Tuesday’s activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, resulted in the prices of 6 stocks rising, 7 declining as only 20 securities changed hands, ending in 2,017,463 units trading, valued at only $10,345,649, in all market segments.
strong> Main Market| The JSE Market Index lost 584.74 points to 82,117.46, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index fell 653.76 points to close at 90,529.43 and the JSE combined index declined 580.75 points to close at 83,824.93.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 8 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 6 stocks with offers that were lower.
Gains| Stocks gaining with last traded prices, at the end of trading in the main market are, Grace Kennedy ending with 45,972 shares, gained 6 cents to $61.06, Jamaica Broilers closing with 88,054 shares changing hands, 1 cent higher to $4.01. Mayberry Investments concluding trading with 51,020 shares while gaining 14 cents, to end at a new 52 weeks’ high of $2.50 and Sagicor Group trading 118,785 units to close with a gain of 9 cents at $10.50.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in the last traded prices are, Ciboney concluding trading with only 2,400 shares at 7 cents, Desnoes & Geddes had 13,346 shares changing hands at $5.15. There was dealing in 1,100 Hardware & Lumber shares, trading at $7.40, Kingston Wharves closing with a mere 300 shares changing hands and ended at $6.40 followed by National Commercial Bank finishing trading with 1,900 shares at $23.50.
Declines| The last traded prices of stocks with losses at the end of trading in the main market are, Cable & Wireless finishing with 177,779 units to close lower by 4 cents to 50 cents, Jamaica Money Market Brokers trading 9,185 ordinary shares and closed with a loss of 4 cents to $7.11, Proven Investments trading with 9,675 and lost 0.49 to 18 US cents, there was dealing in 151,041 Scotia Group shares with a loss of $1.19 to $20.81.
Preference| Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share trade 394,300 shares close at $2.
6 stocks up 7 down on JSE Tuesday
JSE at 20 months high heading higher
Activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, took the market to a new 20 month high resulting from the prices of 7 stocks rising and 8 declining as 20 securities changed hands, ending in 10,902,372 units trading, valued at $48,753,888, in all market segments. Gleaner Company accounted for the bulk of the shares trading with 8 million units while Sagicor Group and Scotia Group each accounted for more than 1 million units.
The chart shows the all Jamaica composite index just crossing over short term resistance. Resistance from July 2007 at 91,700 points is the more important resistance level for it to break through to move to the next critical point of 100,000.
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 4 stocks with offers that were lower.
Gains| Stocks gaining with last traded prices, at the end of trading in the main market are, Gleaner in having 8,267,155 shares changing hands, closed higher by 19 cents at $1.10, Grace Kennedy closed trading with 15,600 shares trading to gain 50 cents to end at $62, Hardware & Lumber ended trading with 5,000 shares changing hands for 83 cents greater at $7.40, Mayberry Investments saw trading in 17,130 units to close with a gain of 16 cents to a 52 weeks’ high of $2.36 and Sagicor Real Estate Fund ended with 6,300 shares the price rose by 10 cents to $6.80.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in the last traded prices are, Cable & Wireless dealing in only 17,500 shares at 55 cents, Jamaica Broilers contributing 3,000 shares at $4.06. National Commercial Bank concluding trading with 37,691 shares at $23, Radio Jamaica exchanging 5,000 shares at $1.37 and Scotia Group with 1,114,723 shares changing hands to close at $21.Declines| The last traded prices of stocks with losses at the end of trading in the main market are, Carreras closed with 6,800 units as the price slipped 18 cents to $44, Desnoes & Geddes finished with 155,000 shares trading lower for 15 cents to $5.35. Jamaica Money Market Brokers with 149,000 ordinary shares closed with a loss of 2 cents at $6.90, Sagicor Group in trading 1,025,226 and lost 9 cents to $10.21 and Supreme Ventures finished trading with 28,487 shares with a loss of 20 cents to $2.20.
11 stocks fall V 7 rising on JSE
JP traded 3.3 million shares on Thursday
strong> Main Market| The JSE Market Index lost 74.26 points to 78,232.91, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index fell 83.03 points to close at 86,186.33 and the JSE combined index declined by 115.44 points to 80,117.64.
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 only 2 stocks with offers that were lower.
Gains| Stocks gaining with last traded prices, at the end of trading in the main market are, Desnoes & Geddes in concluding trading with 17,732 shares, the price jumped 8 cents to $4.90, Hardware & Lumber closing with 69,100 shares while gaining 7 cents to $6.57, but after 49,100 units traded at $7.70. Palace Amusement finished with 150 shares to end with an increase of $4 to $70 and Sagicor Real Estate Fund in trading 850 units, put on 15 cents to $6.95.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in the last traded prices are, Jamaica Money Market Brokers finished with 121,051 ordinary shares trading at $7 and Jamaica Producers closed with 3,306,500 shares changing hands at $17.
Declines| The last traded prices of stocks with losses at the end of trading in the main market are, Caribbean Cement finishing with 2,535 units trading to end 1 cents lower at $2.40. Carreras ending trading with 3,681 shares to decline by 50 cents at $44.50, Jamaica Broilers closing with 12,085 shares changing hands 5 cents down at $4, Margaritaville closed with just 190 units trading, as the price slipped 7 cents to 9.80 US cents. Mayberry Investments had 75,000 shares trading lower by 4 cents to $1.96, Radio Jamaica closed with 5,642 shares changing hands to close lower by 1 cent to $1.10, Sagicor Group ending with 10,000 units trading 5 cents lower to $10.25 and Scotia Group finished with 96,000 units to fall 45 cents to $20.05.Preference| Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share closed with 5,132,700 units changing hands $2.
9 stocks rise 13 fall PanJam up $3.50
Pan Jamaican Head office
Main Market| The JSE Market Index gained 217.78 points to 77,277.68, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index rose 243.49 points to close at 85,118.34 and the JSE combined index gained 124.23 points to close at 79,056.86.
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 6 stocks with offers that were lower.
Gains| Stocks gaining with last traded prices, at the end of trading in the main market are, Caribbean Cement closing with 15,100 units to close with a gain of 2 cents to $2.37. Carreras closed with 37,672 units and put on 60 cents to $38.60, Desnoes & Geddes concluding trading with, 50,000 shares to end with an increase of 10 cents to $4.90, Jamaica Broilers closed with 10,482,208 units to close 1 cent higher at $4.01, Jamaica Producers ending with 52,385 shares as the price jumped at $1.30 to $17, Pan Jamaican Investment closed with 550 shares as the price climbed $3.50 to $55.50 and Sagicor Real Estate Fund concluding trading with 7,800 shares traded with a gain of 5 cents to $6.70.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in the last traded prices are, Ciboney exchanging a mere 200 shares at 7 cents followed by Jamaica Money Market Brokers with 6,647 ordinary shares trading to end at $6.60 and Proven Investments closing with 59,440 shares trading at 21 US cents.
Declines| The last traded prices of stocks with losses at the end of trading in the main market are, Cable & Wireless closing with 909,774 units trading as the price slipped 2 cents to 48 cents.
Grace Kennedy had only 290 shares changing hands to close lower by 17 cents at $62.40, Hardware & Lumber ended with 35,500 units trading to close lower by $1.01 at $6.50, Mayberry Investments ended with 1,020 units trading, the price slipped 2 cents to $1.98, National Commercial Bank in trading 167,784 shares closed 10 cents lower to $19.90. Sagicor Group closed with 212,060 units, the price slipped 8 cents to $10.12, Scotia Group had 76,218 shares changing hands at 40 cents to $20.10, Scotia Investments closed with 4,040 units trading as the price slipped 4 cents to $22.51 and Seprod ending with 31,164 units trading at 40 cents to $12.10.Preference| Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded, ending with 79,152 units changing hands at $2.
NCB trades at new high of $21
National Commercial Bank (NCB) closed with the price unchanged on Tuesday, but the stock traded at a new high of $21 during trading, as investors react positively to the group’s December results and hike in dividend payment. NCB has only 159,257 units posted on offer in the market at the close, between $22 and $33. Demand ranges from $19.80 down to $16. There are bids amounting to 217,950 units posted to buy at $19 or higher.
Activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, resulted in the prices of only 3 stocks rising, 6 declining as just 18 securities changed hands, ending in 2,915,904 units trading, valued at $27,617,128, in all market segments.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index lost 2.49 points to 77,059.90, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index fell 2.79 points to close at 84,874.85 and the JSE combined index declined 5.67 by points to close at 78,932.63
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 11 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 4 stocks with offers that were lower.
Gains| The sole stock gaining at the last traded price is Carreras with 76,616 shares trading, to gain 38 cents at $38 at the close.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in their last traded prices are, Berger Paints in concluding trading in 15,500 shares with the price holding at $1.55. Kingston Wharves with 330 shares changing hands, closed at $5.60, NCB closed with 1,042,580 shares trading at $20, but after it traded at a new 52 weeks high of $21, Sagicor Group had 87,652 units exchanged at $10.20 and Supreme Ventures closed with 188,628 units trading, to close at $2.15.
Declines| The last traded prices of stocks with losses at the end of trading in the main market are, Cable & Wireless closing with 1,147,040 units trading, the price slipped 1 cent to 50 cents. Gleaner contributed 38,200 shares trading lower by 1 cent to 81 cents, Grace Kennedy closed with 235 shares changing hands to end up 43 cent lower at $62.57, Hardware & Lumber ended trading with 4,500 units, as the price slipped 14 cents to $7.51. Jamaica Broilers finished with 51,000 units trading as the price declined 1 cent to $4 and Proven Investments ended with 41,445 units trading as the price slipped 0.02 cent to 21 US cents.
Preference| Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share traded 103,000 units at $3, Proven Investments 8% preference share traded 40,300 units to close at $5.
First in 2014 declining stocks on top at JSE
Scotia Group gained 75 cents to $20.95
strong> Main Market| The JSE Market Index gained 640.21 points to 77,154.71, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index rose 715.79 points to close at 84,980.86 and the JSE combined index gained 663.14 points to close at 79,116.85.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 8 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 stocks with offers that were lower.
Gains| Stocks gaining with last traded prices, at the end of trading in the main market are, Hardware & Lumber ending with 3,000 units with the price rising 14 cents to $7.65. Jamaica Money Market Brokers closed with 13,396 shares changing hands 5 cents higher at $6.55, National Commercial Bank ended with 24,312 shares trading with a gain of 2 cents to $19.02, Sagicor Group swapped 2,900 shares with the price increasing by 10 cents to $10.30 and Scotia Group closed with 83,608 units changing hands 75 cents higher to $20.95.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in the last traded prices are, Cable & Wireless in exchanging 271,167 units ended at 50 cents. Kingston Wharves finished with 29,708 units trading to end at $6, Mayberry Investments closed at $2 with 15,772 units traded, Pan Jamaican Investment traded 1,040 units at $53 and Sagicor Real Estate Fund closed with 1,370 units trading at $6.95.Declines| The last traded prices of stocks with losses at the end of trading in the main market are, Caribbean Cement closing with 31,686 units trading as the price slipped 18 cents to $2.32. Desnoes & Geddes contributed 26,049 shares in trading lower by 5 cents to $4.80, Gleaner closed with 103 shares changing hands lower by 5 cents to 85 cents, Grace Kennedy concluded trading with 1,010 units, the price slipped 95 cents to $62.05, Jamaica Broilers finished with 14,950 units trading as the price declined by 8 cents to $4.02. Proven Investments ended with 235,450 shares trading lower by 0.39 cents to 20.61 US cents, Salada Foods in concluding transaction in 200,000 units closed with the price falling 11 cents to $10.39, Scotia Investments traded 3,674 units with the price declining 49 cents to $22.51 and Seprod closed with 1,711 shares trading lower by 50 cents to $12.50.
Preference| Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share had 17,216 units changing hands at $3 and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded 15,000 units at $2.
JSE set to close out 2014 up
Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange should end the year on a positive note as there was far more stocks closing with higher bids than those that had lower offers at the close on Tuesday, suggesting that the majority of stocks trading should enjoy increased prices.
The major shares in Access Financial Services changed hands on Tuesday in trading on the stock exchange junior market as Mayberry sold out its holdings to Proven Investments. Mayberry who had expressed a desire to sell as a result of the dispute with the founding shareholder Marcus James finally did so, resulting in a billion profit on their investment. Overall trading in the market, resulted in the prices of 7 stocks rising and 10 declining as 27 securities changed hands, ending in 141,314,531 units trading, valued at $1,232,287,766, in all market segments.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 14 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and only 4 stocks with offers that were lower, this suggest that for the final trading day of the year the majority of prices should rise.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index gained 535.67 points to 76,728.87, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index rose 598.90 points to close at 84,504.74 and the JSE combined index gained 459.99 points to close at 78,545.68.
Gains| Stocks recording gains with their last traded prices, at the end of trading in the main market are, Berger Paints trading with 395,929 shares and gained of 30 cents to end at $1.85, Grace Kennedy ended with 2,500 shares changing hands to close $1 higher at $63. National Commercial Bank closed with 5,792 shares trading with a gain of 5 cents, to $18.50, Pan Jamaican Investment finished with 5,500 shares changing hands, to close 3 cents higher at $59.95. Sagicor Real Estate Fund ended with 500 shares changing hands to close with a gain of 11 cents to $7.11 and Scotia Group ended trading with 85,919 shares changing hands to close 40 cents higher at $20.40.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in the last traded price are, Desnoes & Geddes finishing with 47,000 shares at $5, Jamaica Broilers ended with 25,000 units trading at $4.01, Jamaica Money Market Brokers completed trading with 21,446 ordinary shares at $7.10. Kingston Wharves ended trading with 450 shares changing hands to close at $6, Supreme Ventures finished trading with 3,017,931 shares changing hands to close at $1.90.
Declines| The last traded prices of stocks with losses at the close of the main market are, Cable & Wireless that ended trading 1,643,333 shares changing hands, to close 2 cents lower at 48 cents. Caribbean Cement closed trading with 13,877 units, the price slipped 4 cents to $2.41, Hardware & Lumber finished with 4,000 units trading as the price fell 49 cents to $7.51, Jamaica Producers closed with 186,050 shares trading lower by 25 cents lower to $17.25. Proven Investments ended with 185,920 shares trading at 0.23 cents lower at 18.77 US cents, Sagicor Group closed with 15,400 shares changing hands at 50 cents lower at $10 and Scotia Investments finished with 6,050 shares trading at 40 cents lower at $23.
Preference| Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share had 10,000 shares changing hands to close $3, Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded 49,550 shares at $2 and Proven Investments 8% preference share traded 300 shares at $5.20.
H&L turnaround looks complete
Hardware & Lumber‘s profit after tax to the end of 2013 jumped to $610 million from only $2.8 million in 2012, but without a one-off reversal of pension obligations of $502.5 million, profit would be in the order of $260 million after tax. Earning were equivalent to $2.76 per stock unit for the year, beating our earnings estimate of $2.
The result for 2013 represents a major turnaround in the fortune of the company that has been struggling with major losses in 2008 and 2009, high debt load and minuscule profits from 2010 to 2012.
Profit before tax was $818 million including the pension adjustment compared with the previous year’s $125 million. The one-off reduction is a non-cash adjustment arising from the company’s decision to move from the Grace Kennedy defined benefit pension plan in 2013 to the Grace Kennedy defined contribution pension plan. Return on equity leapt to 28 percent during the year from ongoing earnings.
Total revenue for 2013 was $6.8 billion, representing an 8.4 percent increase over 2012 but the last quarter of the year revenues climbed by 13 percent bettering the previous three quarters. The retail, hardware and household segment (trading as Rapid True Value) grew by 8.2 percent while the agricultural segment (which trades as Agro Grace) recorded revenue growth of 9 percent. Gross profit for the year was $1.746 billion, representing 25.6 percent of revenue as it slipped slightly from 25.9 percent achieved in 2012. Gross profit margin is back up to 36 percent for the last three years from a low in 2008 of only 27 percent.
At the end of the year, cash funds stood at $418 million compared to $206 million in 2012 even as borrowed funds were reduced by $85 million. The balance sheet reflects stockholders’ equity of $1.176 billion and debt, which was at $1.265 billion in 2008 is now down to $370 million, and should decline further in 2014 as profits increase.
Current assets are now twice that of liabilities with working capital of $1 billion. Hardware & Lumber is majority-owned and controlled by Grace Kennedy. Andrea D. Coy, who headed the operations since April 2012, has gone back to Grace Kennedy. Being an accountant by training, her task may well have been to cut cost and now that is in place, the need for a marketing-oriented person may be the area of focus now.
Hardware & Lumber is an IC Insider Buy Rated stock. We project earnings of $3.76 for 2014, rising to $4.50 in 2015 with a tax rate of 25 percent. For investors, this is a strong buy signal as the stock is expected to record price gains in the weeks and months ahead.
Related posts | Buy Rated: H&L up 74% | H&L – big profits boost
H&L – big profits boost
Hardware & Lumber, a Grace Kennedy subsidiary, which recorded moderate increase in sales for the March quarter of this year, accelerated sales a bit in the June quarter at 8.9 percent pace over the second quarter of 2012 compared to a mere 2.4 percent increase in the first. Revenue out turn was $1.744 billion in the latest quarter up from $1.548 billion in the first quarter as well as an increase on the $1.6 billion generated in the second quarter of 2012. Year to June revenues increased to $3.29 billion over the $3.1 billion in 2012.
The second quarter revenues contributed to a big jump in profits for the quarter and the six months as profits jumped to $43.3 million from a revised loss of $1.44 million in 2012. For the six months profits amounted to $52.17 million up from a loss of $6.26 million.
Gross profit margin increased to 26.22 percent in the latest quarter, roughly the same for the six months period, compared to 25.5 percent in 2012. Operating expenses were kept to just $398 million in the June quarter just a few million up from the $391 million spent in 2012, but the six months figure grew quite a bit to $791 million versus $755 million.
“Operating efficiencies were achieved through the rationalization of the staffing model as well as in other areas such as security and utilities. However, there was a significant increase in the costs associated with the company’s pension scheme and other retirement benefits, in keeping with the revision of the accounting rules governing such benefits which became effective January 1, 2013. For the first six-months, these charges increased by $40.7 million compared to the same period last year,” Management stated.
Interest cost also declined for the six months as the company paid down loans which stands at $458 million versus $650 million at June 2012. At the same time cash grew to $376 million compared to $196 million in 2012, but payables climbed to $1.1 billion up from $992 in June 2012 and $694 million at the end of December last year.
While there is a clear sign of a turn-around in the operations, the segment results for agricultural products and equipment reflect a loss of $55 million in the half year results compared to a profit of $129 million. The 2013 figure is only a slight improvement over the loss of $66 million in 2012. There is much room for improvement in the hardware division that could swell the bottom-line if that segment is turned around.
Outlook | Earnings should pick up as the year progresses and IC Insider expects to see earnings for the full year around $2 per share, making the stock very cheap.
Insider call | Hardware & Lumber is an IC Insider Buy Rated stock.
