Company News — Page 152

Will Tessanne boost RJR fortunes?

November 19, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Important RJR update | RJR earnings per share for the six months improved to 4 cents compared with a loss of 6 cents in 2012. IC Insider has revised its forecast of earnings and is now forecasting 20 cents per share for the full year ending March 2013 and around 30 cents for 2014, which suggest that the price of the stock has room for growth from the current level of $1.34. It is quite possible that the group could be a big beneficiary of the popularity of Tessanne Chin’s success on the NBC The Voice with RE TV’s broadcast of the program, especially if Chin goes much further in the competition.

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RJR recently released results for the six months to September, but they have the exclusive rights to the telecast of the NBC The Voice program that features Tessanne Chin and is being telecast locally on RETV. Could she give the stalled bottom line a real kick in the butt? The next quarterly figures will shed some light on that.

The economic environment has not been kind for many in the communication sector. We have Cable & Wireless losing market share from high legacy cost, complacency and poor customer service plunging the operations in to huge losses stretching back for a number of years, then there is the staid and age-old Gleaner Company whose main business has not seen a profit for some time as both the state of the local and global economies has conspired against it, pushing up cost without a commensurate level of income.

Then there is RJR who raised capital to invest in a newspaper only to write-off all of it, plus their own old-fashioned management practises in some areas that has seen the once prominent and dominant AM radio loose its dominant market share. They are now fighting amongst the rest try to recoup market share from the new leader, Irie Radio.

Interestingly, all three of these companies were once very dominant in their respective markets but not so any longer. What went wrong and where will they be heading?

The un-audited results showed that RJR recording a profit in the 2nd quarter ended September, 2013 of $13 million and marginally more for the six month a profit of $14.6 million, which is a major turnaround from a loss of $23 million in the 2012 six month period and a small profit of $2.3 million in the 2012 September quarter.

Revenues | Operating revenues were down $21 million for the September quarter to $458 million but was flat for the six months at $899 million. Other Income showed a 63 percent increase for the six months to $52 million and 19 percent increase for the quarter to reach $17.5 million, resulting management said, “from new transmitter site rental income.”

The 2nd quarter performance was driven by a $29 million or 5.9 percent reduction in expenses for the comparative period in 2012 moving from $489 million down to $460 million.

Direct expenses fell $14 million to $212 million for the quarter and but was up $30 million for the six months; selling expenses were marginally down $2.6 million for the quarter and $9 million for the six months while administration expenses fell by $18 million to $84 million and by $21 million for the six month period to reach $183 million. Finance costs rose from $3 million in the six months to $11 million.

Earnings per share | RJR earnings per share for the six months improved to 4 cents compared to a loss of 6 cents in 2012, IC Insider is forecasting 13 cents for the full year ending March 2013 and around 20 cents for 2014, which suggests that the current price of the stock is fully valued at $1.30. It is quite possible that the Group could be a big beneficiary of the popularity of Tessanne Chin’s success on the NBC The Voice and could be a big boost for RETV. Management has also mentioned a new project that should be on stream before the end of the fiscal year but no details have been given.

At the end of September, there was $84 million invested in FIFA rights to broadcast and televise World Cup matches in Jamaica; $446 million of receivables or nearly one quarter’s revenues; cash funds of $230 million and payables of $223 million. Shareholders’ equity stood at $1.2 billion and long term loans increased by $226 million.

Photo courtesy www.nbc.com/the-voice/

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

Profit blast at LASCO Distributors

November 18, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Lasco Distributors (LasD) posted profit of $139 million for the quarter to September this year compared to $54 million or an increase of 159 percent over the same period in 2012.

In the six months to September, profit of $303 million was up a strong 60 percent over September 2012, when $189 million was reported. The results flowed from revenues of $4.63 billion, an increase of 13 percent over the $4.1 billion generated in 2012. The quarterly revenue grew by 10 percent to $2.3 billion. The growth is likely to pick up as Lasco Manufacturing, its sister company, starts the role out of new products in November, which will be distributed by LasD.

Gross profit was $457 million compared to $362 million and gross profit margin was 24.5 percent, an improvement over the 20.7 percent in the similar quarter last year. For the six month’s period, gross profit margin was 24.8 percent compared to 23 percent in 2012. “There was an overall improvement in the company’s performance and recovery from the one off adjustment to cost of sales which occurred in the comparative period of 2012.” Management stated in their recent report to shareholders.

“The revenue and profit performance was due to increased volumes, aggressive marketing and trade activities and improvements in efficiencies” management further stated.

Operating cost rose just 5.2 percent for the half year, even less for the quarter at 3.4 percent, and was one reason for the jump in profit.

Outlook | IC Insider is forecasting earnings of 22 cents per share for the current year ending in March and 35 cents for the following year to March 2015. This puts the current PE around 7 times and just over 4 times for 2015. The forecast takes into consideration increased revenues as a result of new products to flow from the manufacturing company. Around 60 percent of the listed companies are valued lower than Lasco Distributors and only 4 junior market companies are valued higher, with 3 of them valued between 8 and 9.5 times this year’s earnings. As such the stock is one for accumulation than for rapid acquisition at this stage.

Asset size | Total assets grew by 29 percent to $3.29 billion in September compared to $2.55 billion in September 2012. The contributory factors were cash funds and investments which increased from $435 million in September 2012 to $1,029 million, Trade and Other Receivables increased from $1.23 billion in the prior year to $1.4 billion in September.

Trade and other payables increased from the prior year by $161 million to $1.49 billion this September. Shareholders’ equity amounted to $2.29 billion and borrowed funds amounted to only $15 million.

Lasco Distributors (LasD) is an IC Insider Buy Rated Stock.

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

PE Ratios: Trinidad still has good buys

November 15, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Friday, 15th November 2013 | The prices of a number of Trinidad stocks have been inching up ever since the First Citizens issue was listed on the exchange in September. However, even as the prices of several stocks have moved up, there are still a number of securities that are highly undervalued.

A look at the chart or graph below shows where the best opportunities lie. However, we must point out that Republic Bank selling at a PE of 16 is a very compelling buy, versus First Citizens’ 24 or Scotia Bank’s 23.

Trinidad Cement, in spite of climbing well over 100 percent since it hit bottom earlier this year and the reporting of below par third quarter numbers, is another compelling buy that we highly recommend to investors.

Image courtesy of Tungphoto/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Filed Under: Company News, Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: PE Ratios, Republic Bank, TCL, TTSE

Buy rated: Trini stocks top Jamaican

November 15, 2013 by IC Insider.com

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Friday, 15th November 2013 | The IC Insider’s selection of Buy Rated stocks is unchanged at the end of the week as Jamaican listed stocks continue to under perform on the local market while in Trinidad, a number of the stocks continue to appreciate in value.

The latest mover is Republic Bank, which moved up to $115.01 at the end of the week; Neal & Massy moved up to $58 continuing its slow recovery from a fall a few weeks ago. The price is still 97 cents away from the point of selection.

In Jamaica, Scotia Group slipped back further on Friday and so did Sagicor Life, even as the news in Jamaica have been more positive than negative in recent months, although not wildly so. The junior market stocks have been holding their position even as a few recorded sharp declines since getting the Buy Rated accolade.

Related posts | Carib Cement & AMG now Buy Rated | Buy Rated bargains

The IC Insider’s Buy Rated seal of approval is given to a stock that we believe is a compelling buy with earnings that are strong relative to the price and strong prospects of generating high price gains within the next twelve months.

Our research is backed by published reports of the company’s performance and insights of future earnings that can be found at ICInsider.com. The final decision to buy, or not, is your personal choice.

To find published reports for a Buy Rated stock on IC Insider, please choose the category ‘Buy Rated’ under Company News or enter the company name, in full or part at ‘Search IC Insider’.

Image courtesy of renjith krishnan/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Filed Under: Company News, JSE Main Market, Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: TTSE

NCB cuts dividend 75%

November 15, 2013 by IC Insider.com

National Commercial Bank (NCB) reported bad news for investors on two fronts on Thursday when it released its full year results to September.

Not only was profit down, which was expected as a result of the write down of investment emanating from the NDX debt swap earlier in the year, but the final quarter results fell well below what was expected, from 92 cents in the June quarter and $1.10 in September 2012, to just 71 cents in the last quarter. The banking group chopped the final dividend payment for the year as well from 64 cents last year to just 16 cents. The latest announced dividend will be paid on December 12. The company’s pay-out ratio is just 18 percent, well below last year’s pay-out ratio of 34 percent and the company’s stated policy.

This year, NCB’s total payment will be 63 cents per share versus $1.40 last year unless they declare another one before year end, which they have done in the past.

In November last year, a dividend of 64 cents was paid compared to 34 cents paid at the same time in 2011. The dividend pay-out ratio for the 2012 financial year to September amounted to 27% and for the 2011 financial year 25.7%, compared to 42.2% for September 2010.

In August, NCB paid a dividend of just 8 cents, on May 24, a dividend of 16 cents per share was paid and 23 cents in March. The August payment represents a decrease from 17 cents paid in 2012 while the May 2013 payment represents a decrease from 21 cents paid in May last year. The March payment compares to 38 cents paid in January 2012.

The cut and carving of dividend payments from one period to the next is in keeping with an unpredictable policy the company has been executing even after repeating a previously announced policy fairly recently. The execution is in stark contrast with a very consistent and predictable policy of Scotia Group and many other companies on the stock exchange.

Related posts | NCB cuts dividend in half | NCB recovers from NDX hit

Filed Under: Company News, Dividends Tagged With: Dividends, JSE Company, NCB

KLE continued losses push Matalon

November 15, 2013 by IC Insider.com

The loss making KLE Group Limited advised that Joseph M. Matalon has resigned as Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company with effect on December 15, 2013 and Audrey Marks will assume Chairmanship of the Board of Directors effective the same day.

Joseph M. Matalon has also resigned as Chairman of the Audit Committee with effect from December 15, 2013. Matalon’s resignation from the Audit Committee was in no way related to any disagreement in respect of accounting principles, financial statement disclosure or any other material issue impacting the Audit Committee or its function, the company stated.

The resignation comes against the back drop of the company reporting another quarter of losses, which is worse than the same quarter last year despite the rise in revenues from $82 million in the 2012 quarter to $102 million in 2013. For the September quarter, losses climbed to $12.4 million up from a loss of $1 million in 2012 and for the nine months period the loss is $48 million versus $10.5 million in 2012. For the nine months, revenues climbed from $215 million to $249 million. Compounding the matter is that interest cost climbed to $9.75 million in the latest quarter from $6.58 million last year and $23 million year to date versus nearly $20 million last year.

Matalon, being a board member of Scotia Group, would have most likely paid a major role in the decision to exit the loss making company that in all probability will be struggling to turn things around.

Filed Under: Company News, General Business News Tagged With: JSE Company

Jamaican Teas raises over $100m

November 14, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Jamaican Teas went to the bond market in October to raise $200 million in an 8.5 percent bond issue. The offer, which closed on November 7, received over 80 applicants for just over J$100 million. The company plans to be employ the proceeds for capital projects. The note is a four year instrument fixed at 8.5 percent per annum for the first two years and variable thereafter.

“I want to congratulate the Stocks & Securities team on another successful offer. This one is significant because we were able to raise the funds needed by the client at a rate of 0.10% below the last GOJ Treasury auction. Jamaican Teas Limited is a strong company and we are happy for the opportunity to work with the organization and bring value to all who participated,” said Lamar Harris, Manager Investment Banking & Attorney-at-law.

Image courtesy of Praiseaeng/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

“I am happy that we were successful in raising over $100 Million in our corporate bond offer. This was achieved in an environment of extreme economic uncertainty when most investors tend to prefer investing for the short term. I feel that an important reason for our success was the decision to list the security on the Junior Stock Exchange so the investors had the confidence of being able to trade the securities if they needed to. I congratulate SSL for their hard work in making this a success.” John Mahfood, CEO.

Jamaican Teas Ltd distributes the renowned Tetley black tea as well as a Premium Blend of black tea, together with Earl Grey black tea, Green Tea, and Peppermint and Chamomile herbal teas. They are also proprietors of the Caribbean Dreams line of products which consists of herbal teas sourced by the company from Jamaica and other sources, as well as drinking cocoa, powdered natural coconut milk and a range of spring water.

Image courtesy of Praiseaeng/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Filed Under: Company News, General Business News, JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Corporate Bonds, Jamaican Teas, JSE Company

Lasco Financial profit rise

November 13, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Profit at Lasco Financial climbed faster in the September quarter than in the June quarter reaching $50 million, well ahead of the $31 million earned in 2012 by 64 percent and the $39 million earned in the first quarter of this fiscal year. For the year to date, profit is up to $90 million from $57 million in 2012 by 57 percent. The strong improvement in the bottom line flows from revenues that increased by 46 percent to $303 million for the six months to September over 2012, and 43 percent in the September quarter to $159 million.

The company keeps on totting up the quarterly profits as volume of business keeps on growing with some help from the slippage in value of the Jamaican dollar. Robust growth in profit was recorded in the last fiscal year to March of $164 million compared to $102 million, a 60 percent increase. The strong gain in profit achieved in 2012, up by 244 percent, was helped partially by a revaluation surplus on investment property that was booked in 2011.

Growth in 2013 is helped by the acquisition of cambio and money transfer business from Supreme Ventures. As the company grows in size, the growth rate has slowed but the results to date indicate are that the level seen last fiscal year should continue for the current fiscal year.

Expenses up | Expenses have grown steeply with selling and marketing ahead of revenues with a 55 percent increase for the quarter and 57 percent for the six months. Administrative costs are up, well below revenue growth with the September quarter up 19 percent and year to date 26 percent.

The company is now in the major period for earnings when remittances rise ahead of the Christmas season, which is expected to push profit well above what has been earned in any of the two quarters so far.

“The increase in income is a result of the growth in the remittance business due to additions of key partners and ongoing promotions,” management stated in their release to shareholders.

IC Insiders forecast is for earnings to be around $250 million or 20 cents per share for the full year.

Marketing | Management indicated when they released the June quarter figures “that Lasco Financial has commenced significant investments in marketing activities, which are expected to capture even more substantial market share for our remittance division; the outcome of which will also yield growth opportunities in the Currency Trading division. This is noticeable in our selling and promotion expenses which saw a 58 percent increase, up from $36.3 Million in the previous period to $57.6M. Administrative and other expenses rose in the quarter to $47.6 million up 33.7 percent over the same period of 2012.”

The company’s subsidiary Lasco Financial Services (Barbados) Limited and its agent Unicomer Barbados Limited (Courts) began trading in May 2013. Lasco indicates that this business is now at a breakeven level.

Growth | Total assets amounted to just $47 million in 2010 but has enjoyed rapid growth and is at $661 million at the end of September this year, still a small financial company in the local market with room to grow. Loans advanced was nil at the end of 2011 and is now close to $100 million at the end of March this year and is expected to grow at about 30 percent for the year. Loans and receivables rose to $335 million at the end of June up from $237 million at the end of June last year, is down to $261 million at September. Cash also increased and is now at $282 million compared to $136 million at the same period in 2012. Equity stood at $564 million and is expected to increase as profits roll in.

Lasco Financial is an IC Insider Buy Rated stock.

Related posts | LASCO Financial small but tallawah | Buy Rated bargains

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

Big profit jump at Purity

November 12, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Profit more than tripled before taxes at Consolidated Bakeries (Purity) and was up more than 400 percent after factoring taxation in the 2012 period to September, as profit after tax rose to $30.4 million up from $5.7 million, a 429 percent increase. For the September quarter, profit rose to $6 million compared to the 2012 quarter when the company reported a loss of $2.8 million.

The improved numbers did not show up in the quarter over quarter results as profit was lower than the $10 million earned in the June quarter. Some of the improvement is a recovery from a bad period in 2012. The second half of 2012, the year Consolidated went public, was not a good one as the company recorded a loss in the period compared to a profit in the 2011 period.

Revenue for the nine month period increased by 37.6 percent to reach $500 million compared to revenue of $363 million for the same period in 2012. For the quarter, revenue is up by 53.2 percent over the same period in 2012 to reach $172 million up from $112 million. “These increases represent growth in both unit sales and average sales per customer. During the quarter under review, input cost increased due to exchange rate movements and other factors,” management stated in their report to shareholders. Gross profit margin came in at 49 percent for the quarter down from 53 percent in 2012 and is 54 percent year to date, an improvement over the 52 percent enjoyed in 2012.

It looks as if the company will enjoy profits in the order of $35-40 million for the year or earnings per share around 20 cents. The company is focusing on improved efficiency, increased sales from existing products and new ones for both the local and export markets.

Cash funds and investments are up to $99 million from $24 million last year September and $98 million at the end of December. Current assets are up to $205 million from $184 million at the end of 2012 helped by increased receivables and inventories which grew $40 million year over year. At the same time, current liabilities are down as a result of the clearing of overdraft balance of $13 million and taxation of $9 million leaving $61 million as owing to third parties. Borrowing is up from $19 million to $49 million at the end of September this year versus last year September.

Filed Under: Company News, Company Results Tagged With: Consolidated Bakeries, JSE Company, Purity

Buy Rated bargains

November 11, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Monday, 11th November 2013 | The stock market in Trinidad continues to maintain most of the gains registered for our Buy Rated selection with only 3 negative movements so far and 8 registering some gains ranging from 3 percent to 120 percent with one that has not mowed.

Our Jamaica Stock Market selections have not fared as well with most registering declines to date but they still remain attractive buys. In fact, a number have become even better buys now than when we selected them. Remember that the greater the fall in price, the better the chance of success if investors buy in at the low prices.

Related posts | Carib Cement & AMP now Buy Rated