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Some of Seprod,s product
Seprod shares sold at $24 each.
Many investors who applied for Seprod’s shares that were sold publicly in October will end up getting a relatively small allocation with nearly 4,000 applications chasing the 91.9 million Seprod shares that were offered for sale in October.
According to the release “Facey Group Offer of Seprod Ordinary Shares based on the broker’s preliminary numbers, the indication is that they received 3,799 applications.
“NCB Capital Markets advises and due to the large number of subscribers for the Offer, the process is taking longer than anticipated.” NCB Capital Markets advised that it is in the process of reconciling the applications and verifying payments received and has requested approval to provide the Basis of Allotment on Monday, November 12, 2018.
Based on the number of applications, the average allocation would be around 24,000 shares each but with NCBCM allocated 10 million units the average falls to 21,000 units however 45 million units were set aside for exiting Seprod’s shareholders, staff, current and past directors.
The shares that were offered for sale at $24 traded on the Jamaica Stock Exchange today at $39 each.
Seprod shares being sold at $24 each.
Shareholders of Seprod and management and directors are in for an early Christmas present as Facey Group on Behalf of the International Finance Corporation offers 91,914,894 shares for sale at a price well below the level the stock has been trading at in recent times.
The offer is being made to the public but 55 million shares are reserved for staff, managers, executives, directors and former directors and shareholders of Seprod including Facey Consumer staff.
The offer is at a discounted price of $23.99. Last week the stock traded as high as $62 as limited selling of the stock in the market led investors to bid the price up to acquire some that were on sale, but pulled back to $49.50 on Friday and traded at $39 on Tuesday as investors reacted to the offer.
Up to 30 million shares are reserved for staff, managers, executives, directors and former directors of the Company and its subsidiaries. 15 million shares are reserved Shares for shareholders of the company (with JCSD accounts) as at August 31 and 10 million shares are reserved for the Lead Broker.
According to a spoke person for the Facey Group, the shares are a part of the shares that were acquired when the Company has reached an agreement with Seprod to acquire the consumer business consisting of distribution of consumer and pharmaceutical products in Jamaica earlier in the year. As part of that arrangement, Facey Group holding in Seprod was restricted to less than 50 percent and the shares being offered for sale was held as nominee on
Some of Seprod,s product
behalf of International Finance Corporation who had invested in the group as a part of an agreement for them to continue to recover their investment when an IPO was effected. The shares were priced at the time they were initially issued when they were trading at $28, IC Insider.com was advised.
For the six months ended June 2018, Seprod generated revenues of $10.44 billion, an increase of $2.07 billion or 25 percent over the corresponding period in 2017. Net profit increased 29 percent for the period to $598 million in the 2017 period. The 2018 results are bolstered by the transfer of the former Jamaican dairy operations of Nestle within the Group effective January, this year.
The directors’ report stated that, “had these operations been included in the Group’s results in 2017, the increase in revenues for the six months ended 30 June 2018 would have been $1.20 billion or 13 percent and the increase in net profit would have been $77 million or 15 percent.”
For the June quarter, revenues rose 33 percent to $5.48 billion with gross profit rising sharply to 36 percent from 24 percent in 2017, with gross profit hitting $1.96 billion and profit after tax coming in at $325 million attributable to Seprod’s shareholders, 37 percent ahead of the 2017 out turn.
Based on the expansion of Seprod foot print and new ventures recently entered into, the future of the group seems solid and this could be bettered if they can put the ongoing losses of sugar behind them.
Seprod could ditch loss making Duckenfield sugar operations.
Sugar cane under production in Jamaica
These operations, located in Bog Walk, St. Catherine, produce Supligen and Betty products, as well as co-manufacture products for international customers. In 2017, these operations were operated by Seprod under a management services contract and were not included in the Group’s results. The directors’ report stated that, “had these operations been included in the Group’s results in 2017, the increase in revenues for the six months ended 30 June 2018 would have been $1.20 billion or 13 percent and the increase in net profit would have been $77 million or 15 percent.”
For the June quarter, revenues rose 33 percent to $5.48 billion with gross profit rising sharply to 36 percent from 24 percent in 2017, with gross profit hitting $1.96 billion and profit after tax coming in at $325 million attributable to Seprod shareholders, 37 percent ahead of the 2017 out turn.
Seprod shares jumped sharply on Friday.
Ciboney Group ended trading at 12 cents, with 305,350 shares changing hands, Grace Kennedy traded 50 cents higher at $49.50, with 253,780 stock units, Jamaica Broilers closed with a rise of $1 to $20, with 105,430 units, Jamaica Producers closed 15 cents higher at $15.15, with 50,751 shares. JMMB Group concluded trading at $26, with 2,319,629 shares, Kingston Wharves settled at $40, with 1,250 units, Mayberry Investments ended trading with a gain of 28 cents to $6.28, with 63,500 shares, NCB Financial Group traded with a loss of 15 cents at $99.35, with 15,682 shares. 1834 Investments finished trading at $1.15, with 104,609 shares, PanJam Investment ended with a loss of 32 cents at $41.65, with 163,550 units, Radio Jamaica settled 4 cents higher at $1.06, with 44,267 shares, Sagicor Group ended trading with a loss of 20 cents at $36, with 610,599 stock units. 
Sagicor Real Estate Fund ended trading 26 cents higher at $15.50, with 42,650 shares, Scotia Group finished trading $1.47 higher at $53.47, with 304,907 shares, Seprod closed $3.50 higher at $33.50, with 4,774 shares, Supreme Ventures concluded trading with a loss of 26 cents at $11.50, with 37,631 stock units, Victoria Mutual Investments finished with a loss of 10 cents at $4.40, with 524,181 units, Wisynco Group settled at $10.50, with 611,295 shares and in the main market preference segment, Jamaica Money Market 7.5% traded 5 cents higher at $1.95, with 229,077 stock units changing hands.
Grace jumped $3.65 to $44.65 on the JSE on Tuesday.
The average volume and value for March ended at 549,909 units and $1,379,459.
NCB Financial Group gained $1.60 to close at $64, after exchanging 19,712 shares, 1834 Investments traded 4 cents lower to close at $1.50, while exchanging 7,900 units, 138 Student Living closed at $4.49, gaining 3 cents with an exchange of 12,400 units, Pan Jamaican closed 14 cents lower at $35.46 with 20,250 shares changing hands. Radio Jamaica gained 20 cents to close at $1.80, trading 37,000 shares, Sagicor Group closed with a loss of 97 cents to $32.54 exchanging 225,742 shares, Sagicor Real Estate Fund closed at $10.05, with 4,600 shares traded, Scotia Group closed at $38.60, with trades of 62,464 units, Seprod advanced $3.70 to close at $39.70, with 2,000 shares changing hands, Sterling Investments gained 25 cents, closing at $17 with an exchange of 67,394 units, Supreme Ventures closed at $6.38 trading 21,500 shares and Proven Investments gained 2 US cents to close at 31 US cents with trades of 72,850 ordinary shares.
Seprod announced a dividend of $2.63, driving the stock to a new 52 weeks’ high of $30.
Seprod banking on growth in its dairy operations making big contribution to profit.
Seprod jumped $5.85 with 187,289 shares trading to a new high of $30 in early trading on Tuesday on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, but the market indices slipped 
sharply with the junior market index dropping a whopping 3 percent or 76 points.
The all Jamaica Composite Index dropped 432.98 points to 188,433.85, the Jamaica Stock Exchange Market Index declined 387.16 points to 169,535.16, the Jamaica Stock Exchange combined index dived 1,141.17 points to close at 181,944.95 and the junior market index dropped sharply by 76.13 points to 2,406.31.
At 10:45 am, a total of 22 securities traded, resulting in a volume of 1,690,058 shares changing hands carrying a value of $15,277,557, compared to 640,254 shares changing hands carrying a value of $13,990,935, on Monday.
The average number of shares traded amounts to 76,821 units compared to 22,078 on Monday. Market activity resulted in 9 stocks falling while the prices of 8 securities rose.
The major trades so far include, Cable & Wireless climbed 4 cents to 90 cents with 110,000 units changing hands, the Jamaica Stock Exchange stock fell $1.75 to $6.25 with 262,510 units trading. The three Lasco stocks all fell and contributed much to the fall in the junior market index with Lasco Distributors trading 375,300 units at $6.50 after falling by 50 cents and Lasco Manufacturing traded 491,600 shares at $4.85.
Friday’s activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, resulted in the prices of 6 stocks rising and 10 declining as 26 securities changed hands, ending in 3,627,030 units trading, valued at $14,333,682, in all market segments.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 4 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and only 1 with the offer that is lower.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index gained 50.80 points to 75,807.86, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index rose 56.80 points to close at 83,475.02 and the JSE combined index declined by 24.35 points to close at 77,631.92.
Gains| Stocks gaining with last traded prices, at the end of trading in the main market are, Carreras finished trading with 13,930 shares, the price rose 75 cents to $37.25, Scotia Group saw trading in 216,630 shares to close 10 cents higher, at $20.10. Scotia Investments ended trading only 300 shares to close with a gain of $1.69to $23.20, Seprod concluded trading in 70,000 units and put on $1.20 to $13.70, a new 52 weeks’ high and Supreme Ventures ended trading with 2,000 shares changing hands to close 2 cents higher at $1.92.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in the last traded prices are, Cable & Wireless that ended with 80,409 shares traded at 50 cents, Grace Kennedy closing with 54,730 shares trading at $61. Jamaica Broilers finished with 8,152 shares changing hands to close at $4.10, Kingston Properties completed trading with 17,200 shares with the price closing at $7.50 and Sagicor Group ended with 2,000 shares at $9.97.
Declines| The last traded prices of stocks with losses at the end of trading in the main market are, Gleaner closed at a new 52 weeks’ low as it ended trading with 2,029,366 shares trading 10 cents down at 85 cents, Jamaica Money Market Brokers closed with 8,463 ordinary shares as the price slipped 50 cents to $6.50. At the close there was little buying interest in JMMB stock with only two bids at $5.01 and $5. Investors seem to be concerned about the impact the change in repo trading in Jamaica will have on the company’s profits going forward. Mayberry Investments ended with 1,500 shares trading lower by 2 cents to $1.50, National Commercial Bank closed with 24,417 units trading as the price slipped 26 cents $18.25 and Sagicor Real Estate Fund finished with 150,000 shares trading by 15 cents lower at $6.85.
Preference| Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share ended with 328,800 shares trading at $2, Jamaica Public Service 5% preference share closed with 2,700 shares changing hands at $3 and Proven Investments 8% preference share traded 39,619 shares at $5.10.
Seprod will pay a dividend of 35 cents per share on November 14, to shareholders on record as at October 31. The stock will trade ex-dividend as of October 29.
Seprod paid a dividend of 55 cents per share on July 4, this year. Last year a dividend of 30 cents per share was paid on November 15 and 53 cents per share on July 8 Lasco Distributors declared an interim dividend of 3 cents per share payable on December 9, 2014 to shareholders on record as at November 25, 2014. The stock will trade ex-dividend on November 21, 2014. An interim dividend of 2.3 cents per share was paid on December 10, 2013.
Medical Disposables & Supplies declared an interim dividend of 4 cents per share payable on November 19, to shareholders on record as at November 14. The stock will trade ex-dividend on November 12, 2014. This is the first dividend the company is paying since listing in December last year.
