NCB Financial big TTSE loser in 2022

The past year was not great for stock markets worldwide as rising inflation and interest rates, coupled with the negative impact of the war in Ukraine on economic activity, diverted money away from stocks into bonds and other savings instruments as more investors sought safety from the volatility of stocks. The above combination took its toll on Jamaica’s largest commercial banking group, that fell the most in Trinidad Stock Exchange, even as Cinema One climbed nearly 100 percent.
Even bond markets did not provide a haven for investments, as many lost value as a result of the rising interest rates.
But even while that manifested, some stocks breached the trend and rose in value.
In the twin island state of Trinidad and Tobago, prices of 11 stocks rose, but 16 declined as the market index declined, with the composite market index falling 11 percent for the year, while the All TT index slipped a smaller 3.7 percent.
Leading the market was Cinema One, with a rise of 93 percent as the price recovered from the covid19 crushing in the prior year, followed by Agostini’s with a 52 percent rise and Angostura up 33 percent. The worst performer is Jamaica based NCB Financial Group, with a fall of 44 percent, followed by Jamaica’s GraceKennedy, down 27 percent and cigarette manufacturers West Indian Tobacco, with a decline of 44 percent as the company posted lower profits of $209 million in the nine months to September than it did in 2021, with $270 million with the third quarter falling to $56 million from $83 million in 2021 as sales fell from $200 million in the September quarter to $165 million in 2022 and $549 million for the nine months compared with $610 million in 2021.