going forward the benefits of blast freezer will be reflected for the full year, while it only partially impacted the last quarter of the just concluded fiscal year. They increased prices around 15 percent ahead of the Christmas period and may have seen some cut back in volume in the quarter as a result. They should be able to recover volumes going forward and even expand on it as the shock effect of the price increase wears off and more retail outlets are added.
Importantly, electricity cost will fall from two standpoints one is the lower electricity cost around 20 percent from the peak last year and lower cost due to the faster freezing of ice cream thus using less energy. The cost of milk or milk powder is down quite sharply as well. With all of the above earnings of 2015/16 could land at 60 cents.
AMG profit up 35%
AMG Packaging, managed a 35 percent growth in profits of $31.7 million for the six months to February this year, the company’s latest financial report shows, thanks to a 194 percent jump in second quarter profit that reached $16 million up from only $5.5 million in 2014.
IC Insider’s forecast, is for profit of $85 million or 85 cents per share for this year and $1.50 for 2016. While profit surged, revenues rose a modest 8 percent in the February quarter and only 4 percent for the six months with sales volume having declined by 9 percent for the half year. The volume decline comes against the background of a 24 percent increase in units sold for the period to February 2014, resulting in a 42 percent jump in revenues. Helping to boost profit, was an improvement in the gross profit margin for the latest quarter to 24 percent versus only 16 percent in 2014 and 23 percent for the six months, compared to 19 percent in 2014.
Gross profit for the quarter amounting to $35.5 million, increased by a very strong 63 percent from 2014 and 27 percent for the six months, to near $70 million. Flat inventory cost and a reduction in other direct cost laid the foundation for the improvement in direct input cost and a swelling of the profit margins. Administrative cost rose 30 percent for the quarter and 29 percent for the year to date period well ahead of revenue growth, thus negating some of the top line improvement.
Cost got hit, with the Jamaican dollar losing value, resulting in 28 percent more Jamaican dollars having to be found to purchase one US dollar, since September 2012. The price of paper on the world market, increased by 22 percent, from US$720 per tonne at September 2012, to US$830 in August 2013 and to US$875, which it has been since June last year.
Receivables are down by $13 million from the amount of $81 million at the end of August last year and so too is amounts in payables by $10 million from $71 million. Cash funds fell slightly to $19 million from $22 million while inventory is up from to $118 million at August to $120 million, which is nearly 4 months supplies based on sales in the quarter and is up from just two and a half months back in 2013 and seems to be a hedge against devaluation of the Jamaican dollar. Borrowings fell from $97 million at February 2014 to $58 million with $14 million to be repaid during the next twelve months, the decline will help reduce cost with lower interest payments going forward.
Will NCB pick up RBC Cayman?
Hot on the heels of an agreement to sell RBC Royal Bank (Suriname) N.V. (“RBC Suriname”), to Republic Bank in Trinidad, word reaching IC Insider is that Royal Bank’s operations in the Cayman Island is being sold.
The bank’s website shows three branches in that territory. IC Insider’s source informs us that Michael Lee Chin, Chairman of National Commercial Bank has been seen on the island frequently in recent times, but a comment from National Commercial Bank’s Cayman representative was numb when asked if his bank is buying the RBC operations, but there was no denial suggesting, strongly that NCB is a potential candidate.
RBC Canada stated when they announced the sale of the Suriname bank that “As we continue to focus our Caribbean operations on markets in which we can be a leading competitor for the long-term, we have made the decision to sell RBC Suriname to Republic Bank Limited,” said Kirk Dudtschak, executive vice-president and head, RBC Caribbean Banking. “This transaction supports the successful repositioning of our Caribbean business for the future and allows us to focus on markets where we can strengthen our operational capabilities and where we see opportunities for growth.”
Last year RBC sold the Jamaican operations to Sagicor Group after the entity lost billion of dollars and showed no sign of a turn around.
IS a PE of 13 right for Proven?
Proven Investments is accomplishing an unusual feat in the local stock market that not many person were attracted to last year when stocks were selling dirt-cheap.
With the average PE of the market, around 5 times 2015 earnings, and with many blue chip stocks selling at no more than 7 times earnings, it is remarkable that Proven is getting strong demand for their rights issue with the company’s PE around 13 times 2015 earnings. Not surprisingly the directors have agreed to the issue being increased over the initial level of 122,896,618 shares with option for an equivalent amount now sanctioned, in keeping with the term of the prospectus. If both amounts are fully taken up it would increase the ordinary shares from 368,689,855 units to 614.6 million units and would raise nearly US$40 million in fresh capital for the investment bankers.
Proven in a release to the stock exchange advised that the Lead Brokers to the Offer have received applications in excess of the allotted US$19.66 million for the Renounceable Rights Issue of 1 new ordinary share for every block of 3 ordinary shares held in Proven Investments, as offered in the Prospectus dated March 12, 2015. The Board of Directors of Proven have therefore approved the upsizing of the shares made available for subscription, via the Conditional Offer described in the said Prospectus, and the extension of the closing date to April 17, 2015 to allow shareholders the ability to apply for additional shares over their original allotment, as contemplated by the Conditional Offer.
Proven reported profit from continuous operations of US$3.16 million for the nine months to December last year or just under 9 cents per share, in 2013 for the same period profit of US$2.79 million was reported.
There may be a number of factors encouraging investors to go after the stock in such numbers, one is the diversification the issue offers especially for large investors with large amounts of existing listings. With interest rates well under 10 percent a PE of 13 would not be regarded as expensive looked on by itself. Then again investors snapped up Sagicor Real Estate Fund at high prices two years ago in a market that was nowhere as bullish as the current market.
It will be interesting how this one trades in the months ahead and more so against some of the other top performing companies.
JN General doubles 2014 profit
JN General Insurance more than doubled profit for the year to December 2014 with after tax profit hitting $566 million, a 95 percent increase over the $291 million reported for 2013.
The impressive increase came from a mere 8.6 percent increase in premium income amounting to $3.59 billion which helped in leading to an underwriting profit of $160 million compared to a loss of $149 million in 2013. Investment income contributed $471 million to the bottom-line and foreign exchange gains $83 million. The company donated $10.4 million to the JNBS Foundation during the year up from $9.7 million in 2013.
The company which is a subsidiary of Jamaica National Building Society boast assets of $8.5 billion and equity of $3.97 billion at the end of 2014.
Republic US$140m acquisitions
Trinidad’s Republic Bank is in a quiet acquisition mood, having made an offer to takeover of 60 percent of HFC Bank of Ghana it does not own, that is likely to cost up to US$102 million. At the start of April Republic announced, along with Royal Bank of Canada, an agreement to acquire RBC Royal Bank (Suriname) N.V. (“RBC Suriname”), subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
“As we continue to focus our Caribbean operations on markets in which we can be a leading competitor for the long-term, we have made the decision to sell RBC Suriname to Republic Bank Limited,” said Kirk Dudtschak, executive vice-president and head, RBC Caribbean Banking. “This transaction supports the successful repositioning of our Caribbean business for the future and allows us to focus on markets where we can strengthen our operational capabilities and where we see opportunities for growth.”
Republic Bank in a release to the Trinidad Stock exchange disclosed a purchase price of US$39.8 million. RBC Canada reported that, the purchase price approximately reflects the book value of RBC Suriname and expects the transaction to result in a loss of C$23 million largely related to an estimated write-down for the proportionate share of RBC Suriname goodwill and other intangibles. In 2014, RBC Canada sold off its Jamaican operations to Sagicor Group.
Republic’s David Dulal-Whiteway, Managing Director said the acquisition fits in perfectly with his bank’s regional expansion strategy, and once completed, will expand the group to 8 territories in the Caribbean. According to Dulal-Whiteway, RBC Suriname operates a six branch network, with assets of approximately US$525 million and 199 employees.
Republic has assets of US$9.4 billion and made an offer to acquire all of the shares held by minorities in HFC Bank in Ghana under a mandatory takeover rule of the Ghana Security Exchange. Republic already holds 40 percent of the bank.