Trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange with 16 securities changing hands of which 4 advanced, 3 declined and 9 traded firm with a total of 252,342 units, valued at $2,209,695.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index rose 1.11 points to close at 1,153.78, the All T&T Index gained 1.97 points to close at 1,978.60 and the Cross Listed Index increased by a mere 0.03 points to end at 43.10.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, First Citizens Bank trading 2.981 shares to close with a gain of 2 cents at $35.26, Guardian Holdings with 71,200 shares changing hands, for a value of $1,037,220, gained 59 cents to end at a new 52 weeks’ high, of $14.65. Sagicor Financial Corporation trading 490 shares to close with a gain of 4 cents at $5.20, Trinidad Cement with a volume of 51,480 shares traded for $136,422, closed with a gain of 15 cents to end at $2.65.
Declines| The stocks declining at the end of trading are, Agostini’s contributing 283 shares with the price closing 2 cents lower at $17.38, Angostura Holdings added 27,500 shares valued at $398,750 falling 39 cents to close at $14.50 and Scotiabank with 130 shares trading closed down a cent at $62.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, Clico Investment Fund trading 4,681 shares valued at $105,374 to end at $22.50, Flavorite Foods trading 18,607 shares at $4.80, Grace Kennedy trading 1,453 units at $3.59, Jamaica Money Market Brokers while contributing 50,000 shares, closed unchanged at 43 cents. Massy Holdings traded 502 shares to close at $63.37, National Enterprises saw trading in just 11,315 shares valued at $196,297 to close at $17.35, Prestige Holdings traded 1,453 shares to close at $9.91, Scotia Investments traded 10,000 shares in closing at $1.50, and West Indian Tobacco trading 303 units and closed at $125.04.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 6 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 4 with offers that were lower.
4 TTSE stocks rose 3 fell Tuesday
5 stocks gained on TTSE Wednesday
Trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange closed with 13 securities changing hands of which 5 advanced, 2 declined and 6 traded firm with a total of 256,617 units, valued at $3,637,097.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index rose by 0.45 points to close at 1,149.02, the All T&T Index gained 0.15 points to close at 1,972.82 and the Cross Listed Index increased by 0.14 points to end at 42.61.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, National Commercial Bank with 17,000 shares trading and closed 1 cent higher, at a new 52 weeks’ high of $1.37. Scotiabank gained 3 cents in trading 462 shares to end at $62.20, Trinidad Cement contributed 16,500 shares and closed 1 cent higher at $2.31, Unilever Caribbean gained 17 cents to end at a new 52 weeks’ high of $65.35 while trading 653 shares and West Indian Tobacco traded 1,728 shares to advance by 1 cent to $125.04.
Declines| The stocks declining at the end of trading are, Angostura Holdings with 1,500 shares trading, closed with a loss of 4 cents, at $14.96 and Agostini’s added 10,000 shares valued at $174,000 and suffered a 20 cents loss, to close at $17.40.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, Clico Investment Fund trading 107,156 shares valued at $2,411,010 to end at $22.5, First Citizens Bank trading 5,917 shares, valued at $209,817 to close at $35.46. Grace Kennedy trading 1,500 shares at $3.60, National Flour Mills exchanging 800 shares at $1.55, Point Lisas Industrial Port Development with 7,551 shares closed at $3.50 and Sagicor Financial Corporation with 85,850 shares changing hands for a value of $437,965, closed at $5.10.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 4 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 3 stocks with offers that were lower.
TTSE directionless
Trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange ended with 9 securities changing hands, 2 advanced, 2 declined and 5 traded firm with a total of 73,201 units, valued at $1,611,813. The market closed with 1 stock reaching a new 52 weeks’ high and 1 falling to a new 52 weeks’ low.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index lost 0.14 points to close at 1,149.27, the All T&T Index fell by just 0.27 points to close at 1,974.36 and the Cross Listed Index remained unchanged at 42.47.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, ANSA McAL trading 440 shares t to close with a gain of 1 cent to end at $66.88 and West Indian Tobacco gained 2 cents to end at a new 52 weeks’ high of $125.04 with 4,500 shares.
Declines| The stocks declining at the end of trading are, Massy Holdings contributed 6,000 shares with a value of $380,340 and lost 4 cents to end at a new 52 weeks’ low of $63.39 and Trinidad Cement 5 cents to close at $2.45 with only 1,400 shares changing hands.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, Agostini’s trading 1,079 shares at $17.60, Clico Investment Fund trading 23,200 shares valued at $522,020, remaining at $22.50. Grace Kennedy led with 23,216 shares changing hands at $3.60, followed by Jamaica Money Market Brokers with 8,366 shares trading at 43 cents, while National Flour Mills added 5,000 shares at $1.55.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 4 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 5 stocks with offers that were lower.
$12m chased 572,000 shares
Trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange ended with 13 securities changing hands of which 3 advanced, 4 declined and 6 traded firm with a total of 572,088 units, valued at $11,808,513.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index fell by 2.28 points to close at 1,146.51, the All T&T Index lost 4.54 points to close at 1,975.50 and the Cross Listed Index remained at 41.58.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, Clico Investment Fund traded 16,655 shares valued at $376,124 to advance by 1 cent to end at $22.51, Sagicor Financial Corporation added 1 cent with 12,201 shares changing hands, to end at $5.11 and West Indian Tobacco traded 1,000 shares at $125.02 to gain 2 cents for a new 52 weeks high.
Declines| The stocks declining at the end of trading are, Agostini’s with a volume of 200,000 shares trading for $3,470,000 but the price declined by 26 cents to $17.35, Angostura Holdings dropped 85 cents to close at $15.05 with 203,387 shares changing hands, for a value of $3,062,687. First Citizens Bank contributed 124,014 shares with a value of $4,402,497 to close with a loss of 23 cents to $35.50 and Massy Holdings trading 705 shares to close at 63.57, with a loss of 2 cents for a new 52 weeks’ low.
Firm Trades| ANSA Mcal traded 1,400 shares at $66.86, Guardian Holdings contributed 2,480 shares and closed at $13, while National Enterprises added 2,307 shares to close at $17.40, Scotiabank traded 1,361 shares at $62.15, Scotia Investments had 1,900 units trading at 41.45 and Trinidad Cement with 4,678 shares changing hands at $2.50.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 4 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 4 stocks with offers that were lower.
5 stocks rose 3 fell on TTSE
Trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange with 9 securities changing hands of which 5 advanced, 3 declined and 1 traded firm with a total of 132,860 units, valued at $1,448,296.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index rose 0.05 points to close at 1,148.56, the All T&T Index fell by just 0.35 points to close at 1,978.76 and the Cross Listed Index increased by 0.06 points to end at 41.69.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, Agostini’s ending with 2,600 units trading, for a 1 cent gain, to $17.61. Clico Investment Fund traded 8,691 shares valued at $195,721 and advanced by 1 cents to $22.52, National Commercial Bank traded 1,405 shares with a 1 cent rise, to end at a new 52 weeks’ high of $1.22. Scotiabank added 2,948 shares valued at $183,157 to close at $62.13 for a 1 cent gain and Trinidad Cement with 55,100 shares valued at $126,781 traded, gained 1 cent to end at $2.31.
Declines| The stocks declining at the end of trading are, First Citizens Bank trading 327 shares as the price eased by 1 cent to $35.74. Guardian Holdings with 58,187 shares changing hands for a value of $756,795 lost 6 cents to close at $13, Sagicor Financial Corporation traded 400 shares to close with a loss of 1 cent at $5.24
Firm Trades| Ansa Merchant Bank contributed 3,202 shares with a value of $124,558 to close at $38.90.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 4 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 4 stocks with offers that were lower.
3 stocks gained on TTSE Monday
Trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange closed with 10 securities changing hands of which 3 advanced, 4 declined and 3 traded firm with a total of 118,492 units, valued at $7,843,551.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index rose 0.07 points to close at 1,148.94, the All T&T Index fell by just 0.47 points to close at 1,980.31 and the Cross Listed Index increased by 0.08 points to end at 41.58.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, Agostini’s with 1,650 shares trading, closed up a cent at $17.60, Jamaica Money Market Brokers added 7,426 shares to gain 1 cent to 45 cents and Prestige Holdings with a volume of 20,800 shares traded for $205,920 and gained 20 cents to a new 52 weeks’ high of $9.90.
Declines| The stocks declining at the end of trading are, Massy Holdings trading 108 shares and closed with a loss of 4 cents at $63.64. Republic Bank with 62,721 shares changing hands for a value of $7,431,803, closed with a loss of 10 cents at $118.49 and Trinidad Cement traded 5,000 shares valued to close with a loss of 5 cents at $2.50.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, Clico Investment Fund traded 2,400 shares and remained at $22.50, Grace Kennedy with 7,374 shares, to close at $3.61 followed by Guardian Holdings contributed 2,000 shares with the price closing unchanged at $13.10 and Sagicor Financial Corporation contributed 9,013 shares at $5.25.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 7 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 4 stocks with offers that were lower.
Carib economies pressure T&T companies
Trinidadian companies are facing challenging times, the recent fall in the price of oil and gas on the world market has not made things any easier, in fact it is likely to make it worse.
Even before the collapse of energy prices profits of Trinidadian companies were pressured with little or just moderate growth. The challenges are not only in energy. Inflation in the twin island state has been running at high levels for some time with the latest figures showing 8 percent at the same time the country’s currency remained stable during the period of high price gains. While a lot of the increase was in the food category, it nevertheless would feed somewhat into general prices. While efficiencies could compensate for the higher prices, it seems unlikely with employment reaching very low levels placing pressure on labour cost as some businesses find it difficult to get persons to employ.
Against this back ground, it is not surprising that of 4 companies reporting for the December quarter, all show virtually profits.
First Citizens Bank could only turn a 2.8 percent growth in assets since December 2013 and 3.5 percent increase in loans into a 2 percent increase in profit after tax of TT$178 million from net revenues that were up to $430 from $428 million in 2013. Assets grew by 6.2 percent over September last year and loans are up 5.2 percent for the same period.
Expenses were flat at $210 million for the quarter. Earnings per share ended at 71 cents. For 2013 fiscal year, the bank earned $2.49. The stock price is now at $35.75 for a PE ratio of 14.
Massy Holdings reported a 20.6 percent jump in revenue but profit after tax rose only 6.5 percent to TT$144, that is well down on the 23 percent in the final fiscal quarter, to September last year.
Jamaica contributed less profits than in 2013 and so did Guyana but Barbados and Eastern Caribbean reported higher profits while T&T was flat and Columbia recorded profit. The business was acquired after the December quarter in 2013.
Segment profit before saw growth in Automotive and Industrial Equipment increasing by 30 percent, Integrated Retail gaining 8.8 percent, Insurance up by 14.8 percent, Energy and Industrial Gases fell 6 percent, Information, Technology and Communications declined 37.6 percent and Other Investments down 14 percent. The largest contributors to revenues and profits are Automotive and Industrial Equipment, Integrated Retail, Energy and Industrial Gases and other investments.
Earnings per share for the quarter amounts to $1.47 versus $1.39 in 2013, for the full year to September 2014, the company reported $5.69. Earnings should end around $6 for 2015. The stock price closed on Friday at $63.64, having peaked at $69.60 last year. The PE of the stock is around 11.
Republic Bank could not turn its 3.7 percent growth in assets into more than a 2 percent increase in after tax profit for the December quarter last year over the prior year even as loans grew by 9 percent over the same period. Net income grew by 4.5 percent to TT$899 million but operating expenses climbed a large 12 percent thus negating the increase in net revenues. The banking group saw a sharp reduction in the tax payable from$118 million to $97 million leaving $297 million for shareholders versus $291 million in 2013. The lower tax rate is partially due to a reduction in pretax profit from $423 million down to $408 million.
Earnings per share for the quarter ended at $1.84 versus $1.80 in the prior year and for the full year to September Republic reported $7.39 per share. The stock peaked at $122.05 last year, and has since retreated to close at $118.59 and looks set to decline some more. The stock carries a PE of 16.
Agostini’s reported profit of TT$27 million for the first quarter to December 2014 from revenues of TT$408 million compared with profit of $27 million from revenues of $378 million in the 2013 period. For the year to September 2014 revenues came in at $1.36 billion resulting on full year’s profit of $80.5 million. Earnings per share for the quart was 46 cents and $1.36 for the full year. The stock last traded at $17.60 at a PE of 13. Agostini’s is involved in pharmaceutical, personal care, food and construction product distribution.
Agostini’s acquires Facey in Barbados
Agostini’s Limited, a Trinidad and Tobago listed company said on Friday that it acquired all the shares in Facey Trading a fast moving consumer goods Barbadian company.
Facey Trading is a distribution business operating in Barbados and was owned by Facey Group with headquarters in Jamaica. Paul Scott of Facey Group, confirm the sale to Agostini’s. They approached us with an offer and we decided to sell, we sold the business but kept the property which is leased to the new owners of the business Scott, confirmed in an interview with IC Insider. It would appear that the size and state of the Barbadian economy played a role in the decision to sell. Facey Group continues to operate in Barbados in the IT and telecom phone card sector Scott said.
Agostini’s reported profit of TT$27 million for the first quarter to December 2014 from revenues of TT$408 million compared with profit of $27 million from revenues of $378 million in the 2013 period. For the year to September 2014 revenues came in at $1.36 billion resulting on full year’s profit of $80.5 million. Earnings per share for the quart was 46 cents and $1.36 for the full year. The stock last traded at $17.60. Agostini’s is involved in pharmaceutical, personal care, food and construction product distribution.
4 up 2 down on TTSE Monday
Trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange was with 11 securities changing hands of which 4 advanced, 2 declined and 5 traded firm with a total of 363,622 units, valued at $2,765,193.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index lost 0.40 points to close at 1,146.16, the All T&T Index rose by just 0.03 points to close at 1,977.41 and the Cross Listed Index fell 0.11 points to end at 41.23.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, Agostini’s gained 5 cents to $17.60, while trading 6,792 units, One Caribbean Media ending with a gain of 1 cent while trading 7,890 units to close $23.96. Prestige Holdings trading 1,000 shares to close with a gain of 5 cents to a new 52 weeks’ high of $9.66 and Trinidad Cement contributed 58,305 shares with a value of $136,050.65, while closing at $2.35.
Declines| The stocks declining at the end of trading are, Massy Holdings trading 100 shares to close with a loss of 6 cents, at a new 52 weeks’ low of $63.89 and Sagicor Financial with 156,210 shares changing hands for a value of $783,860 fell 15 cents to close at $5, for a new 52 weeks’ low.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, First Citizens Bank trading 5,748 shares valued at $205,491, to close at $35.75. Clico Investment Fund with 51,620 shares valued at $1,161,498 remained at $22.50, Jamaica Money Market Brokers with a volume of 60,000 shares being traded at 43 cents, National Commercial Bank added 14,166 shares at $1.18 and Scotiabank traded 1,791 shares at $62.10.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 2 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 3 stocks with offers that were lower.
3 stocks rose 2 declined on TTSE
Trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange ended with 15 securities changing hands of which 3 advanced, 2 declined and 10 traded firm with a total of 367,199 units, valued at $4,261,164.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index lost 0.01 points to close at 1,150.71, the All T&T Index rose by just 0.06 points to close at 1,981.75 and the Cross Listed Index fell 0.01 points to end at 41.86.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, Agostini’s in trading 100 shares to close with a gain of 1 cent, at $17.51. ANSA Mcal advancing 1 cent to end at $66.51 while trading 100 units and Ansa Merchant Bank that gained 1 cent to end at $39.46 with 100 shares changing hands, and ended at a new 52 weeks’ high.
Declines| The stocks declining at the end of trading are, Flavorite Foods lost 30 cents to close at $4.50 with 1,000 shares changing hands and Sagicor Financial Corporation traded 7,935 shares valued at to close with a loss of 1 cent at $5.94, both shares closed at new 52 weeks’ lows.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, Clico Investment Fund was the with 51,792 shares valued at $1,217,095 remained at $23.50, First Citizens Bank with 62,665 shares traded with a value of $2,302,969 ended at $36.75, Guardian Holdings traded 331 units to close at $13.25. Jamaica Money Market Brokers with 172,580 shares changing hands closed at 43 cents, National Commercial Bank contributed 21,037 shares at $1.17, National Flour Mills ended at $1.19 while trading 1,760 shares, One Caribbean Media added 9,999 shares valued at $219,978 to end at $22. Prestige Holdings with 1,300 shares traded ended at $9.56, Sagicor Financial Corporation 6.5% US$ preference share traded 35,000 units at US$1.10 and Scotiabank contributed 1,500 shares with the price closing, unchanged at $62.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 5 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 3 stocks with offers that were lower.
