Broilers

Carreras climbs $2.29 pushes JSE

Carreras closed trading at $39.50 to end the day at a new 52 weeks’ high and Scotia Group after hitting $21.99 with 739,792 shares by mid-day, closed at $20.50 and were the main contributors to a strong increase in the main market indices on Friday. The gains were not adequate to stop the overall market from registering the third consecutive day of declining stocks out numbering advancing ones.
Activity on the overall Jamaican stock market, resulted in the prices of 6 stocks rising and 9 declining as 29 securities changed hands, ending in 5,019,576 units trading, valued at $36,430,375, in all market segments.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index gained 1,175.44 points to 77,828.04, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index rose 1,314.20 points to close at 85,733.67 and the JSE combined index gained 1,070.76 points to close at 79,654.74.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 10 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 with offers that were lower.

Scotiabank shares helped to push the index in Fridays trading.

Gains| Stocks gaining with last traded prices, at the end of trading in the main market are, Caribbean Cement ending with 12,825 units changing hands, to close with a gain of 5 cents at $2.35. Carreras swapped 124,240 shares to close with a gain of $2.29 at $39.50, the highest price it closed at since, November 6, 2013 when it then closed at $40. Jamaica Money Market Brokers closed with 93,329 ordinary shares trading, with a gain of 2 cents to $6.57, Scotia Investments contributed 5,000 units in trading to close 4 cents higher at $22.55 and Supreme Ventures had 10,600 shares changing hands, the price gained 15 cents to $2.15.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in the last traded prices are, Berger Paints in trading 1,569 units ended at $1.55, Cable & Wireless closed with 31,881 shares changing hands at 50 cents. Ciboney ended with 10,000 shares trading at 7 cents, Desnoes & Geddes closed with 909,979 units trading to end at $4.80, Jamaica Broilers closed with 89,998 units traded at $4, Jamaica Stock Exchange finished with 10,000 units changing hands at $2. Kingston Wharves exchanged only 827 units at $5.60, Mayberry Investments traded at $2, in swapping ownership of 200,406 shares, Proven Investments traded 17,000 shares at 21 US cents, Radio Jamaica closed with 800 shares changing hands at $1.30 and Scotia Group ended up with 750,762 shares changing hands at $20.50.

Declines| The last traded prices of stocks with losses at the end of trading in the main market are, Gleaner closing with 64,463 units trading as the price slipped 5 cents to 80 cents, for a new 52 weeks low, Grace Kennedy finished with 23,770 shares trading lower by 50 cents to $62.50, Kingston Properties closed with 29,925 shares changing hands to close lower by 50 cents at $7, National Commercial Bank closed with 50,453 units as the price slipped 19 cents to $19.31, Pan Jamaican Investment finished with 26,363 units trading, the price eased by 10 cents to $52, Radio Jamaica ended with 560 shares trading lower by 15 cents to $10.05 and Sagicor Group closed trading with 10,947 units as the price slipped 30 cents to $6.65.
Preference| Eppley 10% preference share traded 34,500 units at $6 and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share ended with 1,773,100 units trading at $2.

Ethanol losses & loan cost hit JBG profit

Profit fell 30 percent, for the six months ending October this year and a whopping 43 percent for the October quarter at Jamaica Broilers (JBG). With chicken processing being their main product line, the company reported profit of $210 million in the six months to October, down from $301 million for the similar period last year.
JBG reported a net profit of $99 million for the October quarter down from $173 million in 2013. The fall in profit is due to three main factors. Interest cost climbed 106 percent in the latest quarter and 68 percent in the six months period and corporation tax jumped 180 percent in the quarter and 58 percent for the six months against revenue growth of 15 percent in the quarter and 14 percent year to date. The ethanol operations contributed considerably to the lower profit with a loss of $144 million versus $27 million profit in 2013, the loss made in the October quarter was $55 million. Rising profit in the US segment accounted for the bulk of the tax increase.
On a positive note management indicates that “new business in the Ethanol division looks promising with income already received in October and November.”
Administrative expenses climbed 11 percent in the quarter and 21 percent for the nine months to October, with the latter growing faster than revenue increase.
The United States segment has done exceedingly well, with segment profit moving from $202 million in 2013 to $572 million this year. Ethanol is a concern especially with world oil prices having fallen sharply this year. Other areas have just kept pace with the prior period, the increased debt cost is weighting down on profit and needs to be put on firmer and more cost effective footing. The company makes the bulk of it profit in the second half of the year and with ethanol seems to be generating added revenues things could be looking up in the second half.
Jamaica Broilers borrowed $800 million more since the year-end at the end of April pushing borrowed funds to $7 billion this was used to fund increased inventories that rose by $800 million over the same period.