Company News — Page 4

Profit drops at Image Plus

November 16, 2023 by IC Insider.com

Image Plus reported sharply lower second quarter results with a 40 percent drop in earnings from $64 million before tax in 2022 to just $39 million for the second quarter as revenues declined by 7 percent to $254 million from $274 million in 2022 but remained flat for the half year at $554 million and resulting in pretax profit falling 33 percent from $153 million to $103 million.
The company indicated that revenues fell due to machine breakdown, although other areas saw growth in the modalities of X-ray and fluoroscopy cases.
Administrative expenses grew 21 percent from $94 million in the August 2022 quarter to $114 million and were up almost 26 percent for the half year to $232 million from $184 million in 2022. Depreciation and Amortisation charges rose from $10 million in the 2022 August quarter to $155 million in 2023 and for the six months to August, it jumped from $19 million to $30 million.
Interest income rose from $206,000 in the second quarter to $7.8 million and from $1.3 million to $12.6 million in the half year while interest cost declined from $6.5 million to $3 million in the quarter and from $9 million to $4.7 million for the half year.
Operations delivered Cash Flows of $120 million after interest income and expenses, but a surge in Receivables reduced the amount to a net outflow of $224 million. The company also purchased fixed assets amounting to $120 million, paid $74 million in dividends and utilized investment funds to help cover the cash flow shortfall, resulting in funds on hands falling to $110 million at the end of the half year.
Earnings per share ended at 3 cents for the second quarter and 8 cents for the year to date. ICInsider.com projects earnings for the year to 21 cents per share.

Dr. Karlene McDonnough – Chairman of Image Consultants Ltd.

Current assets stood at $763 million and include trade receivables of $631 million up from $248 million in August 2022. Cash at bank balances amount to $110 million. “The majority of the trade receivables balance is from one large payer who continues to settle consistently and from whom we have both written commitments and detailed payment timelines to consistently reduce their outstanding amount. This amount has since been reduced in Q3 to date and is believed to be fully collectible based on the historical experience with the payer,” the directors’ report stated.
Current liabilities amounted to $117 million from the August quarter and $124 a year ago.
Shareholders equity ended the period at $966 million up from $362 million a year ago before going public. Borrowings used in the operations totalled $192 million, up from $130 million in August 2022.

Filed Under: Company News, Company Results Tagged With: Emerging Stock, Image Plus Consultants, Jamaica Stock Exchange, Jamaican stocks, junior market

Profit climbs 22% at Stationery & Office Supplies

November 12, 2023 by IC Insider.com

Profit climbed in 2023 at Stationery and Office Supplies an under the radar company until listing on the Jamaica Stock Exchange transformed it into one of the leading companies peddling office supplies in Jamaica. For the quarter ending September this year, profit after tax climbed 22 percent to $96 million from $79 million last year and for the nine months $294 million up 14 percent from $252.5 million.

Stationery & Office Supplies hit a record high on Friday.

Stationary & Office Supplies – Montego Bay office.

The year-to-date figures include a gain on the sale of assets amounting to $7.1 million and $30 million in 2022 as such this year’s ongoing profit performance is greater than the net figures suggest.
Year to date, the operating profit before finance charges and gains or loss on the sale of fixed assets is up a solid 38 percent for the nine months and 12 percent for the quarter.
For the September quarter, revenues inched up from $473 million to $488 million. A fair bit of the slowdown is due to price discounts granted based on originally listed prices following falling input costs. For the year to date, revenues climbed 16 percent to $1.53 billion from $1.32 billion in 2022.
Administrative and general expenses rose 23.5 percent to $138 million from $112 million in the September quarter of 2022 and for the year to date, it climbed 20 percent to $378 million from $314 million. Selling and promotional costs fell to $29 million for the September 2023 quarter from $35.8 million last year, with the year to date figures being almost flat at $97 million in 2023 versus $96 million in 2022. Depreciation charges were slightly down from $8.7 million in the September quarter of last year to $8.4 million this year and year to date the numbers are flat at $26.4 million.
Earnings per share for the third Quarter was 4 cents compared to 3 cents in 2022 and for the nine months end September this year, 13 cents per share, up from 11.33 cents.
ICInsider.com projects 19 cents per share for the year, from revenues of just over $2 billion and 30 cents for 2024. The stock last traded at $1.72, with a PE of 8.9 times current year’s earnings, well below the market average of 12.
Operations produced cash inflows of $356 million, up from $259 million in 2022 and at the end of the period with a surplus of $189 million that brought the total to $320.8 million up from just $99 million at the end of September. The 2023 growth in Cash inflows is after spending $72 million on acquiring property, plant and equipment, $50 million in dividend payments and $40 million used in repaying loans. Some of the amount on hand is earmarked to fund the acquisition of properties to be used for storage to allow for continued expansion of the business.
Current assets closed the period at $1 billion, with Receivables rising from $194 million to $317 million and inventories at $349 million compared with $356 million in 2022. Current liabilities rose to $305 million from $148 million in 2022.
Shareholders’ equity stands at $1.35 billion which is up from $884 million from a year ago and borrowed funds used in its operations is only $65 million.
Going forward, the Seek manufacturing division is to get new machines to help meet growing demand as the current facility is said to be at its peak. The distribution of 3M stationery products has been added to the company’s line in the latter months of 2023 and will boost revenues in 2024, with a full year of sales.

Filed Under: Buy Rated, Company News, Company Results Tagged With: Emerging markets, Emerging Stock, Jamaica Stock Exchange, junior market, Seek, SOS, Stationary and Office Supplies

Profit rises at Jamaican Teas

November 10, 2023 by IC Insider.com

Net profit attributable to Jamaican Teas for the September quarter more than doubled to $45 million from $21 million in the 2022 quarter. The net profit attributable to Jamaican Teas shareholders for the year was $237 million, an improved performance from the $194 million in the previous year, the group quarterly report released to the Jamaica Stock Exchange reveals.

Reduced administrative costs aided the improved performance.
Total operating revenues for the September quarter declined marginally from $655 million a year ago to $652 million and $2.7 billion for the year, up from $2.47 billion in 2022.
Earnings per share attributable to shareholders was 11 cents, up from 9 cents in 2022.
The group changed distributors in two important markets and appointed Wisynco as its exclusive local distributor effective November this year, as well as an Ansa McAl subsidiary as our exclusive distributor in Trinidad and Tobago, “these changes are expected to result in improved sales in the coming year, the report stated.”
Stockholders’ Equity rose to $2.96 billion from $2.66 billion in September 2022, with loan financing amounting to $735 million. Net current assets amount to $1.09 billion and investments of $2 billion.
The quarterly states, “the group has also taken decisions to increase our investment in additional machinery to better serve our customers and this is expected to enhance our capacity to meet current demand for some of our products.”
“The group has outgrown its capacity at Bell Road, resulting in us having to rent space at Montgomery Avenue in 2022. Accordingly, the company decided to acquire an existing factory in Temple Hall, St. Andrew and this purchase was concluded in October 2023. The property comprises some 60,000 square feet of factory buildings on about 3 acres of land. Relocation of our spice and dry pack facilities to the Temple Hall facility will commence by the end of Calendar 2023 and the tea factory will follow in 2024.“
“ As a result of the acquisition, the board is considering the sale of the Bell Road property. Combined with sale of the apartments at Belvedere, the possible sale of some of our investment properties and the changes of two of our manufacturing distributors, the Group expects increased sales revenue and improved liquidity in the new financial year commencing in 2024.”

Filed Under: Company News, Company Results Tagged With: Emerging markets, Jamaica Stock Exchange, Jamaican stocks, Jamaican Teas, junior market

Profit rises 14% at GraceKennedy

November 9, 2023 by IC Insider.com

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Revenues at GraceKennedy rose 9.7 percent to $117.8 billion, over $10.4 billion earned for the nine months to September over the same period in 2022. Profit before tax reached $8.8 billion, up by J$1.1 billion, or a 14 percent increase, while net profit after tax rose 14.2 percent to $6.4 billion.
Profit attributable to stockholders hit $6 billion, a 15.3 percent increase over the corresponding period last year. Earnings per stock unit for the period were $6.02, compared to $5.23 in 2022.
Earnings per share for the full year ending in December should hit the $8 market, with PE ratio of 9 based on Thursday last traded price of $71.50.
The company stated that “GK’s food business demonstrated strong performance, with notable growth in revenue and profitability for the period. GraceKennedy Financial Group also delivered a positive performance, driven by strong top-line growth”.
A dividend of $0.65 per stock unit has been announced and will be payable on December 15, 2023, totalling approximately $643 million. This is the fourth and final dividend payment by GK for 2023, bringing GK’s year-to-date total dividend pay-out to approximately J$2.15 billion.

Filed Under: Breaking News, Company News, Company Results, Dividends Tagged With: Emerging markets, Grace Kennedy, Jamaica Stock Exchange, Jamaican stocks, Profits

Profit jumps 31% at Lasco Manufacturing

November 9, 2023 by IC Insider.com

Profit climbed 31 percent after taxation of $258 million to $615 million in the September quarter this year at Lasco Manufacturing, from $469 million after provision for taxation amounting to $210 million in 2022. For the half year, after taxation of $453 million, profit jumped 29 percent to $1.14 billion from $883 million in 2022 after taxation of $361 million.
Sales revenues rose 11 percent for the quarter, to $3.19 billion from $2.9 billion in 2022 and grew 10 percent for the year to date, to $6 billion from $5.5 billion in 2022.
After a brief one year dip in profit in the 2020 fiscal year, profit has been on a roll since and seems destined for a new record in the current fiscal year ending next March.
Management delivered an improvement in profit margin in the second quarter to 38 percent from 37 percent last year resulting in gross profit rising faster than sales with an increase of 13 percent, with a gross profit of $1.22 billion versus $1.08 billion in 2022. Gross profit for the half year soared 38 percent from 36 percent last year, resulting in an increase of 16 percent to $2.3 billion compared with $1.98 billion in 2022.
Operating expenses rose by just 4 percent in the quarter and half year to $394 million in the second quarter from $378 million in 2022 second quarter and in the half year to $755 million from $725 million in 2022. Finance cost declined in the quarter, to $23 million from $36 million in 2022 and from $15 million to $5 million for the six months period.

Lasco’s ICool drinks.

The operations generated Gross cash flow of $588 million and it was increased to $778 million after a reduction in funds previously tied up in working capital, additions to fixed assets of $309 million. After pumping $589 million into short term investments and $496 million in dividends the net cash position ended at $1.6 billion.
Current assets ended at $9.2 billion inclusive of trade and other receivables of $3.3 billion, cash and bank balances of $3.8 billion, while inventories were steady at $2 billion. Current liabilities ended at $1.86 billion. Net current assets was a solid $7.3 billion.

At the end of September, shareholders’ equity closed at $11.75 billion up from $9.9 billion at the end of September last year. There was no long-term borrowing, while short term loan was just $89 million.
Earnings per share for the quarter was 15 cents and 28 cents for the year to date. IC Insider.com computation projects earnings of 70 cents per share for the fiscal year ending March 2024 and 90 cents in 2025, with a PE of 6.7 times the current year’s earnings based on the price of $4.60 the stock traded at on the Jamaica Stock Exchange

Lasco’s products

Junior Market and the value is well down on the average for the market at 11.6, a clear indication of the potential gains ahead in the price. Net asset value ended the period at $2.85 with the stock selling at 1.6 times book value.
The company is in a healthy financial position to do a major acquisition, with no major loan commitment currently and a tidy wad of liquid funds, with more to come as profit increases in the rest of the fiscal year.
Buy and hold for a few years until growth in sales and profit slows considerably to single digits, investors should see a doubling in the stock price by next year June.
ICInsider.com gives the stocks Buy Rated seal of approval.

Filed Under: Buy Rated, Company News, Company Results Tagged With: Emerging markets, Emerging Stock, IC Insider BUY RATED, junior market, Lasco Manufacturing

Paramount Trading profit drops 32%

November 9, 2023 by IC Insider.com

Paramount Trading reported lower profits and revenues in the first quarter ending August following what the company states is the conclusion of a major six month contract for admixture supplied to the construction sector. Revenues declined by 28 percent to $426 million from $595 million the previous year. Profits fell by 32 percent to $65 million from $97 million the last year.

Paramount

ICInsider.com forecast earnings of 27 cents per share for the current fiscal year ending May 2024. The stock traded on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market at $1.48 on Wednesday is valued at a PE of 6 times earnings based on the projected earnings and trades at just under two times the book value of 77 cents.

Gross profit declined by $23 million in the current year, down 10 percent from $203 million generated in the previous year, resulting in a gross profit margin of 42 percent, up from 34 percent in 2022. The company also generated other operating revenues of $19 million, down from $29 million in the last year. Administrative costs declined 7 percent from $123 million to $115 million this year. Selling and distribution costs increased from $2.6 million to $4.6 million this year. Finance costs climbed from $11 million in 2022 to $14 million in the current year despite a reduction in the total amount of funds borrowed.
Earnings per share came in at just under four cents for the quarter compared to just over 5 cents in the previous year’s quarter.

Container of Allegheny lubricant produced at the local plant

The company generated a positive cash flow of $77 million, which was reduced by an increase in working capital, amounting to $36 million and ended the year with cash funds of $144 million after paying $13 million toward a reduction in borrowed funds. At the end of August 2022, cash funds were $226 million and $121 million at the end of May this year.
Shareholders’ equity ended the period at $1.19 billion, up from $993 million at the end of August 2022 and long term borrowings were $115 million. Short term loans due to be paid within twelve months amounted to $338 million.
Current assets ended at $1.59 billion, and current liabilities were $902 million, resulting in net current assets of $683 million.

Filed Under: Company News, Company Results Tagged With: Emerging markets, Emerging Stock, Jamaica Stock Exchange, junior market, Paramount Trading

Profit to jump 40% in 2024 at Wisynco

November 9, 2023 by IC Insider.com

Profit after tax for the first quarter ending September this year jumped 20 percent at Wisynco Group to $1.55 billion in the current year from $1.3 billion in 2022. Profit before tax also grew by 20 percent from $1.73 billion in 2022 to $2.1 billion, but profit is projected to jump 39 percent for the current year to $6.8 billion, ICInsider.com projections show.
The profit performance resulted from a 15 percent rise in revenues from $11.95 billion in 2022 to $13.73 billion in the current year. Although revenues climbed 15 percent, gross profit increased by just 11 percent, from $4.3 billion in 2022 to $4.8 billion in the current year, as input cost climbed 17 percent to $8.93 billion from $7.6 billion in 2022.
Selling and distribution expenses rose 14.3 percent from $2.12 billion to $2.43 billion and administrative expenses popped nearly 13 percent from $455 million to $513 million. Finance income brought in $168 million versus $85 million in the previous year, but finance cost fell from $150 million to just $11 million, despite borrowings standing at $8.9 billion at the end of the period.
Earnings per share for the quarter rose to 41 cents from 35 cents last year and is projected to reach $1.84 for the full year and $2.40 in 2025. The stock, up 15 percent for the year to date, trades at a PE of 11.3 at the last traded price of $20.70 on the Main Market at the Jamaica Stock Exchange. The PE is slightly below the market average of 12.2.
A dividend of 23 cents per share, totalling $863 million, was paid in July, up from 22 cents per share, totalling $751 million in July 2022. In addition to the above dividends, 22 cents per share was paid in March 2023 and 20 cents in March 2022. The stock trades at 3.4 times a net book value of $6.05 at the end of September.
Cash flow generated for the 2023 quarter amounted to $2.2 billion and $1.9 billion in 2022. After working capital movements, operations delivered net flows of $2.4 billion, up from just $800 million in 2022

Wata is one of Wisynco’s known brands.

Shareholders’ Equity climbed to $22.7 billion at the end of September, up from $19 billion in September last year. Long term borrowings jumped to $2.8 billion from $790 million at the end of September last year and short term loans ended at $1.3 billion and $920 million in 2022. Some of the amounts borrowed are used explicitly to fund a significant expansion of its facilities currently on the way, so far consuming $1.8 billion in the quarter.
Net Current Assets closed the period at $13.5 billion, up from $11 billion at the end of September 2022 and emanate from Current Assets of $12 billion and $8.9 billion at the end of September last year and includes cash and investments of $10.2 billion and $7.7 billion in 2022. These amounts do not take into consideration $2.2 billion in longer term securities at the end of the quarter.
Current Liabilities ended at $7.4 billion at the end of September this year compared to $6.1 billion last year.
The group acquired the distribution rights for the Jamaican Teas products for sale locally. It will add around 2-3 percent to revenues in an entire year in addition to the expansion of the factory and warehousing currently underway and expected to come on stream by March 2024. The expansion will allow for increased production to meet demand they are unable to fill currently and provide capacity to expand exports.

Filed Under: Buy Rated, Company News, Company Results Tagged With: Dividends, Emerging markets, Jamaica Stock Exchange, Jamaican stocks, Jamaican Teas, Wisynco Group

Q3 profit triples at Transjamaican

November 8, 2023 by IC Insider.com

Profits more than tripled in the September quarter, moving by 208 percent to $6.46 million from $2.1 million in 2022 at Transjamaican Highway, from a 15 percent increase in revenues over the September 2022 quarter to $19.2 million from $16.7 million. For the nine months, profit chipped in with a 327 percent surge to $17.5 million, up from $4.1 million in 2022, from a 17.8 percent rise in revenues to $55.4 million from $47 million in 2022.

Operating expenses fell from $9.9 million in the September 2022 quarter to $5.6 million and from $29 million to $16.6 million for the nine months to September. Administrative expenses rose from just $358,000 to $2 million for the quarter and year to date, it moved from $1 million to $6 million. Finance costs inched down from $3.75 million to $3.63 million and, for the nine months, from $11.2 million to $10.94 million.
Profit before tax amounts to $8.6 million versus $2.8 million in the previous year’s third quarter and year to date, it jumped to $23.2 million from just $5.8 million in 2022.
Taxation accounted for $2.1 million in the September 2023 quarter, up from $714,000 and for the nine months, to $5.77 million versus $1.7 million in the previous year.
Earnings per share reported for the quarter is 0.0005 US cents, up from 0.0002 US cents in 2022 and year to date, 0.0014 US cents versus 0.0003 US cents in the previous year. The full year results should be around 2 US cents per share.
The exceptional results emanate primarily from acquiring the majority shares in Jamaican Infrastructure Operators that lowered operating costs and raised revenues.
Gross cash flow of $35 million was generated, up from $17.9 million nine months to September in the prior year, resulting in $12.9 million in free funds available for use at the end of the fiscal period from $7.3 million at the end of September 2022 after repaying $5.4 million in loans, compared with $4.7 million for the same period in the previous year and after moving $17.7 million to restricted cash, up from $10.6 million in 2022, but before the payment of dividends.

Transjamaican Highway

Shareholders’ equity stands at $42 million, down from $51 million in September 2022 and $40 million at the end of 2022. Total current assets amount to $15.4 million, up from $8.4 million at the end of September 2022. Total current liabilities ended at $32.3 million, including a provision of $15 million for dividend payment and $7 million in 2022, the latter being a part of the $23 million in total current liabilities at the end of September 2022.
The Board of Directors approved an interim dividend of J$0.1866 per share paid on October 25, totalling J$2.33 billion. A dividend of $0.0855 per share amounting to J$1.069 billion was paid on October 25, 2022.
ICInsider.com projects 30 Jamaican cents per share earnings for the current year and 40 cents for 2024, which will be helped by the company earning income from the new leg of the highway from May Pen to Mandeville. The Jamaica dollar denominated stock traded at $2.58 on the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Tuesday, with a PE of 8.3 and is valued at 6 times 2024 earnings.
At the above price, the dividend yield is 7.23 percent per annum, but by 2024, the yield based on the present price will most likely be higher as the company increases the amount paid as profit grows.
In April with the price at $1.77, ICInsider.com placed the stock on a Stock to Watch list, since then the price is up 47 percent and 57 percent including the 2023 dividend.

Filed Under: Buy Rated, Company News, Company Results Tagged With: Emerging markets, Emerging Stock, Jamaica Stock Exchange, Jamaican stocks, TransJamaica Highway

Kremi ekes out small profit

November 4, 2023 by IC Insider.com

Caribbean Cream reported revenues of $646 million for the August quarter this year versus $645 million in 2022, with the year to date revenues slipping to $1.25 billion from $1.257 billion in the previous year. Profit fell to $3.6 million in the August quarter from $7 million in 2022 and rose to $10 million for the six months from $8.5 million in 2022.

Caribbean Cream Kingston outlet

Improvement in production cost pushed gross profit up 10 percent to $390 million for the half year versus $354 million in 2022 and $205 million for the quarter to August this year, up 8.5 percent from $189 million in 2022. Cost savings were only realised in some areas as administrative expenses and finance costs climbed over 2022. Administrative expenses increased 6 percent to $158 million from $149 million, with finance costs climbing 60 percent to $24 million, from $15 million in the August 2022 quarter. For the half year, administrative costs rose 7 percent to $306 million from $286 million the previous year, while finance costs jumped 56 percent from $27 million to $42 million for the half year.

Finance cost associated with the expansion of the warehouse and building out of the cogeneration energy plant is being written off directly as a current expense rather than capitalising it, with the equipment as such, the reported profit over the past three years appears understated as a result of the treatment of this item. Accordingly, the 2023 full year’s profit should be closer to $70 to $80 million than the above figure, and the 2023 half year’s figure should be around $37 million.
Operations generated Gross cash flow of $77 million, growth in working capital and $206 million spent in addition to fixed assets offset by loan inflows net of outflows of $238 million, resulting in funds growing by $78 million during the six months.
Considerable sums have been spent on plant and machinery to improve efficiency and, by extension, increase profit. Accordingly, $439 million was expended over the past year, bringing the gross amount in fixed assets to $2.7 billion from $1.7 billion at the end of February 2022. Most of the new expenditure went into equipping a new cold storage plant that has expanded freezing and cold storage capacity, with some spent on the cogeneration energy plant, which is intended to cut energy costs.
The company remains financially healthy, with current assets of $539 million, including trade and other receivables of $114 million, cash and bank balances of $145 million and inventories of $248 million, up from $183 million in August 2022. Current liabilities ended at $225 million and net current assets at $314 million.
At the end of August, shareholders’ equity amounts to $836 million, a rise from $807 million at the end of August 2022, with long term borrowings at $1.2 billion and short term loans at $43 million.
Earnings per share for the quarter was one cent and 3 cents for the year to date. IC Insider.com computation projects earnings of 55 cents per share for the fiscal year ending February 2024, with a PE of 7 times current year’s earnings based on the price of $3.95 the stock traded at on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market on Friday. The PE ratio compared with a market average of 10.7. Net asset value ended the period at $2.21, with the stock selling at just under two times book value.
The company has a checkered profit history, as shown by the attached chart of profits, since 2015 and has struggled with increased costs since the disruption caused by COVID-19. The situation is worsened by the treatment of interest incurred to finance the new warehouse.

Filed Under: Company News, Company Results Tagged With: Caribbean Cream, Emerging markets, Emerging Stock, Jamaica Stock Exchange, junior market, Kremi

Profit bounce at Margaritaville

November 2, 2023 by IC Insider.com

Margaritaville Turks was one company delivering improved revenues and profit for the 2023 period to August versus 2022, mostly reflecting improvement in tourism traffic to the Caribbean region.
The company operates a restaurant solely in the Turks and Caicos Islands, and delivered revenues of US$1.8 million in the August 2023 quarter, up 27 percent from US$1.42 million in the prior year and produced gross profit of $1.33 billion this year versus US$1.033 million in the previous year.
Net profit came in at US$230,000 for the quarter against US$94,000 in 2022, even as administrative expenses climbed to US$979,000 from US$833,000 in the previous year, with depreciation charge being flat at US$69,000. Other operating expenses amount to US$44,000, with none incurred in the last year and finance cost was just US$6,000 for the current year, down from US$29,000 in the last year’s first quarter.
The operations generated a gross cash flow of US$300,000, but US$496,000 advanced to a related party, resulting in negative flows of US$74,000, reducing cash funds to a mere $49,151.

Margaritaville located in the Turks & Caicos Islands

Current assets ended the period at US$3.8 million and include US$2.7 million due from related companies, up from US$2.2 million in 2022. Current liabilities ended the period at US$1.96 million, from US$1.89 in 2022. Net current assets ended the period at US$1.8 million.
At the end of August, shareholders’ equity amounts to US$4.2 million, with long term borrowings at US$166,808 and short term at US$100,000.
Earnings per share for the quarter was 0.34 US cents, up from 0.14 US cents for the August 2022 quarter. IC Insider.com computation projects earnings of 2 US cents per share for the fiscal year ending May 2024, with a PE of 6.5 times the current year’s earnings based on the price of 12.7 US cents the stock traded on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, with an average PE of 12. Net asset value ended the period at 6 US cents, with the stock selling at two times book value.