This SOS IPO who are the connections?

The McDaniel family owned Stationery and Office Supplies (SOS) after 50 years of serving their more than 3,000 clients, are heading in a new direction. No longer content to hug up 100 percent of the company the family is now are embarking enjoining the public to ride on with them to the next level.

In furtherance of this new thrust SOS is now seeking to list on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market with an initial public offering 50,024,100 ordinary shares, to raise approximately $95,048,200 before expenses. The issue is inclusive of 22,500,000 reserved shares some of which are being sold at $1.60 for staff, with the rest being made available to the general public at $2 per share the offer opening at 9 on July 19th, with the closing set for 4:30 P.M. on July 26th.
The Company reported pretax profits of $53 million in 2016, from sales of $702 million, with earnings of 26.5 cents per share, resulting in a PE of 7.5 before tax. Earnings for 2017 is estimated at around 40 cents on a pretax basis at an attractive PE of 5.6 times 2017 earnings. Revenues for the first six months of 2017, are up almost 20 percent over the similar period in 2016. Office furnishing and fixtures account for approximately 60 percent of sales revenues and stationery and office supplies for 40 percent management advised IC Insider.com.
The Company estimates that the expenses in the invitation will not exceed $12,000,000 inclusive of General Consumption Tax and an expanded marketing and publicity spend, expected to not only drive interest in the IPO but create greater awareness about the company. and its products.
Minimum raise| The Company needs to raise at least $50,000,000 to qualify for listing on the Junior Market. If that amount is not achieved an application will not be made for the shares to be admitted to the Junior Market and all funds will be returned to the persons who made them.
History| The Company started business in July 1965 under the guidance of Richard Hing, George Hew and David McDaniel. In 1970, the Company became wholly owned by the McDaniel family when all of the issued ordinary shares were acquired by David and Marjorie McDaniel. The Company now operates out of a 35,000 square feet warehouse, office and showroom on Beechwood Avenue in Kingston and a 3,000 square feet location in Montego Bay that houses 1,200 square feet of office and showroom space and a 1,800 square foot warehousing facility supported by a staff complement of sixteen. The Head Office currently employs eighty-three team members. Eleven delivery vehicles are operated by the company including trucks, which support delivery to customers.
Products|The Company now sells and market office supplies and stationery items, modular office furniture, partitions, metal products, chairs, cabinets and shelving. The Company is the sole local distributor for the leading international brands in office furniture – Fursys and Boss. In 2011, lower priced items were introduced to meet growing demand, by introducing the first of two proprietary brands, the first being the “Image” brand and shortly thereafter in 2012, the Company introduced its second brand “Torch”. SOS also does a small amount of sales to the eastern Caribbean and will be seeking expand business into that Region. According to the company’s management, the increased warehouse space will be critical to this effort. A lesser known service the company carries out, is the servicing of office equipment. This area they indicate has room for increased revenues and profit.

During the last six years, the Company added commercial shredding to its suite of services offered to the general public.  The service has become popular among entities which have large volumes of waste paper and other sensitive material that stores data, but are concerned about improper disposal methods. The Company’s states that its “shredding facility meets international best practice standards and has the capacity to shred up to 5,000 pounds of paper per day as well as the destruction of tapes, hard drives and compact discs. The Company’s shredding facility offers the customer the ability to view an on-line real-time video stream of the shredding process being undertaken on-site on their behalf, or if preferred the customer may also be present when the shredding process is being undertaken”.
The directors of the company are, David McDaniel, Marjorie McDaniel, Allan McDaniel, Stephen Todd, Kerri (McDaniel) Todd, Kelli (McDaniel) Muschett, Anthony Bell, Gary “Butch” Hendrickson and Evan Thwaites.

Stationery & Office Supplies heads to market

The Mcdaniel family owned Stationery and Office Supplies are heading for listing on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market with an initial public offering 50,024,100 ordinary shares.
The issue is inclusive of 22,500,000 reserved shares, some of which are reserved for staff at $1.60 per share, with the rest being made available to the general public at $2 per share the offer opening at 9 on July 19th, with the closing set for 4:30 P.M. on July 26th.
The Company reported pretax profits of $53 million in 2016 for earnings of 26.5 cents per share resulting in a PE of 7.5 before tax. Earnings for 2017 is estimated at around 36 cents on a pretax basis or a PE of an attractive 5.6 times 2017 earnings.

Big gains for 2016 IPOS

I$P Finance is up 1,100% since listing in March 2016 but hit an all time high of $35 earlier this year to be up 1,650% at that time.

Initial Public listings have been very popular in the Jamaican stock market. Most of them enjoyed strong gains within a few years of issue.
Investors have bought heavily into most of the issues resulting in most closing on the first day of the issue.
No doubt investors will be avidly awaiting issues to come in the second half of this year. Expecting this week is Productivity Business Solution IPO should be available of subscription in the first week of July and Express Catering should be coming pretty soon as well.
A series of others should be following later in 2017 and in 2018 with Stationery and Supplies expected to follow shortly after the above two, as they iron out a few issues before coming to market, while UCC Online still has issues to resolve. Others that have been recently mentioned publicly and a few that have not yet made public statements, should add to the excitement when they do make it and swell the choices available in the market for ongoing investment.
How have recent IPOS done since listing? Stocks sold to the publish and listed since the start of 2016 had mixed fortunes, with startup entities delivering little gains with one trading lower than the IPO price but four have gained 200 percent or more including one with more than 1,000 percent, one rising 64 percent and one with 34 percent, up to last Friday.
Little known micro finance company, ISP Finance gained a stunning 1,100 percent, since listing in March 2016. Pre-owned car dealer, Jetcon Corporation is up with gains of 687 percent since March last year with information technology, company tTech coming in with gains of 220 percent.
Portland JSX Fund lost 18 percent, while start up general insurance company, Iron Rock is up just 7 percent. All stocks traded at higher prices than the closing ones on Friday.

PBS IPO to launch end of June

Productive Business Solutions’ prospectus for its Initial Public Offer (IPO) is expected to be available to the public on June 29, when it will be posted on the Jamaica Stock Exchange website.
The company, a member of the Musson Group, is slated for listing on the US dollar market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange. The price will be $0.55 with the target is to raise US$41.5 million.
Revenues are said to be in the order of US$200 million with EBITA of US$20 million. The company is the largest dealer for Xerox equipment and generates 60 percent of revenues from the Central American region and 40 percent in the Caribbean with 5 percent in Jamaica. Other brands the company represents are Cisco, Oracle,GMC, Triplite and Engatel.
NCB Capital Markets are the brokers handling the deal IC Insider.com has been reliably informed. The shares will be the fourth listing of ordinary shares on the US$ market of the Stock Exchange.
According the company’s website, they are the largest IT and Technology Company in Central America and the Caribbean covering 22 countries and a US$202 million multinational company employing 1,300 employees. The Musson Group has Eppley, General Accident and Seprod that are listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
The Musson Group is a diversified conglomerate operating most specifically as a distributor, logistics partner, manufacturer and sales and marketing company for many global brands, and some of its own branded products in 33 countries worldwide.
IC Insider.com has also understood that a major and popularly known group with a diverse product mix has recently taken a decision to list on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. Currently, it is not known the timing for the listing or the size of the amount to be raised. IC Insider.com will keep updated as soon as more information is available.

Express Catering heading for Junior Market

2017 is set to be the year with the most listing on the Jamaica Stock Exchange even as just four listings have made it to the market so far in 2017. At the end of 2016, eighteen new listings were expected based on feedback the stock exchange obtained from brokers and companies expressing an interest in listing.
Express Catering a company operating in the Montego Airport is being brokered by Mayberry Investments in a bid to raise funds for existing shareholders. The company shares are expected to be listed on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange. Existing shareholders plan to sell between 20 to 40 percent of the company to raise around $400 to $500 million at a price range between $1 and $2.50 per share, our source informs IC Insider.com.
The company would be valued around $1 billion and using a PE of 10 times earnings would put the profit at around $100 million. The bulk of passengers passing through the Montego Bay airport are tourist, with the continued increase in hotel rooms passenger traffic will keep growing for some time and provide the company with increased opportunity for growth.
Not much more has so far been disclosed, but an indication of the company’s size can be gleaned from the fact that Montego Bay Airport Ltd generated revenue from Express Catering for rental and commission on food and beverages sales of U$$2.7 million in for 2016, an increase from US$2.5 million in 2015.
In April this year The Gleaner reported that the company has annual revenues at US$14 million from being an exclusive provider of food and beverage products in the post-security lounge of the Sangster International Airport. The company has a diverse group of proprietary brands and international franchises to include such brands as Quiznos Subs and Salads, Aunt Annie’s Pretzels, Nathans Famous Hot Dogs, Cinnabon, Moe’s South Western Grill, Wendy’s, Dominos and Dairy Queen.
Elsewhere, the Musson’s subsidiary, Productive Business Solutions prospectus is said to be at the FSC for vetting, from about three weeks ago and should be close to being released to the public. Productive Business Solutions operates in the Caribbean, Central America and the USA and will come to the market with a US$41 million offer of ordinary shares. Stationery and Supplies Limited is also expected to be coming to the market anytime now.

Cable Bahamas to trade at $1m each

Kino Williamson (l), Head of Finance, Cable Bahamas, Scotia Investment CEO, Lissant Mitchell. Also sharing the moment (from left) are Marlene Street Forrest, Managing Director Jamaica Stock Exchange, John Gomez, COO Cable Bahamas and Dylan Coke, of Scotia Investments

The Bahamian based telecommunication group, Cable Bahamas (CBL) listed two preference shares on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) on Friday. The shares represent capital raised in Jamaica and US dollars in Jamaica by way of private placements. The stock listed on the Jamaican dollar preference section of the local market will trade with a minimum of $1 million each.
A total of J$1.9 billion was raised, comprising two preference shares at 8 percent each, amounting to US$4.9M and J$1.35 billion from a number of institutional investors arranged by Scotia Investments. The funds raised were used to launch its mobile telephony services in the Bahamas.
“Scotia Investments is pleased to have been able to support CBL in listing these bonds on the Stock Market. Being able to do a transaction like this – a preference share, listed on the JSE, for an overseas issuer – is further evidence of the depth and sophistication of Jamaica’s capital markets” said Dylan Coke, Scotia Investments, VP Organization & Capital Markets.
Cable Bahamas is a public company incorporated on September 1994 under the laws of The Bahamas and listed on the Bahamas International Securities Exchange. Subsidiaries provide cable television and related services, national and international data services, internet services, telephony and wireless, web hosting and business continuity services. The subsidiaries of the company include Cable Freeport Ltd., Caribbean Crossings Ltd., Maxil Communications Ltd., Systems Resource Group Ltd., and Be Aliv Ltd.
The group which were already providing landline telephone service, commenced Cellular phone service late in 2016 after receiving a cellular license. According to the Group’s CEO John Gomez we have around 30 percent of the mobile market with an overall market size of BH$300 million.
The company is not considering listing the ordinary shares in Jamaica at this time but are open to considering it at some point in the future, the groups’ Kino Williamson (l), Head of Finance advised IC Insider.com.

 

Cable Bahamas list on JSE Friday

This Friday June 2, will see the latest listing of a new company on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. The Bahamian based Cable Bahamas will see its shares available for trading on the local exchange for the first time.
Earlier this month the exchange approved the listing of the company’s shares. Information available to IC Insider.com is that the list will be on the US dollar exchange and will comprise ordinary and preference shares.
According to the company’s financials there are 43,884,754 ordinary shares and 8 different category of preference shares issued. The net asset value of the ordinary shares are around BH$2 each but the stock trades in the Bahamas at BH$4.05, with 1,000 units trading. Selling by investors is at $4.40 and above with buying interest at $4.05 and below. The 52 weeks high is $6.76 on June 9, 2016 and a low of $3.80, on the 9th of February, this year.
Revenue earned for the 2016 December quarter, was BH$47.887 million compared to BH$41.730 million and for the year to December BH$180.588 versus BH$165.678. The company reported losses of BH$9.2 million in the December quarter inclusive of a fixed asset write off of BH$5.8 million and $7.8 million for the year. Total shareholders’ equity stood at BH$91 million at the end of December 2016 and losses incurred in the March 2017 quarter of BH$7 million pushed shareholders’ equity down to BH$84 million at the end of March this year. Revenues in the March 2017 quarter rose 17 percent to $51 million up from $43.7 million in 2016 but operating cost jumped even faster by 60 percent to $46.6 million from $29 million with depreciation and amortization rising from $9 million to $16.8 million.
Two other listing should be heading to the market within weeks as Stationery and Supplies and the Musson subsidiary Productive Business Solutions with operations in the Caribbean, Central America and the USA come to the market with a US$41 million offer of ordinary shares.

Bahamian company to list soon

Cable Bahamas is set to be the next company to list on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. The exchange approved the listing a short time ago. Information available to IC Insider.com is that the list will be on the US dollar exchange and will comprise ordinary and preference shares.
According to the company’s financials there are 43,884,754 ordinary shares and 8 different category of preference shares issued. The net asset value of the ordinary shares are around BH$2 each.
The company has been providing cable TV services in The Bahamas since March 1995 and Internet services since March 2000. On June 30, 1995, the company completed a $30 million public equity issue, resulting in 3,000 Bahamian shareholders holding shares in the company. In its first full year of operations, revenue was $12 million and net income $2.5 million and the year-end subscriber count was 37,400.
By the end of 2000, the share price stood at $8.50 with a cumulative growth of over 750%, total subscribers were 51,609 and net income was $7.3 million. Two significant growth areas for the company are its high-speed Internet services and its wholly owned submarine 600 km fiber-optic cable system, which is operated by its subsidiary, Caribbean Crossings Ltd.
Late 2010, Cable Bahamas purchased System Resource Group (SRG) to enable the company to introduce new services and lower prices to the consumer. This union allows the company to become the Bahamas’ 100 percent Bahamian-owned public converged communications services provider offering voice, broadband data and video products.
With the introduction of REVOICE, a cutting-edge home phone service, Cable Bahamas became a triple-play provider in the Bahamas, offering TV, Internet and phone services at bundled prices.
The network comprises 14 free-to-air broadcast systems on 11 islands, eight stand-alone cable TV systems, and four triple play systems networked by a submarine fibre. Together, this network services 99 per cent of the Bahamian population. The company’s submarine fibre continues into the United States, connecting to a terrestrial fibre in South Florida, creating a terrestrial fibre ring around the state, and providing triple play services to four additional systems. These combined networks make up the complete Cable Bahamas network.
Revenue earned for the 2016 December quarter, was BH$47.887 million compared to BH$41.730 million and for the year to December BH$180.588 versus BH$165.678. The company reported losses of BH$9.2 million in the December quarter inclusive of a fixed asset write off of BH$5.8 million and $7.8 million for the year. Total shareholders’ equity stood at BH$91 million at the end of December 2016 and losses incurred in the March 2017 quarter of BH$7 million pushed shareholders’ equity down to BH$84 million at the end of March this year. Revenues in the March 2017 quarter rose 17 percent to $51 million up from $43.7 million in 2016 but operating cost jumped even faster by 60 percent to $46.6 million from $29 million with depreciation and amortization rising from $9 million to $16.8 million.
The stock last traded in the Bahamas at BH$4.05, with 900 units trading. Selling by investors is at $4.40 and above with buying interest at $4.05 and below.
The shares will only be listed as none will be offered to the public as an Initial Public Offering. Scotia Investments is the sponsoring broker.
Two other listing should be heading to the market within weeks as Stationery and Supplies and the Musson subsidiary Productive Business Solutions with operations in the Caribbean, Central America and the USA come to the market with a US$41 Million offer of ordinary shares.

Will SOS be the 35th Junior listing?

The Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market should be see its 35th listing and 31st ordinary share listing well before the summer months are over, as small and medium sized companies seek the exposure and other benefits of listing, that the market offers.
The family owned, stationery, office furniture and equipment company, Stationery and Office Supplies (SOS) is preparing to float an IPO with the intention to list its ordinary shares on the Junior Market.
The company run by Managing Director, David McDaniel, and Director and wife, Marjorie McDaniel, with second generation McDaniels also leading the management team, retained JN Fund Managers has been as the brokers handling the offer.
The company operates a warehouse showroom space occupying 35,000 sq ft on 23 Beechwood Avenue in Kingston and a second location in Montego Bay, servicing Jamaica and the Caribbean region. SOS employs more than than 100 employees, a release from the company stated. Our source suggests that the high numbers is reflective of demands on the stationery side that requires large number of staffing to handle, sell and distribute to customers.
“Stationery & Office Supplies is a company that my family has built over the years, and we’re proud of being a successful Jamaican business. Fifty years is no mean feat and we have managed to grow, expand, and adapt with changing times. Listing on the Junior Market of the JSE is a step that we’re looking forward to, not just from a financial perspective, but also for what it means to other companies” said David.
Our source within the sector indicates that it is very competitive, with a number of dominant players which includes SOS, Neveast, Keith Ryan, Campbells and T Geddes Grant on the office furniture side and Sangsters being the most dominant for stationery. Other players are said to include PriceSmart and Mega Mart both covering stationery and office furniture. T Geddes Grant was formerly in stationery but the Massy Group to which it belongs exited citing losses being incurred as the reason.
The market is estimated around $2 billion with gross profit margins of 15-20 percent for stationery and 20 percent for office furniture. Filing cabinets and chairs are said to be two of the largest selling item for offices. The listing of SOS will like other listing gain added exposure from the listing both from the publicity leading up to the listing and after as reporting of trading in the company’s shares is beamed to consumers.
The company will be the first with the line of products listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange if the issue is successful. The listing would bring to 8 the number of Junior Market companies involved mainly in distribution of goods. IC Insider.com understands that the issue should hit the market before the end of May. That time frame may be subject to the Financial Services Commission having no objection to the offering document.

TT$1.5B for TT govt. from Citizens’ shares

First Citizens

The government of Trinidad & Tobago today, launched the sales of 48,495,665 additional shares in First Citizens Bank at TT$32 per share.
In 2013, First Citizens launched an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of 48 million shares that raised $1.1 billion at $22 per share. The issue was heavily oversubscribed with $3.3 billion chasing the shares offered. The stocks more than doubled sometime after being listed on Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange in that year.
As was the case with the 2013 IPO, the proceeds of the latest issue will go to the government of Trinidad and Tobago. The First Citizens Group is one of the leading financial services group in Trinidad and Tobago, offering a full range of retail, corporate and merchant banking services as well as asset management, trustee and brokerage services. The Group is headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago.
First Citizens reported profit after taxation of TT$185 million for the December 2016 quarter, compared to TT$180 million in 2015 and TT$637 million for fiscal 2016 with earnings per share of $2.52 for 2016. Profit for the December quarter before tax ended at $247.6 million, a growth 12.5 percent, compared to the corresponding period in 2015. The selling price comes out at 13 times earnings. The price is not as attractive as when it first went public with a PE 9 times earnings in 2013, worse earnings per share has not grown since then either. The stock last traded on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock exchange at $32 each on Friday.