Shareholders of Hardware Lumber (HL) will be paid an interim dividend for the year 2015 of One Dollar and Nine cents per stock unit on January 29, this year, to shareholders on record as at the close of business on January 15.
The ex-dividend date for the payment is the January 13. The company paid 32 cents per share in dividends in 2014 and 30 cents in 2013.
The payment comes against the background of lower profits in the year to September and acquisition of the majority shares by a group of investors.
Total revenue for the nine months to September 2015 was $5.37 billion or 2.3 percent more than the comparative period in 2014. Profit after tax for the nine-month to September 2015 was $64 million, 43 percent less than the $113 million for the same period in 2014 and earnings per share of 79 cents, compared to $1.40 for the similar period in 2014.
On Thursday December 30, Grace Kennedy’s 58.15 percent interest amounting to 47,013,417 shares in Hardware & Lumber, were traded over the Jamaica Stock Exchange at $18.50 each.
The shares were bought by Argyle Industries Inc. (“Argyle”) a St. Lucian Company special purpose vehicle incorporated for the purpose of acquiring and holding the Investor’s equity interests in Hardware & Lumber.
Dividend triples for H&L owners
JSE up 101% to Wednesday
JSE Combined index is up 101% for 2015 to December 30.
At the close, 52,944,749 units valued at $911,064,403 changed hands in all markets with the junior market accounting for 886,844 units, valued at $4,712,436.
Trading was swollen by the sale of Grace Kennedy’s 58.15 percent interest it held in Hardware & Lumber (H&L), with the shares traded over the Jamaica Stock Exchange floor today by GK Capital Management amounting to 47,013,417 at $18.50 per share. A total of 47,076,054 shares were traded amounting to $870,892,021.
At the close 33 securities traded in all market segments. A total 15 securities in the combined markets gained and 6 declined. Five stocks traded at 52 weeks’ closing high and 1 at intraday 52 weeks’ high as investors continue to push prices higher.
At the close the JSE Market Index climbed 1,322.30 points to 149,817.76, the all Jamaica Composite Index rose 1,477.75 points to end at 166,386.09 and the JSE combined index gained 1,838.65 points to close at 157,453.49. The main market was facing resistance around the 165,000 points level, the on the all Jamaica composite index, now that it has crossed it, there needs to more movement upwards for this level to become a strong support.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had a reading of 14 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 5 with lower offers.In trading, Cable and Wireless gained 4 cents with 129,025 units changing hands to close at $1.34, Caribbean Cement rose $1.80 to end at $20, with 15,250 shares trading, Carreras closed at $60.85, with 4,100 units changing hands for 10 cents more to end at a 52 weeks’ high. Gleaner Company traded 2,775,068 shares at $1.40 with a rise of 10 cents, on the morning that the meeting was called to vote on the merger of the company’s media business with Radio Jamaica. Grace Kennedy with 2,700 units changing hands finished at $80.10, Jamaica Broilers lost 50 cents to close at $10 with 163,150 shares changing hands, Jamaica Producers traded 2,169 shares to end at $31, after shedding $1. JMMB Group closed at $10.25 with 771,900 units changing hands, Jamaica Stock Exchange traded 21,518 shares at $18.99, Kingston Wharves closed at $11.30 with 1,496 shares changing hands for 5 cents lower.
National Commercial Bank lost 49 cents to end at $39.01, with 141,836 units changing hands, Sagicor Group gained 90 cents and closed with 462,258 units changing hands at $18.50, Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 173,400 shares to close at $11. Scotia Group had 96,895 shares changing hands at a new 52 weeks’ high of $31.49 after rising by $1.49 but had an offer at $29.50 to sell 1,000 shares at the close. Seprod closed at a new 52 weeks’ high of $21 after rising by 44 cents with only 4,000 shares trading, Sterling Investments had 17,049 units trading at $13, Supreme Ventures ended at $4.66 with 179,175 units changing hands and Proven Investments ordinary share traded 28,400 units at 22.99 US cents.
7 new highs as JSE moves higher on Tuesday
The Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Tuesday with the All Jamaican Index is now 4,000 points away from the old record 138,917.59 reached on 24th of January 2005. By the close 7 stocks ended trading at 52 weeks’ closing highs. A total of 14 stocks rose, with 10 declining as 31 securities, totaling 3,337,233 units valued at $31,552,287 changing hands, in all market segments.
JSE Market Index shot up 1,073.37 points to 121,665.93, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index gained 1,199.55 to end at 134,924.82 and the JSE combined index jumped 1,219.53 points to end at a new high of 126,352.28.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice offer indicator had a reading of 15 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 with offers that were lower.
In trading, Cable and Wireless closed with a gain of 4 cents as 276,100 shares changed hands to end at 55 cents, Caribbean Cement gained 1 cent to end at $12.01 for a new 52 weeks’ closing high, with 12,669 shares changing hands. Desnoes & Geddes had 317,100 units changing hands, to close at $30, Gleaner traded 29,300 shares at $1.72 with a loss of 1 cent, Hardware & Lumber exchanged 12,651 shares at $17.10 to gain $2.09,
Jamaica Broilers fell of 46 cents in trading 318,500 shares to close at $7.54. Jamaica Stock Exchange had 32,622 shares trading at $8.60, JMMB Group traded 33,950 shares to close at $9, National Commercial Bank closed with a loss of 49 cents with 6,444 shares trading, to end at $31.50. Pan Jamaican traded just 1,539 shares at $65, to gain $2.49 for a 52 weeks’ closing high, Sagicor Group with 9,000 shares, closed 49 cents lower at $14.01, Sagicor Real Estate Fund with 135,265 shares, closed 51 cents up to $8.01, Scotia Group ended with 310,000 shares trading at $24.51 after shedding 69 cents. Seprod traded 2,621 shares at $14.50 with a 50 cents loss, Proven Investments ordinary share traded 240,268 units with a gain of 1 cent, to end at 23 US cents, Supreme Ventures ended at $3.75 with 42,015 units and JMMB Group 7.50% preference share exchanged 500,000 units at $2.
NCB saves JSE from decline on Friday
Late rally in NCB stock price helped to rescue JSE from a fall.
The JSE Market Index rose 133.87 points to 96,895.19, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index climbed 149.62 points to 107,242.12 and the JSE combined index gained 131.79 points to end at 100,036.86.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had a reading of 12 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 4 with offers that were lower, indicative of advancing stocks should be ahead of declining ones on Monday.In trading, Cable and Wireless fell 1 cent with 200,000 shares changing hands, to close at 51 cents, Carreras traded 8,000 shares at $49.99, Desnoes & Geddes traded 60,357 shares after to end at $7, Gleaner traded 26,150 units at $1.90, Grace Kennedy lost 50 cents in trading 1,060 shares to close at $64. Hardware & Lumber ended with 4,980 shares trading at $12.80, Jamaica Broilers with 11,000 units changing hands, ended at $6.20 while losing 30
cents, JMMB Group traded 527,208 units, the price fell 2 cents, to end at $7.80, Radio Jamaica ended with 14,445 units changing hands with a3 cents gain to end at $3.08. Sagicor Group with 6,589 shares trading, closed for 45 cents lower at $12.55, Scotia Group traded 27,614 shares to close gain 11 cents at $23.91, Supreme Ventures had 100,000 shares changing hands at $3.74, for a loss of 6 cents. Proven Investments ordinary share traded 171,659 units at 20 US cents, after rising 2 cents and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.5% preference share traded 225,500 units, to end at $2.01, after gaining 1 cent.
JSE drops again but 12 stocks rose 7 fell
Trading in the main market saw low volumes for individual stocks as the main market indices slipped further by the close of the market. At the end, 24 securities traded of which 12 stocks gained, 7 declined with 1,909,715 units, valued at $23,590,989 changing hands in all market segments.
The JSE Market Index declined 213.17 points to 96,761.32, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index dropped 238.24 points to 107,092.50 and the JSE combined index lost only 77.94 points to end at 99,905.07.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had a reading of 15 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 8 with offers that were lower, indicative of another day of high up and down price movements ahead.
In trading, Cable and Wireless gained 2 cents with 61,150 shares changing hands, to close at 52 cents, Carreras recovered $1.39 but with just 1,440 shares trading at $49.99, Desnoes & Geddes traded 56,700 shares after losing 20 cents to end at $7, Grace Kennedy gained $1 in trading 2,923 shares to close at $64.50, Hardware & Lumber dropped 20 cents with 13,910 
shares trading at $12.80. Jamaica Broilers with 150,629 units changing hands, ended at $6.50 while gaining 60 cents, JMMB Group traded 19,168 units, the price fell 3 cents to end at $7.82, National Commercial Bank with 22,016 shares changing hands, closed at $27.05, having gained 5 cents. Sagicor Group with 84,069 shares trading, closed 20 cents higher at $13, Scotia Group traded 6,300 shares to close with a loss of 1 cent at $23.80, Proven Investments ordinary share traded 710,000 units at 20 US cents. Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share traded 175,000 units to end at a 52 weeks’ low of $2.80, after losing 5 cents and Proven Investments preference share traded 100,475 units at $5.
NCB takes big bite off JSE indices
NCB drops $3 to chop the JSE indices
The JSE Market Index dived 1,543.26 points to 96,974.49, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index dropped 1,724.67 points to 107,330.74 and the JSE combined index lost 1,556.88 points to end at 99,983.01.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had a reading of 14 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 6 with offers that were lower, indicative of another day of up and down price movements ahead.In trading, Cable and Wireless gained 2 cents with 561,804 shares changing hands, to close at 50 cents, Carreras dropped $1.39 but with just 1,685 shares trading at $48.60, Grace Kennedy traded firm at $63.50 with 9,153 shares, Hardware & Lumber dropped $4.50 with 5,000 shares trading at $13. Jamaica Broilers with 318,926 units changing hands, ended at $5.90 while gaining 5 cents, after it traded as high as $7 in the morning session, JMMB Group traded 87,809 units, the price rose 22 cents to end at $7.85,
Kingston Wharves had 86,000 units trading with a loss of 65 cents to end at $6.45, National Commercial Bank with 84,337 shares changing hands, closed at $27, having fallen $3, Sagicor Group with 161,067 shares closed 20 cents higher at $12.80, Scotia Group traded 81,117 shares to close with a loss of 4 cents at $23.81, Scotia Investments jumped $3.50 to $28 but with only 1,000 units, Proven Investments ordinary share traded 451,800 units at 20 US cents,Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.25% preference share traded 421,747 units at $2.48 by losing 2 cents to end at a new 52 weeks’ low and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded 52,000 units at $2.
9 stocks rise 6 fall on JSE – early Wednesday
Trading activities on the Jamaica Stock Exchange resulted 18 securities with a volume of 2,375,502 units, with 6 stocks declining and 9 rising.
Trading activity resulted small changes to the indices with the JSE Market Index rising 30.18 points to 98,547.93. The JSE All Jamaican Composite index gained 33.73 points to 109,089.14 and the JSE combined index 
rose 142.51 points to be at 101,682.40. The junior market is up 12.77 points to 967.39.
The main trades so far are, Cable & Wireless has traded 541,404 at 48 cents, Caribbean Producers traded 159,216 units at $2.47 with a gain of 9 cents, Dolphin Cove traded 85,333 units at $12 while gaining 80 cents, Hardware & Lumber dropped $4.50 with 5,000 shares trading to $13, Jamaica Broilers with 32,000 units changing hands at $6.99 while gaining $1.14, Lasco Manufacturing had 1,034,450 shares trading at $2 after gaining 11 cents, Proven Investments ordinary share trades 450,000 units at 20 US dollars, Scotia Investments jumped $3.50 to $28 but with only 1,000 units and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded 52,000 units at $2.
JSE slips slightly at close Monday
The Jamaica Stock Exchange on Monday closed with main market indices undergoing small losses. The Jamaica stock market closed with 8 stocks rising, 12 declining as 28 securities changed hands with 3,402,118 units trading, valued at $40,255,758, in all market segments.
At the close, the JSE Market Index dropped 80.85 points to 100,727.82, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index shed 90.37 points to close at 111,525.61 and the JSE combined index dipped 54.59 points to end at 104,309.22.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had a reading of 7 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 6 with offers that were lower.
In trading, Berger Paints had 27,080 shares changing hands with a gain of 5 cents to end at $2.60, Carreras dropped $1.50 to $50 with 157,969 shares changing hands, Gleaner closed with 70,665 shares and gained 2 cents at $2.73 after the price had fallen in the morning session to $2.30. Hardware & Lumber ended up at $16, after adding $1 with 13,500 units changing hands. Jamaica Producers traded at $19 with 100,000 shares changing ownership. 
JMMB Group traded 12,000 shares up to $7.99 to gain 19 cents, with the company reporting strong increase in profit for the first quarter, National Commercial Bank traded 99,530 shares at $30 while losing 10 cents. Pulse Investments lost 10 cents in trading 57,000 shares to end at 35 cents, Radio Jamaica traded 27,440 shares to end at $4, with a gain of 5 cents, Sagicor Group ended trading with 1,770,848 units at $13, Sagicor Real Estate Fund lost 20 cents to close at $8.10 while trading 23,990 units. Scotia Group did not trade but had a bid at $24.51 that is higher than the last selling price of $24 and Scotia Investments traded 9,157 with decline of 69 cents to $27.30.
JSE inches up on Monday
Sagicor traded at a new 52 weeks’ high on Monday
TheJSE Market Index gained 71.71 points to 96,599.90, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index rose 80.16 points to close at 106,911.66 and the JSE combined index gained 34.45 points to end at 99,265.14.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 15 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 7 with offers that were lower.Stocks trading include, Cable & Wireless traded 830,959 units at 44 cents, Caribbean Cement ended with 42,304 shares changing hands at $4.99 after gaining 14 cents. Carreras closed with 47,127 stocks units trading and lost 93 cents at $48.07, Desnoes & Geddes gained 45 cents with just 1,404 units trading, to end at $8, Grace Kennedy had 3,560 shares changing hands after losing 5 cents to end at $63.90. Hardware & Lumber traded 20,000 stocks units with a loss of $1 to close at $18. Jamaica Broilers traded 250,000 shares at $5.50 after shedding 25 cents, Jamaica Stock Exchange traded 9,331 shares to close unchanged at $6.35, JMMB Group closed with 23,587 shares changing hands at $7.45 for a 15 rise, Mayberry Investments had 11,195 units changing hands at $2.88,
National Commercial Bank traded 48,527 units to close at $30, after gaining 50 cents. Pulse Investments had 306,000 shares trading at a 52 weeks’ high of 55 cents, to record a gain of 10 cents. Radio Jamaica traded 25,185 stocks units with a loss of 1 cent, to close at $3, Sagicor Group traded 776,521 shares to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $12.60, after putting on 54 cents, Scotia Group ended with 14,717 shares trading unchanged at $23.10. Seprod ended with 19,041 shares changing hands at $15.45 for a gain of 7 cents, Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded 435,206 units at $2 and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share traded 324,497 units at $3.
138 Student Living big trades
138 Student Living ordinary share closed at a new low of $4
On a day the junior market reached a new all-time high with 7 stocks advancing and none losing, with 4 stocks closing at new highs, the main market slipped, with only 3 stocks advancing with all losses coming from this market. The markets closed with the prices of 10 stocks rising, 11 declining as 31 securities changed hands, ending in 28,982,879 units trading, valued at $131,346,625, and 7 new 52 weeks’ highs and 1 new low, in all market segments
TheJSE Market Index lost 310.43 points to 97,890.06, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index fell 346.98 points to close at and the 108,353.72 JSE combined index dropped 220.38 points to end at 100,762.69.IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 9 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 8 with offers that were lower. The junior market that recorded all gains showed weakness at the end with 5 stocks closing with lower offers than the last sale and only 2 with bids that were higher.
Stocks trading include, Cable & Wireless with 645,332 shares changing hands with a loss of 1 cent to close at 44 cents. Desnoes & Geddes closing with 870,000 stock units trading at $8, Grace Kennedy had 10,000 shares changing hands at $63.90 to lose 1 cent, Hardware & Lumber closed with 7,147 shares trading to end with a gain of $1 at a new 52 weeks’ high of $19. Investors continue to react to Jamaica Stock Exchange big jump in profits and announcement of a 53 cents dividend as they snapped up the 50,000 stock units on sale and still wanted more with bids at $6.00 to $6.55 to buy 162,000 units. The stock gained 25 cents for the day and closed at $6. JMMB Group saw 179,100 shares trading, to close at $7.26, down 24 cents, 138 Student Living traded 12,202,200 stock units and lost 40 cents to end at $4.
Sagicor Group had 16,457 shares trading with a gain of 24 cents to end at a new 52 weeks’ high of $12.30, the stock closed with a bid of $13.20 to buy 1,000 shares, posted at 12:24 pm on Wednesday. Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 63,800 stock units at $7.60, Scotia Group had 31,000 shares trading, to close with a 10 cents loss at $24.40, Scotia Investments fell $3.57 with 6,300 stock units trading, to end at $26.28. Seprod lost 50 cents with 6,888 shares trading, to close at $15.49, Proven Investments traded 229,035 stock units at 21 US cents, Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share trading 1,401,000 units at $2.03 while 138 Student Living preference share traded 12,000,000 units at $5 and Proven Investments 8% preference share traded 42,955 units at $5.
