In Monday’s trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange the prices of 6 stocks rose and 3 declined as 21 securities traded resulting in 5,426,535 shares changing hands valued at $14,802,328. The IC market sentiment indicator is pointing to continued fluidity in prices with almost an even number of stocks with bids and offers above or below their last traded prices.
Main Market| 5 companies in the main market advanced, only 3 declined as the indices moved down with the JSE Market Index falling by 603.54 points to 73,988.69 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite index declining by 674.86 points to close at 81,440.97.
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the main market are Cable & Wireless trading 16,832 shares to close with a gain of one cent at 41 cents, Desnoes & Geddes gained 20 cents to close at $4.50 with 450 units changing hands, National Commercial Bank 1,690 shares to close at $18.30 with a gain of 20 cents, Pan Jamaican Investment with 101,574 shares to close at $49.28, up 23 cents. Radio Jamaica had 4,900,000 units changing hands to close with a 4 cents gain at $1.32.
Firm| There were only 6 stocks in the main market to close without a change in price as Gleaner with 22,980 shares closed at $1.10, Grace Kennedy 810 units helped the price to close at $56.51, Jamaica Broilers traded 113,552 shares to close at $4.85, Mayberry Investments with 1,020 shares closed at $1.70, Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 11,930 units to close at $6.50 and Scotia Group with 18,575 units closed at $20.50.
Declines| The number of stocks that declined in the main market are Jamaica Money Market Brokers with 1,298 shares in losing 2 cents to end at $7.22, Sagicor Group 106,867 shares to close down by 30 cents at $9.50 and Seprod with 1,022 at $10.80 for a 4 cents fall.
Junior Market| The JSE Junior Market Index advanced by 2.92 points to close at 754.26 as only 6 stocks traded in that market.
Gains| Lasco Manufacturing was the only stock recording a gain at the end of trading in the junior market as 44,697 shares changed hands to close up by 9 cents at $1.19.
Firm Trades| Stocks in the junior market that traded to close at the same price as the day before are AMG Packaging with 500 units at $3.50, Blue Power with 19,438 units at $9.01, Derrimon Trading 12,000 units at $2.28, Lasco Distributors 37,300 shares at $1.40 and Lasco Financial Services 14,000 units at $1.20. Access Financial 9% Unsecured Short Term Notes traded 9,000 units at $99.50.
Declines| No stock declined in the junior market at the end of trading on Monday.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 8 stocks with the bid higher than the last selling price and 9 stocks with offers that were lower.
Advancing stocks top declines
Very moderate market movement
There was very moderate activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange at the close of the trading week as the prices of 10 stocks rose and 8 declined as only 25 securities traded in a very slow market session resulting in 1,571,377 shares trading valued at a mere $8,273,649.
Main Market| Six companies in the main and US dollar markets advanced and 6 declined as the indices moved down moderately with the JSE Market Index inching down by 6.80 points to 74,592.23 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite index shedding just 7.60 points to close at 82,115.83.
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the main market are Kingston Wharves with 9,534 shares to close with a gain of 48 cents at $5.99, National Commercial Bank gained 10 cents to close at $18.10 with 9,100 units changing hands, Proven Investments ordinary share, with 8,570 units to close up 0.02 us cents at 18 US cents, Sagicor Group 18,000 units closing at $9.80 for a 30 cents gain, Salada Foods 5,000 shares to close at $8 as the price gained 50 cents and Scotia Investments with only 700 shares to end at $23.10 for a gain of 10 cents.
Firm| There were only 4 stocks in the main market to close without a change in price as Cable & Wireless with 43,699 shares closed at 40 cents, Carreras with 5,000 units closed at $33.56, Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded 500,000 and closed at $2 and Proven Investments 8% preference share with 381,800 units closed at $5.07.
Declines| The stocks declining in the main market are Gleaner with 2,500 shares while falling a cent to close at $1.10, Grace Kennedy lost $1.49 to end at $56.51 with 1,600 shares, Jamaica Broilers exchanged 20,538 units to close down a cent at $4.85. Pan Jamaican Investment 10,529 shares to end 55 cents lower at $49.05, Scotia Group had 110,308 units at $20.50 at the close as the price shed 12 cents and Supreme Ventures 3,800 shares to close with a 5 cents decline at $2.05.
Junior Market| The JSE Junior Market Index declined by 8.14 points to close at 751.34 as 9 stocks traded with 4 advancing and only 2 declining.
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the junior market are AMG Packaging that traded 5,560 units to close at $3.50, up by a cent, Access Financial with 72,600 units to close at $11.50 with a gain of $1.50, Caribbean Cream 3,000 units to close at 79 cents with a 4 cents increase and Caribbean Producers with 90,000 units in closing at $3, up 2 cents.
Firm Trades| The 3 stocks in the junior market traded to close at the same price as the day before are Blue Power with 3,400 shares in closing at $9.01, Lasco Financial 3,000 shares while closing at $1.20 and Medical Disposables 94,700 units, closing at $2.04.
Declines| Stocks declining in the junior market at the end of trading are General Accident with 2,000 units a $1.60, down 10 cents and Lasco Manufacturing with 166,439 shares to end down by 10 cents at $1.10.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 3 stocks with the bid higher than the last selling price and 4 stocks with offers that were lower.
AMG gearing for further growth
AMG Packaging is out with flat results for the year to August with profits of $49 million up about 4 percent from 2012, even as revenues from goods sold climbed 24 percent to $444 million as a result of a 16 percent increase in the volume of items sold.
The company reported improvement in gross profit which increased by 32 percent compared to the 2012 figure of 31 percent as it grew faster than sales. Increased administrative cost ate up just about all of the improvement in increased efficiency in the factory operations. This was due mainly to what management attributed to a revision to wage package, as there was no increase since 2009. Gross profit margin increased to 33 percent in the year from 31 percent in 2012 and 26 percent in 2011. In 2010 the margin was at 32 percent.
August quarter | Data indicates a 37 percent jump in revenues to $128 million but that was not enough to prevent a fall in profits in the quarter to $14 million versus $16 million in the 2012 quarter as just about all major areas of cost rose sharply. Raw material cost is up 49 percent, direct manufacturing cost grew by 42 percent, administration grew 36 percent, finance cost rose 197 percent and depreciation by 71 percent.
Negatively, return on equity fell in the year to 18.6 percent versus 22 percent in 2012 and 24.5 percent in 2011, clearly an area where work is needed. The company is working to improve efficiency and expansion of production by investing in new machines. During the year the company expended money on roof relays and some other items that have an one-off effect and not likely to be repeated in the coming year and should free the profit going forward. They are also moving to use LPG instead of placing total reliance on the electric grid, which they say will reduce energy cost in the coming year.
Management, in their report to investors, indicated that a multi-functional machine on order will replace older manual ones and a rotary die cut machine is being manufactured. Both are expected to be functional in the November quarter of 2013. These machines are expected to increase production and enhance the quality of products.
Finances | Current assets of $209 million including cash of $34 million is more than adequate to cover current liabilities of $71 million. Inventories climbed sharply to $93 million from $75 million in 2012 but it represents just under one and a half months of raw material cost.
Money borrowed rose to $85 million, an increase on the $29 million at the end of the prior year, with most of the increase used to fund expansion of the factory and added machinery. The debt compares favourably with equity of $291 million.
The stock recently declined to $3.50 and became weak sometime after the third quarter numbers were released suggesting minimal growth in the bottom line. Notwithstanding, the junior market has been exhibiting softness across most stocks. As such there could well be further decline in this stock price as there does not seem to be any major buying interest currently.
Insider call | With the expansion and modernisation that is underway and the tendency for sales to be boosted by increased volume the stock should be an attractive buy as a medium to long term investment around $3 per share.
Related posts | AMG is investing for tomorrow
Watch and buy this week
Monday, 15th July 2013 | What’s happening in the markets this week? We’ll be tracking the Stocks To Watch in our headlights for trading activity and price changes.
Our analysts’ Buy Rated seal of approval has been extended to Access Financial Services, a stock that trades on Jamaica’s Junior Market. Read our post dated 27th June, 2013 about this money maker ‘Big payoff for Access owners‘.
Meanwhile AMG Packaging has lost some of its sparkle and is no longer Buy Rated. Our post ‘AMG is investing for tomorrow‘ gives an in-depth report on their recent published results.
Better than a broker’s ‘buy’ recommendation, IC Insider has no vested interest in any stock transaction or conflict of interest. Our research is backed by published reports of the company’s performance and insights of future earnings that can be found at ICInsider.com. The final decision to buy, or not, is your personal choice.
To search for published company results on IC Insider, please use ‘Search IC Insider’ and enter the company name, in full or in part.
AMG is investing for tomorrow
AMG Packaging invested $108 million since last August in fixed assets including land, building and equipment. The additions moved fixed assets to $230 million, a major increase for a relatively small company. The company took on debt to help fund the expansion as well as providing working capital financing, while both inventories and trade receivables rose and was partially offset by a rise in payables.
At the end of April, loans stood at $91 million up from $30 million in May 2012 as borrowing added $70 million to debt with repayment of principal over 7 years at 9.25 percent interest for 5 years and variable thereafter at 3.25 percent above Treasury bill rates. Capital spend is yet to end. Management in their report to investors indicated that a multi-functional machine on order will replace older manual ones and a rotary die cut machine that is being manufactured will be shipped shortly. They are expected to increase production and enhance the quality of products.
2013 profit | Profit for the quarter came in at $7.3 million down from $15.7 million in 2012. For the nine months period, the bottom line reflected an increase in profits to $37.7 million up from $32.56 million in 2012. Revenues climbed in the latest quarter over that of 2012 but only by 5.7 percent to reach $111.37 million, while revenues for the nine months was up by 18 percent hitting $315.77 million. Sales slowed down sharply in the latest quarter from 34 percent increase in the three months to February and 18 percent increase in the November quarter.
Interestingly, even as revenue growth slowed in the May quarter, the margin continues to show improvements as gross profit increased over that of the 2012 May quarter and production raw material cost marginally more to generate the increased sales. Direct expenses climbed 27 percent in the quarter. Rises in administrative cost, finance, interest and depreciation combined to squeeze profit for the quarter, although profit before these expenses grew by $2 million, net profit fell by $8.4 million. In the quarter, interest cost came in at $2.8 million. There was none reflected in results in the prior period. Financial cost rose by $1.3 million and administrative cost increased by $1 million over the February quarter. Some of the increased cost is not expected to recur in the subsequent quarter but indications from the rise in administrative cost in the previous quarter compared with 2012 figures suggest that the cost structure going forward is set at higher levels than before. The company has been focusing its energies on cost containment and the reduction of raw material waste. The improved margins indicates that they have succeeded in this latter area. But there others that they are working on that will bring results in the future. The results to date indicate that they need to get revenues up at a faster pace than the latest quarterly results indicates to more than cover the increased overhead cost.
2012 profit | Sales for the year ended August, 2011 increased by 15.71% to $357.46 million as a result of an increase of 27.19% in the number of units produced. This increase in sales resulted in a 27.23% increase in Gross Profit of $81.31 million (2011- $63.91 million). For 2012, profit of $47.66 million was realised, up 52.45% over the 2011 prior year of $31.27 million.
Finances | Current assets of $199 million including cash of $49 million is more than adequate cover for current liabilities of $87 million. At the end of the February, cash was down to $7 million. Inventories climbed sharply and may well be attributable to the weakness of the exchange rate of the Jamaican dollar, in which case holding inventory at a lower exchange rate will act as insurance coverage for loss in value of the Jamaican dollar. The increase in inventories could well be that sales were taking place at a much slower pace than anticipated based on the hike in sales in the prior quarter.
Production improvement | AMG told its shareholders last year that the new 10,000 square feet warehouse facility was completed and will allow for additional space to stock raw material and finished products as well as expand the production capacity. The facility boasts two loading bays which will enable loading and unloading containers and minimise damage to the rolls. It will enable the company to store raw materials in a secure and proper environment. A paper clamp forklift was acquired and enables moving paper rolls in a more efficient manner.
A new two-colour printing and rotary die cut machine is installed and in production. This acquisition increased production as well as widens the product base. A partition machine was also acquired, expanding the product offering to service companies that package glass products.
Management decided to rearrange the shift system to accommodate a third shift in the near future. The new hours will be 6am to 2pm and 2pm to 10pm. This will eliminate the down time as well as minimize the overtime.