Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) closed at 56 cents, the equivalent of JS$9.50 while it closed at J$7.50 in Jamaica, providing investors with a great arbitrage position, with a huge 26 percent price difference at the end of trading.
Trading overall in the Trinidad Stock market on Wednesday saw 12 securities changing hands of which 5 advanced, 5 declined and 2 traded firm resulting in the Composite Index declining by 4.54 points to close at 1,173.08, the All T&T Index falling by 8.83 points to close at 1,990.79 and the Cross Listed Index easing by 0.03 points to close at 46.62. Trading resulted in 653,357 shares changing hands, valued at $6,420,588.
Gains| (JMMB) was the volume leader with 186,000 shares changing hands for a value of $103,300, closing 3 cents higher to end at 56 cents, National Enterprises gained 2 cents to close at $18.27, National Flour Mills added 110,000 shares valued at $138,600 to close a cent higher at $1.26, a 52 weeks high, Neal & Massy traded only 35 units at $66.31 for a one cent gain.
Declines| First Caribbean International Bank traded 15,072 shares at $5.75, down a cent, First Citizens Bank 3,581 shares at $36.07, down 28 cents Grace Kennedy with 161,400 shares traded for $564,975 and fell 13 cents to $3.50, Scotiabank with 215 shares, close at $70.10, down $1.90 and Trinidad Cement contributed 118,574 shares with a value of $243,723 to close at $2.05.
Firm Trades| Angostura Holdings 900 shares to close at $11.00, Sagicor Financial Corporation had only 50 units changing hands to end at $7.05.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 2 stocks with the bids higher than their last selling price and 3 stocks with offers that were lower.
Strong arbitrage position in JMMB in JSE & TTSE
Trinidad’s sleepy market
Stock market activity in Trinidad on Tuesday, saw trading in 13 securities, of which 3 advanced, 2 declined and 8 traded firm as 603,335 shares changed hands, for $7,429,236. The Composite Index edged up by 0.41 points to 1,177.62, the All T&T Index declined by 0.14 points to close at 1,999.62 and the Cross Listed Index inched up by 0.13 points to 46.65.
Gains| Clico Investment Fund traded 70,814 shares valued at $1,540,905 and gained 6 cents, to end the day at $21.76. Jamaica Money Market Brokers with 230,942 shares changing hands for a value of $122,179, closed 3 cents higher at 53 cents, Republic Bank with 955 units at $120.05 up 2 cents, a new 52 weeks high.
Firm Trades| Stock trading unchanged are Agostini’s with 471 units at $17.75, ANSA McAL 10 shares at $66.49, Angostura Holdings 10 shares at $11, National Flour Mills with a volume of 172,504 shares traded for $215,574 to close at $1.25, Point Lisas Industrial Port Development 300 shares at $3.65, Sagicor Financial Corporation 13,200 shares to close at $7.05, Guardian Media 957 units at $19.75 and West Indian Tobacco which added 17,501 shares valued at $2,065,118 to close at $118.
Declines First Citizens Bank contributed 88,671 shares with a value of $3,223,211 to close 4 cents lower at $36.35, Grace Kennedy traded 7,000 units to close with a one cent fall at $3.63.
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 5 stocks with offers that were lower.
No winners to be found on TTSE
Market activity on Thursday resulted in the trading of 8 securities of with none advancing, 4 declining and 4 traded firm, only 41,934 shares traded valued at $2,251,206.
The Composite Index eased by 1.08 points to close at 1,179.16, the All T&T Index declined by 2.10 points to 2,003.58 and the Cross Listed Index edged down by 0.01 points to close at 46.53.
Firm trades| First Caribbean International Bank traded 540 units at $5.75, National Commercial Bank contributed 2,400 shares and closed at $1.17, Republic Bank had 12,718 shares changing hands for a value of $1,526,160 to close at $120, West Indian Tobacco added 1,378 shares valued at $162,604 and closed at $118.
Declines| Clico Investment Fund traded 19,700 shares valued at $427,699, the price fell 18 cents to end at $21.72, First Citizens Bank traded 1,148 units, 83 cents lower at $36.15, Grace Kennedy with 3,000 shares traded for $10,920 closed at $3.64 being down a cent and Scotiabank traded 1,050 units in falling 47 cents to close at $72.
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.
Low market activity on TTSE
Trading activity on the Trinidad Stock Exchange saw 304,133 shares changing hands valued at $774,343 as 11 securities traded of which 2 advanced, 3 declined and 6 traded firm.
The Composite Index fell 1.92 points to close at 1,180.24, the All T&T Index declined by 3.82 points to 2,005.68 and the Cross Listed Index remained at 46.54.
Gains| Clico Investment Fund traded 10,444 shares valued at $226,889 and advanced by 5 cents to end at $21.72 and National Flour traded 10,000 shares valued at $11,700 as the price rose 2 cents to $1.17 a new 52 weeks high.
Firm trades| Stocks trading unchanged are Jamaica Money Market Brokers with 261,044 shares changing hands for a value of $117,470 as the price closed at 45 cents, Scotia Investments contributed 5,005 shares with a value of $7,958 as the price closed at $1.59, Prestige Holdings added 5,000 shares valued at $46,500 and closed at $9.30, Point Lisas Industrial Port Development 2,281 shares at $3.65, Neal & Massy 1,898 shares at $66.30 and First Caribbean International Bank 1,343 units at $5.75
Declines| First Citizens Bank traded 200 shares and lost 37 cents to close at $36.98, Guardian Holdings 4,918 units to end at $14.15, down 32 cents and Scotiabank 2,000 shares at $72.47, down 3 cents.
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.
First Caribbean may be delisted
First Caribbean Bank has left it to the Jamaica Stock Exchange to determine if they will delist the shares, according to an advert put out by the Bank, which is listed on various exchanges within the region.
The JSE advised them that the number of shares in the public hands is less than 20 percent as is the requirement. In addition, the level of trading is below the threshold desirable, being less than 2 percent average over 36 months, prior to the making notice to the Bank. As a result, the advert also indicated that the company was in breach of section 402b (1)(b) of the JSE rules.
After careful review of the matter, the bank has determined that it will not be feasible for either the proportion of the non-majority held shares or the average total traded volume to be raised to the minimum required in the foreseeable future.
The bank has decided that it will accept that it will be delisted by the JSE and has invited the JSE Board to exercise its discretion under rule 411a to delist the bank at its February meeting.
The bank is the largest holding by market share on the exchange and this will be the second large corporation taken off the exchange this year, if in fact, the JSE moves to delist to shares.
Trinidad Guardian Holdings opted not to remain listed on the JSE at the start of 2014 based on the low level of trading in its stock. The JSE went public last year against the background of lower income and profits than the year before and these moves will mean reduced income for the JSE and most likely worsen the loss position they suffered in the last three quarters of 2013.
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FCIB gets punched
For the fiscal year ending October 2013, First Caribbean International Bank generated $530 million in revenue, down from $543 million in 2012 but reported lousy net results of a loss for the year of $27.5 million compared with a profit of $72 million in the prior year.
The Bank would have generated $29.6 million of net income for the year but results were affected by a number of factors. Of note they incurred $37.6 million ($35.5 million after-tax) of restructuring expenses and an increase in the collective allowance for loan losses of $25 million ($21.6 million after-tax). The bank took a $151 million loan loss hit, an increase from $120 million in 2012. The 2013 write off is 2.4 percent of the net loan of $6.3 billion with loans falling from $6.8 billion in 2012.
FCIB saw operating expenses going in the opposite direction to income as expenses grew from $348 million in 2012 to $403 million but the 2013 amount would include the restructuring cost mentioned above.
Total assets also declined to $11.4 billion from $11.5 billion in 2012. Customers’ deposits remained at $9.6 billion, roughly the same as the year before. (All figures are in US dollars).
The bank, in its report to shareholders, states that “Many of the economies in which we operate rely heavily on tourism and foreign direct investments. The overhang from the economic crisis continues to impede growth and by extension has negatively affected our results. Loan loss provisions this quarter were higher than normal and include an increase in the collective allowance. The Bank is focused on pursuing risk-controlled growth and has taken considerable steps during the year toward the goal of becoming a lower risk bank. While never easy in these difficult times, we have also taken the decision to right size the organization, to redefine how we operate and to address our cost structure. The restructuring we are undertaking will position us for future cost savings and give us the ability to serve our customers better. As we continue to pursue our strategic priorities, our Bank has recorded some significant successes this year. We have introduced new and relevant products to better serve our clients and continue to leverage the capabilities of our parent and majority shareholder, CIBC.
Our focus on addressing operational and administrative concerns has also led to improvements in the client experience”.
“Our Wholesale Banking segment has recorded significant strides in client service delivery. During 2013, we have significantly removed operational and administrative activities away from the front-line personnel to ensure Corporate Managers and Client Service Officers allocate more time to work and interact with, and provide solutions to clients. We have also streamlined and strengthened our credit adjudication processes to further enhance efficiency. In our Retail and Business Banking segment we have invested heavily in developing a series of products and services to enhance our customer experience”.
The bank states that, “We have also continued our investment in upgrading our branches and network of Instant Teller machines. Focusing on customer experience, we have expedited our account opening times through an innovative continuous improvement process. In the Wealth Management segment we have leveraged the strong Axiom Mutual Funds capability in our parent and majority shareholder, CIBC, to manufacture a Caribbean based version of these funds suitable for international investors who have funds and wealth managed through the Caribbean. We have also strengthened our capability to service our Wealth Management clients with the integration into our bank of the CIBC Bank & Trust business, located in the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas, further widening the scope of clients we can assist and the range of services we can provide”.
A final dividend for the year of $0.015 per share was declared. With some of the cost not likely to recur and reduction in others flowing from the restructuring, profits should pick up in 2014 if the asset base can be held and no more major loan write down.
Proven, FCIB declare dividends
Proven delivers 10% cash return | PROVEN Investments has declared a dividend of US$0.0032 per ordinary share payable on June 26, 2013 to shareholders on record as at June 12, 2013. The stock will trade ex-dividend date is June 10, 2013.
This brings the amount of ordinary share dividends to US97 cents in the last twelve months. The dividend yield is close to 10 percent based on the stock price in early June 2012.
A dividend of US$0.0022 per ordinary share was paid in March this year. One was paid in December 2012 amounting to US$0.0025 per share in August they paid US$0.0018 per share.
The company will also pay a dividend of $0.10 per preference share payable on June 24, 2013 to shareholders on record as at June 10, 2013. The ex-dividend date is June 6, 2013.
First Caribbean International Bank | Operating throughout the Caribbean region and listed on the Barbados, Trinidad and JSE exchanges, First Caribbean has declared an interim dividend of US$0.015 cents per share payable on June 28, 2013 to shareholders on record as at June 13, 2013. The ex-dividend date is June 11, 2013.
The bank reported net income for the six months ended April, 2013 of US$34 million that is up $4.6 million versus net income of $29.4 million for the same period in the prior year thanks to a sharp reduction in loan loss provisions. Total revenues of $263.3 million were down $5.9 million and continue to be challenged by the struggling economic conditions of the region. Loan loss impairment expenses were down $22.4 million.
