Seprod stock allocation fowl up to cost JSE

November 23, 2018 by

Seprod’s shareholders did not get full allocation of shares.

There is a big fowl up in the allocation of shares to Seprod’s shareholders who applied for shares in the recent offer of the share by the Musson Group.
On Monday November 12, NCB Capital Market announced that all applicants for reserved shares were fully allocated but that has so far turned out to be incorrect. Information gleaned by this publication is that applicants in the general pool apparently got more shares than they should, apparently at the expense of shares reserved for shareholder’s of Seprod as of the end of August, the cut off date for the purposes of allocating the shares.
IC Insider.com gathers that several of the applications for the Seprod reserved shares did not get their full allocation as they were placed in the general pool. IC Insider.com can confirm that around ten applications that should have been placed in the shareholders poll did not get the full allocation.
The problem, IC Insider.com gathers stems from a glitch in the system at the Jamaica Central Depository, a subsidiary of the Jamaica Stock Exchange. The staff of the JCSD have been working to determine the extent of the error but our sources indicates that up Thursday the matter was still be worked on a suggestion that the extent of the error is wide spread.

The Jamaica Stock Exchange subsidiary

Shareholders who should have received their full allocation will in fact get them subject to funds being provided by the to complete the purchase. From all indications, the stock exchange seems poised to absorb the loss that is likely to be incurred to obtain the shares required to satisfy those shareholders who affected.
A total of 92 million shares were publicly offered for sale with 55 million reserved. A total of 15 million units were reserved for existing shareholders of Seprod. Since the close of the issue that offered the shares at $24 each, the stock now trades at $32 a difference of $8, with the price seeming set to rise.

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

Trading leads to slippage of TTSE indices

November 22, 2018 by

The Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange ended trading after 13 securities changed hands, compared to 16 on Tuesday, 3 advanced, 2 declined and 8 remained unchanged, with the market indices slipping lower at the close, on Thursday.
The Composite Index fell 2.31 points to 1,238.50. The All T&T Index declined 3.07 points to 1,697.76, while the Cross Listed Index lost 0.21 points to close at 104.88.
Market activity ended with 165,192 units valued at $2,186,571 trading, down from 858,620 units valued at $14,226,508 changing hands on Wednesday.
 IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading closed with 3 stocks ending with higher bids than the last selling prices and just 5 with lower offers.
Stocks closing with gains| Clico Investments rose 15 cents and completed trading at $20.15, with 48,900 stock units changing hands, First Citizens stock price increased 25 cents to close at $33, after exchanging 373 shares and Trinidad & Tobago NGL rose 1 cent and concluded an exchange of 2,600 shares at $29.31.
Stocks closing with losses|National Enterprises lost 20 cents and completed trading at $7.80, with 500 stock units changing hands and Sagicor Financial ended trading 5 cents lower at $7, with 600 stock units changing hands.
Stocks trading with no price change| Calypso Macro Index Fund  closed trading of 480 shares to close at $15.85,  Guardian Holdings settled at $18, while trading 28,500 units, JMMB Group ended trading at $1.75, after exchanging 56,500 shares, Massy Holdings ended at $46.80, trading 67 shares, NCB Financial Group concluded with an exchange of 22,155 shares at $6.55, Republic Financial Holdings ended market activity at $107.27, after exchanging 800 shares, Unilever Caribbean completed trading of 1,412 stock units at $23 and West Indian Tobacco settled at $95, with 2,305 units changing hands.

Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.

 

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NCB Insiders sending $650m message?

November 22, 2018 by

NCB had a good 2018 fiscal year with strong profit gains.

Buying of shares in companies by insiders they oversee is worthy of note. Investors should pay keen attention to the coded message it may be sending.
It would appear that some directors and executives at NCB Financial Group, see big things ahead to have put down J$650 million in buying a block of the stock close to the highest piece it has traded at in recent times. According to the Jamaica Stock Exchange, NCB Financial Group advised that two directors and six executive officers purchased a total of 4,793,610 NCBFG shares on November 20, 2018. The only issue with the announcement is that the stock exchange report for the November 20 shows only 4.2 million NCB’s shares traded on that day.
The acquisition took place after an announcement that NCB was now cleared to acquire an additional 22 percent of Guardian Holding shares at TT$18 each. For the nine months to September, profit attributable to equity holders of the Guardian jumped to TT$371 million for the nine months to September, from $254 million in 2017 and rose to $156 million in the quarter from just $60 million in the 2017 period. Guardian reported audited profit of TT$407 million in 2017.
Earnings per share ended at $1.60 for the 2018 nine months period, compared to $1.75 in the twelve months of 2017. At $18 per share NCB is getting a bargain with the stock selling around 9 times 2018 earnings while NCB is selling locally at 14 times earnings. Guardian’s shares closed trading at TT$18 on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange today while NCB traded 211,790 shares with the last price at a record $137.
NCB closed with buying interest in just over 417,000 units between $125 and $136.01, with selling of 215,000 units between $137 to $169.80.

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Trinidad gets first junior listing

November 21, 2018 by

Cinemaone Limited is the latest listing on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange. The company was listed today and is the first company to list on the SME section of the exchange.
There was no trading in the company’s shares and none were offered for sale and there were no bids to buy the stock at the close. a total of 6.4 million shares are issued and the opening price was placed at $10.
Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange established a market for Small and Medium Enterprises, the SME Market after the government of Trinidad and Tobago announced in 2012 special tax concession for companies listing on this exchange.
The company operates cinemas in Trinidad and Tobago and had revenues of TT$15.2 million for the year ending September 2018 and $12.7 million in the previous year, with profits after tax of $867,000 in 2017 versus $1.5 million in 2016 after making $1.5 million before tax in 2017 versus $1.1 million in 2017.

Filed Under: Company News, Company Results, Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: , , , ,

Profit jumps 83% for tTech

November 20, 2018 by

Profit at junior market listed tTech, rose 83 percent in the September quarter, to $12.2 million from $7 million in 2017 and for the nine months to September, profit climbed 59 percent to $29 million from $18 million in 2017.
Sale revenues grew 25 percent for the quarter, to $70 from $56 million but was up 31 percent for the year to date, to $215 million, from $164 million in 2017. Investment income brought $12 million for the nine months and $7 million for the quarter
The company is overcoming a period when profit retreated from the high level generated when it went public back in 2015, as the build out of staffing ahead of increased business sapped profits. The company seems to believe that the work they have put out to attract customers is now bearing fruit, with more to come going forward.
Profit having risen to peak at $39 million in 2016, on rising sales revenues, in 2017 both revenues and profit declined, with the profit declining below that earned in 2015 as it hit $19 million down sharply from the 2016 out turn.
Gross profit margin in the first 3 quarters of this year, is up just 14 percent to $161 million compared to revenues that grew 31 percent and it rose by 9 percent in the September quarter to $51 million, just a bit below the growth rate in sales.
Other operating expenses increased 52 percent to $20 million for the nine months but grew 29 percent to $7 million in the quarter. Administrative expenses rose 12 percent to $42 million in the quarter and increased just 8 percent in the nine months period, to $125 million.
Earnings per share came out at 12 cents for the quarter and 27 cents for the nine months and should end the fiscal year ending to December, around 40 cents. IC Insider.com is forecasting 80 cents per share for  a PE of  8 times 2019 earnings
“We have had a good third quarter and our business development team continues to leverage the momentum by closing opportunities presented to us. we expect continued growth and performance as we provide guidance and support for digital transformation,” the chief Executive Officer, Christopher Reckord stated in his commentary on the third quarter results.
Gross cash flow brought in $25 million but addition to fixed assets and investments resulted in a net buildup of funds for the year to date. At the end of September, shareholders’ equity stood at $207 million with no borrowings to support the operations. Net current assets ended the period at $164 million inclusive of trade and other receivables of $151 million, cash and investment balances of $152 million. In addition, the company has $31 million in non-current investments. Current liabilities stood at just $57 million.
The stock traded at $6.50 on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange with a PE ratio of 15 times 2018 earnings. Net asset value per share s $1.95 with the stock selling at 3.3 book value.

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General Accident nearly doubles profit

November 20, 2018 by

General Accident stock is undervalued.

Profit at General Accident Insurance rose 88 percent to $144 million, in the nine months September from $77 million in the similar period in 2017 even as profit for the quarter to September 2018 slipped 29 percent from $68 million to $49 million.
Earnings per share amounted to just 5 cents in the September quarter and 14 for the year to September and IC Insider.com estimates 40 cents for the full year and possible 80 cents for 2019. The stock last traded at $4, just less than twice net book value of $2.05. Annualized return on average equity of 9.45 percent up from 5.2 percent in 2017.
Gross premium for the year to September, grew 20 percent to $7.4 billion, while growth for the quarter was up an extremely strong 69 percent to $2.75 billion over the same periods last year. The company that is also looking to branch out to other parts of the region, also earned 51 percent more commission that the year before with nine months’ earnings rising to $495 million and it grew 104 percent for the quarter to $159 million but commissions paid grew 32 percent for the nine months to $212 million and by 44 percent for the quarter to $96 million. Net earned premiums grew 24 percent, for both the nine months to $1.20 billion for year to date and $531 for the quarter. Investment income including of foreign exchange gains is up 158 percent for the quarter to $144 million and 56 percent for the first nine months to $228 million.
Net claims grew by just 10 percent to $866 million for the nine months but jumped 42 percent for the quarter to $353 million. “Administrative expenses increased by 19 percent compared to the same period prior year, due to new hires to drive the strategic plan” management stated. Management expenses rose 35 percent to $554 million in the nine months and by 47 percent for the quarter to $201 million.
“General Accident ended the third quarter with a book value of $2.05 billion and generated annualized return on average equity for shareholders of 9.45 percent. Despite, low interest rates and increased competition in a very challenging operating environment. For the first nine months of the year, we were able to improve on our performance when compared to the similar period for 2017. The board and management team are committed to ensuring that General Accident’s financial performance continues to improve for the remainder of the year,” Paul Scott, Chairman and Sharon Donaldson, Managing Director said in their report to shareholders that accompanied the quarterly results.
The company ended the period with equity capital of $2 billion with $4 billion in insurance reserves. Assets total $6.7 billion and comprise liquid funds of $3 billion with amounts due from re-insurers and co-insurers of $1.5 billion representing a big jump from $875 million in 2017.

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Freeport to distribute 40c per share

November 18, 2018 by

The former Jamaica Stock Exchange listing, Montego Freeport made $44 million in profit for the twelve months to March this year which is up strongly from nearly $11 million reported for 2017.
operating revenue was a mere $1.7 million while other income amounted to $101 million versus $36 million in 2017.  The financial data extract sent to shareholders does not break out the details of other income, but 2017, the category comprised interest income from investments and receivables for land sale and foreign exchange gains.
The statement of financial position shows shareholders equity at $710 million or $1.26 per share. Shareholders at the general meeting slated for November 30 will vote on a resolution to pay a capital distribution of 40 cents per share in December.

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

Sterling’s stock split effective November 27

November 14, 2018 by

Sterling Investments jumps to a high of $19 after split announcement.

The record date of the recently approved 5 for 1 stock split for Sterling Investments will be November 27, the company announced.
The split aimed at increasing the liquidity of the stock was approved by shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting on October 8.
Sterling’s most recent results to September, showed that the company’s fundamentals to be healthy, with gross revenues for the period hitting $134 million for the nine months to September 2018, an increase of 44 percent over revenues of $93 million in the similar period in 2017. Profit after tax grew 53 percent to $90 million for the nine months ended September, compared to $59 million in 2017.
For the September quarter, revenues rose to $56 million from $31 million in 2017, resulting in profit after tax for the quarter of $38.7 million versus $16 million in 2017. The 2018 result compares well with the full year results for 2017 when profit of just $52 million was realized from $92 million in revenues.
Sterling garnered $74 million in foreign exchange gains for the nine months period compared to just $11 million for the similar period in 2017 and $35 million versus $9 million in the quarter. Some of that seems set to be reversed in the final quarter of the year as the Jamaican dollar has since revalued and is unlikely to be reversed before year end.
The company reported that details of the upcoming rights issue will be announced shortly. IC Insider.com gathers that the plan was originally, for the split to have followed the rights issue, but that seems to have changed with the announcement of the date for the split.
Shareholders’ equity increased from $895 million at September 2017 to $922 million at September 2018 while total assets under management amounted to $1.27 billion.
The stock last traded at $20.50 on the Jamaica Stock Exchange up from from $14.50 at the time the proposed split was announced in mid September.

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Public gets small amount of Seprod shares

November 12, 2018 by

Some of Seprod,s product

Just under 92 million shares of Seprod were offered for sales by Facey Group in October and was oversubscribed. All applications for Reserve Shares in the offer were fully allocated, according to a release from NCB Capital Markets.
55 million shares were reserved for employees and directors and existing Seprod shareholders and the Lead Broker.
Subscribers from the general public will receive up to the first 5,000 units for which they applied, with the balance greater than 5,000 units allocated approximately 16.56 percent. The shares were priced at $23.99 each but trades on the Jamaica Stock Exchange at $39.

Filed Under: Company News, General Business News, Initial Public Offers Tagged With: ,

Profit up 10% at Wisynco

November 9, 2018 by

Profit before taxation at Wisynco for the September quarter, increased or 15.7 percent to $928 million over the $802 million earned in the September 2017 quarter.
For the September 2018 quarter Wisynco Profit Attributable to Shareholders rose 10 percent to $769 million or 21 cents per share compared to $698 million or 19 cents per share for the corresponding period in 2017 when there were less shares issued.
Revenues for the quarter grew 12 percent to $6.8 billion over over the $6.1 billion achieved in the corresponding quarter in 2017. Gross Profit grew 10.4 to $2.6 billion or 10.4 percent over the $2.3 billion achieved in the same quarter of the previous year. Wisynco indicated that Gross Margin of 37.8 percent was slightly lower than the 38.4 percent for the corresponding quarter of the previous year due to the commissioning of the new beverage lines and the devaluation of the Jamaican Dollar.

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