At the end of trading, the junior market index ended Tuesday with a small loss of 13.91 points to close at 1,930.73. The market closed with 11 active securities, 3 of which declined and 1 advanced as 934,404 units changed hands, valued at $3,657,423.
At the close, 1 security ended with no bid and 6 securities had no stocks being offered for sale. There were only 3 stocks closing with bids that were higher than their last selling prices and 5 ended with lower offers.
In trading, Access Financial traded 1,990 shares to close at $17, AMG Packaging ended with 7,830 units changing hands to close at $11, Blue Power had just 379 shares trading but rose 18 cents to end at $11.18.
Consolidated Bakeries had 2,500 units trading firm at $1.30, General Accident traded at $3 with 3,000 shares changing hands. Honey Bun traded 19,500 units at $13, Iron Rock Insurance traded 456,960 shares and closed unchanged at $4, Jamaican Teas closed at $4.99 after trading 11,119 units for the loss of 1 cent. Lasco Distributors closed with 5,457 units trading with a fall of 1 cent at $5.89, Lasco Financial ended at $3.03 with 272,427 shares changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing ended with 151,621 shares changing hands to close at $3.50 with a fall of 30 cents and tTech traded 2,000 shares but rose by 10 cents to $4.30.
Junior stocks soften – Tuesday
Junior stocks fell – Monday
Jamaican Teas traded at a new high of $5.24 on Monday.
At the close, 1 security ended with no bid and 6 securities had no stocks being offered for sale. There were 3 stocks closing with bids that were higher than their last selling prices and 5 ended with lower offers.
In trading, Access Financial traded just 220 and gained 50 cents to close at $17, AMG Packaging fell 47 cents with 400 units changing hands to close at $11, Blue Power had just 379 shares trading but rose 18 cents to end at $11.18. Caribbean Cream traded 52,000 shares but fell $1.05 to $3.70, Caribbean Flavours had 25,950 units trading firm at $8, General Accident traded at $3 with 129,400 shares changing hands. Honey Bun traded 24,051 units at $13 after falling 8 cents,
newly listed Iron Rock Insurance traded 368,917 shares and closed unchanged at $4, Jamaican Teas closed at $5 after trading 8,465 units, the price traded at a 52 weeks’ intraday high of $5.24 before closing. Lasco Distributors closed with 88,618 units trading with a fall of 8 cents at $5.90, Lasco Financial ended at $3.03 with 134,243 shares changing hands 1 cent higher and Lasco Manufacturing ended with 103,029 shares changing hands to close at $3.80 with a fall of 10 cents.
General Accident dominates juniors – Friday
General Accident traded 2.8m shares on Friday
The market ended with 14 securities trading, 5 of which declined and 6 advancing and 3,473,758 units changing hands, valued at $11,095,522. One stock traded at an intraday 52 weeks’ high
At the close, 1 security ended with no bid and 6 securities had no stocks being offered for sale. There were 3 stocks closing with bids that were higher than their last selling prices and 5 ended with lower offers.
In trading, Access Financial traded 24,500 in one block as a cross at $16.50 for a loss of 1 cent, AMG Packaging gained 5 cents with 5,814 units changing hands to close at $11.47, Caribbean Cream traded 120,000 shares and rose 69 cents to $4.75 but closed with the offer at $4.30 to sell 45,000 units. Caribbean Flavours had 3,000 units trading firm at $8, Caribbean Producers traded 16,000 shares but slipped 25 cents to $4.17, Consolidated Bakeries ended with 21,000 shares trading at $1.30 after dropping 18 cents,
Dolphin Cove closed with 100 shares changing hands at $15.29, General Accident jumped 60 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $3 with 2,811,669 shares. Honey Bun traded only 1,000 units at $13.08 after falling 41 cents, Jamaican Teas closed at $5 after the split of the issued stock into 2 shares, with 222,773 units traded, the price went as high as $5.05 before closing. Lasco Distributors closed with 32,418 units trading with a rise of 22 cents at $5.98, Lasco Financial ended at $3.02 with 33,785 shares changing hands with a 2 cents gain and Lasco Manufacturing ended with 94,183 shares changing hands to close at $3.90 with a rise of 9 cents.
Juniors move higher again – Thursday
Jamaican Teas closed at a new all time high of $5 on Thursday.
Iron Rock Insurance traded 521,013 shares at a new high of $4.40 after rising by 37 cents at the close but traded as high as $4.51 for a record high, Jamaican Teas and Knutsford Express also traded at new record highs on Thursday. The junior market enjoyed another day of a rising index at the close on Thursday with a small gain of 3.12 points to end at 1,981.44.
There were two stocks closing at 52 weeks’ high at the close. The market ended with 14 securities trading, 6 of which declined and 5 advancing and 1,654,174 units changing hands, valued at $16,966,569.
At the close, 1 security ended with no bid and 6 securities had no stocks being offered for sale. There were 3 stocks closing with bids that were higher than their last selling prices and 4 ended with lower offers.
In trading, Access Financial traded 762,000 in one block as a cross at $16.51 for a loss of 49 cents, AMG Packaging gained 2 cents with 2,424 units changing hands, to close at $11.42, Blue Power traded 11,700 shares at $11, Consolidated Bakeries ended with 2,047 shares trading at $1.48. General Accident closed with 24,248 shares but lost 40 cents at $2.40, Honey Bun traded 37,500 units at $13.49 after gaining 41 cents, 
Jamaican Teas closed at a new high of $5 after the split of the issued stock into 2 shares, 14,100 units traded to record a gain of $1.15 for the day. Knutsford Express closed at a new 52 weeks’ high of $22 with 640 units changing hands, Lasco Distributors closed with 139,820 units trading with a loss of 23 cents at $5.76, Lasco Financial ended at $3 with 78,381 shares changing hands with a 10 cents loss. Lasco Manufacturing ended with 50,927 shares changing hands to close at $3.81 with a fall of 19 cents, Paramount Trading ended with just 718 units changing hands at $11.31 and tTech fell by 5 cents to close at $4.20 with 8,656 units changing hands.
Juniors drop back on Wednesday
The junior market closed on Wednesday with advancing stocks having the upper hand on decliners, with low volume of stocks changing hands but with a heighted number of securities being active. The market dropped 48.02 points to end at 1,965.53, with 15 securities trading, of which 6 declined and 3 advanced.
The market ended with 661,732 units changing hands, valued at $2,524,696. At the close, 1 security ended with no bid and only 5 securities had no stocks being offered for sale. There were 4 stocks closing with bids that were higher than their last selling prices and one ended with a lower offer.
In trading, Access Financial Services ended with 1,720 units changing hands at $20 after losing 20 cents, Blue Power rose by $1 with 200 units changing hands to close at $11, C2W Music had 6,770 shares trading with the loss of 2 cents to end at 43 cents, Caribbean Cream fell $1.23 to close at $3.27 with 64,802 units trading. Caribbean Producers had 25,000 units changing hands to close at $4.50, Consolidated Bakeries traded 6,200 units to end at $1.50, 
Dolphin Cove ended with a loss of 10 cents to close at $15.30 while trading just 500 units. General Accident fell 30 cents in closing at $2.50 with 100,000 shares changing hands, Honey Bun rose $1 in trading 2,966 shares to close at $15, Knutsford Express traded 3,943 shares at $19. Lasco Distributors closed with 12,100 units trading to end at $6, Lasco Financial gained 6 cents to end at $3.01 with 600 shares changing hands, Lasco Manufacturing ended 5 cents lower in trading 413,770 shares to close at $4.05, Medical Disposables traded 187 shares at $3.50, tTech traded 22,574 shares to close at $4.25.
Junior market slips below 1,300 on Tuesday
Consolidated Bakeries with their Purity brand closed at a new 52 weeks’ high on Tuesday
The junior market enjoyed wide spread trading as 13 securities changed hands leading to the market index falling 19.83 points to close at 1,296.41. A total of 3,546,444 units, valued at $11,640,858 changed hands as 7 stocks advanced and 5 declined.
The market ended with 4 stocks closing at 52 weeks’ high and one traded at an intraday high. At the close 3 securities ended with no bids to buy, while 5 had no stocks being offered for sale. A total of 5 stocks closed with bids higher than the last traded prices and none closed with a lower offer.
In trading, Access Financial closed with a loss of 36 cents to $12.50 with 57,729 units changing hands, AMG Packaging closed with a gain of 63 cents at $5 with 43,796 units changing hands for a 52 weeks’ high, Caribbean Cream rebounded with a 15 cents rise and closed at $3.35 with 1,170,036 shares changing hands. Caribbean Flavours fell 8 cents to $4 with 300,685 shares changing hands, Caribbean Producers traded 346,000 units for a gain of 14 cents end at $3.10, Consolidated Bakeries traded 20,556 shares with a gain of 15 cents to end at $1.65, to close at a new 52 weeks’ high.
Dolphin Cove had 4,585 units changing hands to end at $11.20 having lost $1.80, KLE Group ended with 39,000 shares changing hands and gained 2 cents to end at 45 cents. Lasco Distributors with 532,514 shares changing hands, closed 5 cents lower at $3.01 after hitting an intraday for a 52 weeks high of $3.40, Lasco Financial gained 23 cents and closed at $2.63 to close at a 52 weeks high while 740,049 shares changed hands. Lasco Manufacturing traded 283,090 shares to end at $3.11 while shedding 34 cents, Paramount Trading ended with 4,504 units changing hands for 10 cents higher to end at $7.10 and Derrimon Trading preference share ended with 1,400 shares changing hands to end at $2.20
Lasco Financial’s Q1 Profit up 14%
Lasco Financial Services (LFSL) reported profit of $10 million for the March 2015 quarter, down from $41 million made in 2014 but revved things up to a 14 increase in June quarter to $54 million as revenues climbed 8 percent to $192 million and well over the $148 million generated in the March quarter.
For the March quarter revenue that compared with the 2014 quarter expenses grew by $28 million due mainly to increase spend on marketing and selling expenses. Jacinth Hall-Tracey, Managing director indicated that the period suffered from squeezed margins in March quarter on foreign exchange trading and foreign exchange losses in the quarter, resulting from the revaluation of the Jamaican dollar and greater stability of the exchange rate. Loan disbursements slowed as credit rating data used in assessing potential clients resulted in lower loan approvals.
Total expenses for the first quarter increased by 5.5 percent to $137 million compared to the corresponding period. This is primarily due to a 36 percent increase in administrative expenses and 16 percent decrease in selling and promotion expenses. “The net increase is reflecting the expansion of our network, staff cost and software support to manage operational efficiencies and to build customer relationships. LFSL continues to review its marketing tactics which gave rise to a reduction in selling and promotion expenses”, Hall-Tracey said. She went on to say “During the quarter, our growth initiatives included the launch of our motorcycle loan product and the opening of our new cambio branch in Port Antonio”. The opening of the new branch would have added to administrative cost against which revenues would not cover.
The company has cash of $563 million and is generating over $200 million per year. If the company can find the formula to ramp up good quality lending successfully, the profit outlook can be transformed considerably with high profit margins for lending. “We are working on a number of initiatives that will help in the transition from lower income in foreign exchange activity” Hall-Tracey said in response to questions posed after the company released the Full year results to March. The area of credit approval is one that they is being revisited as the use of credit rating information is stymying lending. But Hall-Tracey expects profit for this year that ends March 2016 to be higher than for the year just ended, subject to taxes on profit which the company will start bearing at fifty percent of the official tax rate of 25 percent.
The equity capital of Lasco is $868 million and is well below that of its two siblings who have equity in equity of more than $2.4 billion each, as such the possibility for strong growth is probably more present here than with the bigger entities over time.
The company has done well from the money remittance and cambio operations but it is in the lending that the future growth prospects seems to rest. Hence the connection between Mayberry Investments with the know-how having been exposed at Access Financial. The company has adequate free capital to increase lending with only $147 million in loans at March. Earnings per share of 0.45 cents for the quarter should end around 20 cents for the year to March 2016. The stock last traded at $1.80, investors need to keep an eye for the possibility that Mayberry Investments could increase their holdings in the company.
Junior index drops 3.5% on Friday
Lasco Manufacturing fell 15 cents to help pull the index down
The large decline in the index would be due a lot, to the fall of Lasco Manufacturing with a large number of issued shares.
At the close, 5 securities ended with no bids to buy, while 7 had no stocks being offered for sale and 6 stocks closed with bids higher than the last traded prices and 1 closed with a lower offer.
Stocks trading are, Access Financial traded 2,500 shares to close with a 2 cents fall to $12, Caribbean Cream lost 30 cents with 14,300 shares changing hands at $1.60, Dolphin Cove
traded just 1,210 shares with a loss of 65 cents to end at $12.25, Knutsford Express had 1,500 shares changing hands at $6.10 for a 10 cents gain. Lasco Distributors closed with 490,000 units trading at $1.90 to gain 5 cents, Lasco Financial ended with 629,255 shares changing hands at $1.80. Lasco Manufacturing closed with 191,077 units trading, ending with a loss of 15 cents at $1.80, Medical Disposables ended with 141,958 shares changing hands to close at $2.36 after gaining 1 cent and Eppley preference share 2019 traded 103,836 units at $6.05.
Juniors below 900 points
Activity on the Junior Market closed with 8 securities trading and ended with 294,026 units changing hands valued at $954,783. The JSE Junior Market Index declined 14.05 on top of a fall of 15.87 points on Wednesday to close at 894.34, the first time it closed below 900 points since crossing over this level on June 3.
At the close of the market, the prices of 2 stocks advanced, 3 declined with 2 closing at 52 weeks’ high and there were 4 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices, 4 with lower offers and 4 securities closing with no bids to buy and 5 that had no stocks being offered for sale.
Stocks trading in the junior market are, Access Financial ending with 17,562 units changing hands to close with a loss of $1.50 at $12 Cargo Handlers finished with 10,000 units to close at $26,Caribbean Cream with 3,357 shares traded higher by 1 cent to $1.60,
Caribbean Producers traded 6,000 shares and lost 8 cents to $2.80, Dolphin Cove trading 200 shares to close at $12.78 but ended with an offer to sell just 200 shares at $12.60. Honey Bun ended at $2.88 with 20,038 shares changing hands, Lasco Financial traded 152,759 shares but fell 5 cents in closing at $1.90 and Lasco Manufacturing traded 84,000 shares but gained 1 cent to end at $1.31.
More junior stocks up Friday
Consolidated Bakeries closed at a new 52 weeks’ high on Friday
At the close of the market, there were 4 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and only 4 with lower offers. The junior market ended with 3 securities closing with no bids to buy and 8 securities that had no stocks being offered for sale.
Stocks trading in the junior market are, Access Financial ending with 38,164 shares
changing hands to close higher by 10 cents at $17.10, Cargo Handlers finished with 36,944 units to close at $22.28, Caribbean Cream had just 800 shares trading, lost 1 cent to end at $1.19, Caribbean Flavours ended trading in 8,000 shares with the price falling 10 cents to $2, Consolidated Bakeries closed with a 15 cents increase as 307,613 units traded to land at $1.15. General Accident Insurance concluded trading with 79,105 shares changing hands 7 cents higher at $2.17, Knutsford Express traded just 100 shares at $6, Lasco Distributors traded 5,500 shares, 5 cents higher, at $1.70. Lasco Financial Services finished trading with 184,648 units, the price slipped 1 cent to $1.30 and there was dealing in 13,000 Lasco Manufacturing’s shares to close at $1.30.
