Jamaica Stock Exchange

Junior Market slips up

November 24, 2020 by IC Insider.com

Early morning trading pushed the index above Monday’s close for the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market on Tuesday to 2,556.57, but the market failed to hold on to the gains and closed the day with a modest fall after more stocks declined than rose, with 12 percent fewer shares traded than Monday.
Trading ended with 33 securities changing hands compared to 37 on Monday and closed with the prices of 11 stocks rising, 14 declining and eight remaining unchanged. Dolphin Cove closed at a 52 weeks’ low of $5.50.
At the close, the Junior Market Index shed 11.88 points to settle at 2,529.92. The average PE Ratio ended at 12.6 based on ICInsider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
Trading ended with an exchange of 5,272,918 shares for $15,658,293 compared to 5,999,938 units at $21,980,840 on Monday. Lasco Financial led trading with 38.7 percent of total volume for 2.04 million shares, followed by Mailpac Group with 20.3 percent after an exchange of 1.07 million and Jamaican Teas with 9.1 percent market share for 482,354 units.
Trading averaged of 159,785 units at $474,494 in contrast to 162,160 at $594,077 on Monday. Trading month to date, averaged 195,107 units at $565,977 compared to 197,311 units at $571,684 on Monday. Trading in October averaged 230,868 units at $535,509.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows five stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and none with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Access Financial dropped $1.60 to $20.10 after trading 8,243 shares, AMG Packaging gained 5 cents to settle at $1.60, with 24,839 stock units changing hands, Cargo Handlers lost 65 cents to close at $6.95, trading 110 units. Caribbean Assurance Brokers gained 24 cents to end at $1.90, with the switching ownership of 7,667 units, Caribbean Cream rose 6 cents to $4, after exchanging 137,172 shares, Caribbean Flavours picked up 13 cents to close at $1.70, in exchanging 96,197 shares. Caribbean Producers lost 3 cents to finish at $2.32, with an exchange of 216 units, Dolphin Cove dropped $1.40 to a 52 weeks’ low of $5.50, after trading 47,147 shares, Everything Fresh lost 5 cents to end at 73 cents with 686 units passing through the market. Express Catering gained 24 cents to close at $3.98, in trading 5,010 units, Fontana gained 8 cents and closed at $5.08, in the transfer of 292,599 shares, Fosrich fell 49 cents to $4 after exchanging 75,552 shares. General Accident lost 10 cents in closing at $6.10, with 27,042 stock units crossing the market, GWest Corporation fell 12 cents to 65 cents, trading 10,000 units, Indies Pharma lost 8 cents in closing at $2.43 and finishing with 13,100 units changing hands.

ISP Finance gained 11 cents to end at $16.11, after crossing the market with 22,879 stock units, Jamaican Teas shed 35 cents to close at $6.50, in the trading of 482,354 shares, Knutsford Express advanced 94 cents to $6.65, in exchanging 100 units. Lasco Distributors picked up 1 cent to end at $3.15, in the transferring of 14,129 stock units, Lasco Manufacturing gained 9 cents ending at $3.85, with 10,229 stock units passing through the market, Lumber Depot lost 8 cents to close at $1.21 after exchanging 235,357 shares. Mailpac Group ended 1 cent lower at $2.16 trading 1,071,273 shares, Paramount Trading fell 5 cents to settle at $1.30, with an exchange of 29,900 stock units, Tropical Battery gained 3 cents to close at $1.19, in crossing the market with 176,737 shares and tTech fell 8 cents to $4.87, with 50 units changing hands.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, JSE Junior Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Access Financial, AMG Packaging, Best performing stock market, Cargo Handlers, Caribbean Assurance Brokers, Caribbean Cream, Caribbean Flavours, Caribbean Producers, Daily Trading, Dolphin Cove, Elite Diagnostic, Emerging markets, Everything Fresh, Express Catering, Fontana, FosRich, General Accident, GWest, Honey Bun, iCreate, Indies Pharma, ISP Finance, Jamaica Stock Exchange, Jamaican stocks, Jamaican Teas, Jetcon Corporation, Knutsford Express, Lasco Distributors, Lasco Financial, Lasco Manufacturing, Limners and Bards, Medical Disposables, Paramount Trading, Stationery and Office, Trading Activity, tTech

JSE USD market closes higher

November 24, 2020 by IC Insider.com

Prices closed mixed on the US dollar market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Tuesday, with the market index rising after exchanging 35 percent fewer shares than on Monday.
At the close of the market, trading ended with four securities changing hands compared to five on Monday and ended with the prices of one rising, one declining and two remaining unchanged.
The JSE USD Equities Index rose 5.44 points to settle at 188.28. The average PE Ratio ended at 13.3 based on ICInsider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of 201,406 shares at US$1,935 compared to 390,138 units at US$11,832 on Monday.
Trading averaged 50,352 units changing hands at a mere US$484, in contrast to an average of 78,028 shares at US$2,366 on Monday. Month to date trading averaged 50,758 units at US$4,959 in contrast to 50,782 units at US$5,218 on Monday. By comparison, trading in October averaged 697,808 units for US$17,320.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows three stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close of the market, First Rock Capital Investment gained 0.05 of a cent and closed at 8.65 US cents in an exchange of 1,055 units, Productive Business Solutions remained at 66 US cents, with 51 units changing hands, Proven Investments lost 0.48 of a cent to end at 25.50 US cents, in trading 300 units and Transjamaican Highway remained at 0.85 of 1 US cent after a transfer of 200,000 shares.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Filed Under: Global Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Daily Trading, Emerging markets, First Rock Capital, Jamaica Stock Exchange, Jamaican stocks, JSE US dollar market, Productive Business Solution, Proven Investments, Trading Activity, Transjamaican Highway

Q2 profit up at Carreras

November 24, 2020 by IC Insider.com

Cigarettes are no longer the in-demand and sexy product of former years, nor are stocks of companies involved in the product in strong demand either.
It is against that background that the former highflier and Jamaica Stock Exchange-listed Carreras is to be viewed. But stocks of these companies are sought after by many who see great value in the high dividends paid by them, even if growth in profit is moderate. Years of increased prices on the product, mostly fueled by increased taxation, stymied demand and affected the profitability of the company. For the current year, aftertax profit climbed 11 percent for the September quarter to $911 million from $822 million but dropped 11 percent for the year to date from $1.75 billion to $1.56 billion. Taxation on profits climbed 10 percent in the quarter and the half year to $308 million from $279 million and $531 million from $591 million respectively.
Before tax charges, profit climbed 11 percent for the September quarter to $1.2 billion, up from $1.1 billion in 2019 but dropped 11 percent for the year to date from $2.34 billion to $2.1 billion.
Operating profit climbed by 12 percent for the quarter to $1.2 billion from $1.1 billion but decreased 10 percent for the half year to $2.1 billion from $2.3 billion in the same period in 2019.

Carreras leading brand

Revenue grew 8.5 percent for the quarter to $3.46 billion from $3.2 billion in 2019, with a seven percent drop for the six months to September from $6.64 billion to $6.15 billion. The revenue includes special consumption tax of $2.6 billion, two percent less than the similar period in 2019.
Cost of sales grew nine percent for the quarter from $1.61 billion to $1.76 billion and fell by six percent for the year to date from $3.3 billion to $3.1 billion. Gross profit improved by eight percent for the quarter from $1.58 billion to $1.7 billion but shrunk nine percent for the six month period from $3.3 billion to $3.1 billion. The gross profit margin for the quarter and the six months stood at 49 percent, down a single percentage point from the respective corresponding periods.
Administrative, marketing and distribution expenses fell one percent for the quarter and three percent for the first half of the fiscal year, to $490 million and $999 million, respectively.
The company is in excellent financial health having generated cash inflows from operations of $1.4 billion and after paying $1.6 billion in dividends cash and bank balances stood at $1.8 billion. Current assets ended at $3.53 billion inclusive of accounts receivables of $1.3 billion, with cash funds and inventories making the rest. Current liabilities stood at $2.05 billion. At the end of September, shareholders’ equity stood at $1.8 billion.
Earnings per share came out at 18.76 cents for the quarter and 32.18 cents for the half year. ICInsider.com forecasting 80 cents per share for the fiscal year. The stock last traded at $6.50 on the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange with a PE ratio of 8.3 times 2021 earnings.
A dividend of 17 cents per share will be paid on December 16, bringing the payments in the year to 64 cents, for a yield of 10 percent on the current price.

Filed Under: Company News, Company Results Tagged With: Carreras, Dividends, Emerging markets, Jamaica Stock Exchange, Jamaican Stock

Modest gains for Junior Market – Monday

November 23, 2020 by IC Insider.com

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Rising stocks edged out declining ones in trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Monday, leading the market close with a moderate gain in the index, with 24 percent more shares exchanged than on Friday.
Trading ended with 37 companies changing hands compared to 31 on Friday and concluded with the prices of 17 stocks rising, prices of 16 falling and four with prices ending unchanged.
The Junior Market Index gained 4.51 points to settle at 2,541.80. The average PE Ratio ends at 12.9 based on ICInsider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
Traders exchanged 5,999,938 shares for $21,980,840 compared to 4,844,204 units at $20,370,620 on Friday.
Jamaican Teas led trading with 32 percent of total volume for 1.92 million shares, with continued increased interest in the stock, ahead of a three to one stock split that takes effect on Friday. Derrimon Trading ended with 19.2 percent of total volume, trading 1.15 million units and Mailpac Group ended with 8.9 percent exchanging of 531,308 units.
Trading averaged 162,160 units at $594,077 in contrast to 156,265 at $657,117 on Friday. For the month to date, the average trade resulted in an exchange of 197,311 units at $571,684, compared to 199,954 units at $570,000 on Friday. October ended averaged 230,868 units at $535,509.
The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows seven stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Access Financial dropped 30 cents to $21.70 in an exchange of 354 shares, AMG Packaging advanced 6 cents to $1.55 trading 2,897 stocks, Blue Power gained 9 cents to settle at $3.59 with 204 units changing hands. Caribbean Assurance Brokers fell 19 cents and traded 3,629 shares to close at $1.66, Caribbean Cream lost 15 cents to finish at $3.94 with 38,661 stocks passing through the market, Caribbean Flavours declined by 13 cents to $1.57 with the transfer of 62,849 units. Caribbean Producers added 1 cent and ended at $2.35 with an exchange of 210,351 shares, Consolidated Bakeries shed 36 cents to settle at $1.02, switching ownership of 4,600 stocks, Dolphin Cove climbed 35 cents to finish at $6.90 with 2,800 units changing hands. Elite Diagnostic advanced 20 cents and traded 35,279 shares to end at $3.30, Everything Fresh increased by 5 cents to settle at 78 cents with 6,209 stocks passing through the market, Express Catering gained 19 cents to close at $3.74 with a transfer of 66,419 units. Fontana dropped 25 cents in an exchange of 155,964 shares to finish at $5, Fosrich jumped 50 cents to end at $4.49 with investors switching 200,348 stocks, General Accident fell 25 cents to $6.20, with 39,893 shares changing hands. GWest Corporation gained 7 cents, trading 291,760 units to close at 77 cents, iCreate gained 2 cents to finish at 62 cents with 30,000 stocks passing through the market, ISP Finance shed $5 to end at $16 with a transfer of 2,050 shares. Jamaican Teas traded 1,920,968 units and climbed 15 cents to $6.85, Jetcon Corporation increased by 9 cents to close at 84 cents with an exchange of 1,200 stocks, Knutsford Express dropped 29 cents to $5.71 with 5,815 shares changing hands. Lasco Distributors slipped 1 cent to $3.14 with 67,815 units traded, Lasco Financial lost 6 cents to end at $2.60 with 8,200 stock units passing through the market, Lasco Manufacturing declined 3 cents to $3.76 with investors switching ownership of 15,273 shares. Limners and Bards fell 14 cents to $2.45 with an exchange of 265,595 units, Lumber Depot gained 9 cents to finish at $1.29 with 500,326 stock units changing hands, Mailpac Group traded 531,308 shares and rose 2 cents to end at $2.17. Main Event advanced 41 cents to $3.40 with 3,800 units changing owners, Medical Disposables declined 10 cents to $4.20 with a transfer of 10,664 stock units, SSL Venture gained 5 cents to finish at 58 cents with an exchange of 900 shares. Stationery and Office Supplies increased by 5 cents to $4.55 with 4,244 stock units changing hands, Tropical Battery lost 4 cents to settle at $1.16 with investors switching ownership of 218,622 stocks and tTech dropped 5 cents to close at $4.95 with 550 shares changing hands.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, JSE Junior Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Access Financial, AMG Packaging, Best performing stock market, Blue Power, Caribbean Assurance Brokers, Caribbean Cream, Caribbean Flavours, Caribbean Producers, Consolidated Bakeries, Daily Trading, Derrimon Trading, Dolphin Cove, Elite Diagnostic, Emerging markets, Everything Fresh, Express Catering, Fontana, FosRich, General Accident, GWest, Honey Bun, iCreate, Indies Pharma, ISP Finance, Jamaica Stock Exchange, Jamaican stocks, Jamaican Teas, Jetcon Corporation, Knutsford Express, Lasco Distributors, Lasco Financial, Lasco Manufacturing, Limners and Bards, Main Event, Medical Disposables, Paramount Trading, SSL Venture Capital, Stationery and Office, Trading Activity, tTech

Bullish open fades on the JSE Main Market

November 23, 2020 by IC Insider.com

Stocks raced 3,011 points ahead of the 425,748.98 close on Friday within 12 minutes of the market’s opening and pushed the All Jamaican Composite Index to 428,759.90 on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market on Monday, but the market ended the day with a modest rise after more stocks gained than fell.
At the close, the All Jamaican Composite Index rose 204.81 points to 425,953.79, the Main Index advanced by 284.47 points to 388,747.9 and the JSE Financial Index gained 0.31 points to settle at 102.82.
Trading ended with 41 securities changing hands compared to 36 on Friday and closed with the prices of 21 stocks rising, nine declining and 11 remaining unchanged. The average PE Ratio ended at 15.8 based on ICInsider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of 38 percent fewer shares than on Friday, after 27,815,530 shares traded for $166,571,949 compared to 44,980,918 units at $1,341,663,306 on Friday. Sagicor Select Financial Fund led trading with 53.9 percent of total volume, after exchanging 14.98 million shares followed by Wigton Windfarm with 13.5 percent for 3.76 million units. Transjamaican Highway controlled a 12.7 percent market share with 3.54 million units and Sagicor Select Manufacturing & Distribution Fund accounted for 3.6 percent of the day’s trade in closing with one million units changing hands.
The average trade was 678,428 units for $4,062,730, compared to an average of 1,249,470 shares at $37,268,425 on Friday. The average trade for the month to date ends at 346,635 units at $7,073,555 for each security, in contrast to 324,765 units at $7,272,017. October averaged 398,200 units at $4,622,532.
The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows nine stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
At the market closing, Barita Investments gained 50 cents in closing at $84.50, after 11,863 shares cleared the market, Caribbean Cement advanced $1.33 to $58 in trading 2,631 units, Eppley gained $4.98 to $25, with 28,065 stock units changing hands. Eppley Caribbean Property Fund rose 75 cents to $41.50, with 1,350 units crossing the exchange, First Rock Capital gained 30 cents to end at $13 after an exchange of 19,470 stocks, Jamaica Broilers shed 60 cents to settle at $6.40 in trading 6,876 units. Jamaica Producers ended at $20.06, with gains of 36 cents after exchanging 1,067 stock units, Jamaica Stock Exchange rose 87 cents to $19.87, with investors swapping 12,561 shares, Key Insurance jumped $1.81 to $9.11, trading 42,172 units. Mayberry Jamaican Equities shed 80 cents to settle at $7, after transferring 3,098 units, NCB Financial declined $1.48 to$148.50, in crossing the exchange with 714,826 shares, Palace Amusement climbed $34.99 to $1,300, with 2 units changing hands. Salada Foods fell $2.50 to $25, with 5,139 stock units crossing the market, Scotia Group rose 85 cents to end at $46.85, exchanging 10,778 shares and Seprod gained $1 to close at $63 trading 19,472 stock units.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Barita Investments, Berger Paints, Caribbean Cement, Carreras, Daily Trading, Emerging markets, Eppley, Eppley Caribbean Property Fund, First Rock Capital, Grace Kennedy, Jamaica Broilers, Jamaica Producers, Jamaica Stock Exchange, Jamaican stocks, JMMB Group, Key Insurance, Kingston Wharves, Mayberry Investments, Mayberry Jamaica Equities, NCB Financial, PANJAM Investment, Portland JSX, Proven Investments, QWI Investments, Radio Jamaica, Sagicor Group, Sagicor Real Estate Fund, Sagicor Select Fund, Salada Foods, Scotia Group, Seprod, Supreme Ventures, Sygnus Credit, Trading Activity, Transjamaican Highway, Victoria Mutual Investments, Wigton Windfarm, Wisynco Group

Stocks fall on JSE USD market

November 23, 2020 by IC Insider.com

More stocks declined on Monday in the US dollar market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange than traded on Friday and leading the market index to decline after trading nearly nine times the number of shares traded on Friday.
Five securities changed hands on Monday compared to two on Friday and closed with the prices of one stock rising, three falling and one remained unchanged.
The JSE USD Equities Index dropped 9.86 points to 182.84. The average PE Ratio ended at 13.4 based on ICInsider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
Investors tradeded 390,138 shares for US$11,832 compared to 43,973 units at US$9,230 on Friday.
The average trade ended at 78,028 units for US$2,366, versus 21,987 shares at US$4,615 on Friday. An average of 50,782 units at US$5,218 traded for the month to date compared to 48,653 units at US$5,441 to Friday. October trading averaged 697,808 units at US$17,320.
The Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows two stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close of the market, First Rock Capital Investment remained at 8.6 US cents after exchanging 1,743 shares, Productive Business Solutions lost 9 US cents to close at 66 US cents, with 609 stock units trading, Proven Investments rose 2.76 US cents to 25.98 US cents after the trading of 31,318 units. Sygnus Credit Investments lost 1.83 US cents to settle at 14.16 US cents while exchanging 6,472 shares and Transjamaican Highway lost 0.04 of a cent and settled at 0.85 of a US cent after exchanging 349,996 units.

Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.

Berger Paints Q3 profit surges

November 22, 2020 by IC Insider.com

Profit before taxation soared an outstanding 524 percent for Berger Paints for the third quarter, but that was insufficient to wipe out the losses incurred in the first and second quarters, amounting to $63 million.

Berger Paints Q3 profit jumps.

For the quarter ended September 2020, the company recorded a profit before tax of $58 million, up from $9 million for the corresponding quarter in 2019.
Taxation climbed 700 percent for the quarter from a loss of $1.8 million to $14.7 million for the quarter but dropped by 162 percent for the year from $10 million to a credit of $6 million. Net profit came in at $43 million for the quarter, a 481 percent jump over the comparative quarter’s figure of $7.4 million.
Profit after tax dropped 151 percent from $40 million to a loss of $20 million for the nine months period after-tax, losing $26 million, for the nine months to September, compared to a profit of $50 billion at the end of September 2019. Heading into the traditional festive season, Berger will be hoping to close out the fiscal year on a high note with a strong increase in the final quarter profit.
Revenue improved by eight percent for the quarter from $534 million to $574 million but fell nine percent from $1.63 billion to $1.49 billion for the nine months to September.
Direct Manufacturing expenses fell by 29.7 percent for both the quarter and the year to date, recorded at $304 million and was down 26 percent to $763 million respectively. Gross profit jumped 103 percent for the quarter from $150 million to $304 million and increased 20 percent for the year to date from $609 million to $732 million, with gross profit margins of 53 percent for the quarter, up from just 28 percent in 2019 and 49 percent for the 2020 nine months, up from 37 percent in 2019. The input in paint production is heavily based on petrochemicals as such a fall in the price of oil on the world market would result in reduced production cost for the company.
Depreciation jumped 78 percent for the quarter to $20 million and a 58 percent increase to $45 million for the year. Other operating expenses declined 8 percent for the quarter from $118 million to $108 million and saw a 25 percent rise for the year from $262 million to $327 million. Other income for the quarter stood at $7.2 million for the quarter up from just $182,000 and at $7.7 million for the year to date from $54,000 in 2019.
The company implemented new information technology last year, which the company claims are working well. “The recently deployed Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system has settled and has been providing Management with key insights to allow for a deeper appreciation of the business drivers and, with that, quicker decision making. Although a relatively new deployment, it is already contributing value to the business,” the Chairman, Adam N. Sabga, remarked in a statement accompanying the quarterly.
Net cash inflows generated cash of $21 million, but a reduction in amounts due to payables and fellow subsidiaries resulted in cash from operating activities was an outflow of $190 million and capital spend and loan payments increased cash outflows to $263 million. Current assets stood at $1.37 million inclusive of Inventories of $509 million, Receivables of $443 million and cash and bank balances of $306 million. Current liabilities tallied $572 million inclusive of $126 million due to the immediate parent company and $369 million to fellow subsidiaries. At the end of September, shareholder’s equity stood at $1.1 billion.
Earnings per share came in at 20 cents for the quarter and a loss of 10 cents for the nine months to September and ICInsider.com projects full-year earnings of $2.25 per share with a rise to $2.80 in 2021.
The stock is currently trading at $11.85 on the Main Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange with a PE ratio of 5.3 times 2020 earnings.

Filed Under: Buy Rated, Company News, Company Results Tagged With: Adam N. Sabga, Berger Paints, Emerging markets, Jamaica Stock Exchange, Jamaican Stock

Good news drive interest in Jamaican Teas

November 22, 2020 by IC Insider.com

Shareholders of Jamaican Teas approved a three for one stock split effective November 30 at a meeting held by the Company on Tuesday. The record date for the split is Monday, November 30, but the stocks go ex split on Friday, November 27 and will commence trading at the post-split price on that day.

John Mahfood CEO and Director of Jamaican Teas addressing the EGM.

In an update to shareholders at the meeting on recent developments within the Group and the outturn for the year to September, they were advised of the continued growth the Group experienced since listing in 2010 with equity moving from $392 million to $1.8 billion at the end of September, this year. Management advised that helped by good results for 2020, the Group moved from a billion-dollar entity to a $2 billion one measured by sales that closed the past fiscal year at $2.2 billion.
Management considers one of the highlights of the recently concluded quarter to be the strong 65 percent gain in export sales over the prior year as well as exports accounting for 65 percent of total manufacturing sales in the quarter. The level of exports meets one of the objectives set at the time the Company went public in 2010.
Early indications and feedback from our overseas customers point to a continuation of the positive trend in exports for the 2021 financial year, the meeting was told.
While exports were dominant, domestic sales did relatively well, with local manufacturing sales increasing 17 percent over 2019. Overall, sales climbed 44 percent to $407 million in the fourth quarter, shareholders were informed. The Real estate division contributed $240 million in sales and is set to contribute around $160 million in the December quarter.
The Group had a disappointing year in the investment division, as it incurred a loss with the fall in the value of local investments but saw some improvement in the second half of the fiscal year, with profit in both quarters. Management expressed the view that there should be an improvement in its fortunes in the new year.
Net profit attributable to Jamaican Teas for the quarter was $131 million, a decline of 27 percent from the $180 million profit in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. For the full year, net profit attributable to Jamaican Teas was $210 million, a decline of 47 percent from the $400 million generated in the previous year.
After the year-end, Jamaican Teas had increased sales of 47 percent in October 2020 over 2019, with export up a robust 85 percent and a much less robust 10 percent for domestic sales. Orders in hand for November suggest a continuation of the positive trend seen in October.

Jamaican Teas’ shareholder – Mr. Lanzel Bloomfield addressing the EGM

The Group will be booking more real estate sales in the December quarter. With the above developments, management expects a good first quarter for the financial year ending September 2021. The Group plans to commence a major expansion of the factory to meet the increasing demand for its manufacturing products.
Since the company advised the JSE on September 29 that the board would meet to set a date for the three-for-one stock split, the price rose by 56 percent to $6.70. The stock traded at $4.30 on the day of the announcement. The release was posted after trading closed. The next trading day, the price jumped to $4.83 with 161,040 shares trading. On the first day of October, the price moved to $5.02 with 1,099,894 shares trading. The stock traded at $5.50 on Monday last week. On Tuesday, it traded at $5.99 and moved $6.30 on Wednesday and $6.70 on Thursday and Friday.

Filed Under: Company News, Company Results Tagged With: Emerging markets, exports, Jamaica Stock Exchange, Jamaican Stock, Jamaican Teas, junior market, Stock splits

QWI best performing listed fund

November 22, 2020 by IC Insider.com

As of Friday, the worst-performing equity-based listed fund has the highest valuation relative to net asset value (NAV). The best performing fund is currently beating the performance of local stocks by a huge margin, following outperforming the market in 2019, but has the highest discount to NAV currently.
Since the start of the year, QWI Investments NAV outperformed the local stocks with the NAV down 16.5 percent while local stocks are down on average 31 percent, with investors marking the price down more than other equity funds. Mayberry Jamaican Equities NAV is down 38 percent from the start of the year, to underperform the market, but the stock is selling now selling at a moderate to the NAV. The NAV for Sagicor Select Funds – Financial is down 28 percent for the year so far, while the Manufacturing & Distribution fund is down 23 percent but the discount to NAV is far lower than QWI.
The disparities in valuing the stocks in the sector is a reminder that making money in stocks is not as difficult as many think, sometimes it requires observance, patience and a bit of logic and here history can be an excellent teacher.
Commodities such as stocks, currencies and other traded assets form patterns over time, persons following these patterns well can profit from them above the average.
When there are major variations from normal patterns, prices will move in one direction or the other and this is one way to make big gains for the keen observer. This is the situation now evident in the stocks of listed funds. When coupled with positive bullish technical signals for the Junior and Main Market, persons investing in some of these funds could do very well in the new few months. The same applies to equity-linked unit trust that declined in value, with the fall of local stock prices earlier this year.
Stocks trading at a valuation below the market or below the historical valuation usually indicate undervaluation and are candidates for gains. The reverse is also true, suggesting that investors should consider selling these if the situation exists.
The patterns shown by local listed funds makes for interesting reading suggesting there is money to be made by investing in some of them.

Mayberry Jamaican Equities is the worse performing listed fund in 2020,

QWI Investments announced its NAV per share as of November 20, at $1.06, a gain of 2 cents for the past week. At the same time, the stock closed at 72 cents, a discount of 32 percent to the net asset value. While the NAV increased, the stock price has fallen to stretch the already overly deep discount. A return of the stock price to NAV would provide a return of 41 percent on the current stock price.
Sagicor Select Funds – Financial NAV this week is 83.8 cents, with the stock at 64 cents on Friday, for a discount of 23.6 percent. At the end of September, the NAV was 83 cents and the stock price 60 cents for a discount of 28 percent. The NAV is at a discount of 12 percent for the Manufacturing & Distribution fund with NAV of 79.7 cents with the stock price on Friday closing at 70 cents, at the end of September, the stock traded at 70 cents with the NAV at 79 cents, with a discount of 12.4 percent.
Mayberry Jamaican Equities discount to NAV at November 18 is 12.8 percent with the NAV at $8.80 and the stock priced at $7.80, at the end of September the NAV was $8.30 and priced at par with the last traded price of $8.30.
The discount to net asset value for QWI narrowed in June, widened again in August but narrowed again in September and has now widened again, with the value rising and the price dropping. The average discount from the start in October 2019 is 21 percent with a low of 5 percent on March 27 and a high of 33 percent in July. The average discount from the start of trading is 18 percent up to the end of June, which is closer to the discount of the others.

Filed Under: Company News, Company Results Tagged With: Emerging markets, Jamaica Stock Exchange, Jamaican stocks, Mayberry Jamaican Equities, QWI Investments, Sagicor Group, Sagicor Select Funds

Main Market back at Mid-April close

November 20, 2020 by IC Insider.com

Market indices bounced for the Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market on Friday to sit a fraction below the April 17 close, but is still 24 percent lower than the start of the year, but closed with 362 percent more shares traded than Thursday but with more than twice the number of stocks declining as advancing.

Main Market index displaying bullish formation

The market continues to maintain the bullish mood that has been slowly building since the summer months as the market, closing, as the All Jamaican Composite Index climbed 1,286.30 points to 425,748.98, the Main Index rose 1,154.92 points to 388,463.43, but the JSE Financial Index lost 0.12 points to settle at 102.51.
Trading ended with 36 securities changing hands compared to 37 on Thursday and closed with the prices of nine rising, 19 declining and eight remaining unchanged. The average PE Ratio ended at 15.6 based on ICInsider.com’s forecast of 2020-21 earnings.
The market closed with an exchange of 44,980,918 shares for $1,341,663,306 compared to 9,736,055 units at $369,213,753 on Thursday.
Sagicor Manufacturing & Distribution Fund led trading with 33.4 percent of total volume, after exchanging 15 million shares followed by QWI Investments with 32.7 percent for 14.7 million units, NCB Financial with 18.9 percent for 8.5 million units. Transjamaican Highway controlled 4 percent market share, with 1.78 million units Sagicor Select Financial Fund accounted for 3.7 percent with 1.65 million units and Wigton Windfarm controlled 3.5 percent of the market with 1.57 million units.
The average traded was 1,249,470 units at $37,268,425 for each security, compared to an average of 263,137 shares at $9,978,750 on Thursday. The average trade for the month to date ends at 324,765 units at $7,272,017 for each security, in contrast to 267,957 unit at $5,429,235. October averaged 398,200 units at $4,622,532.
At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading for the market shows 10 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close of the market, Berger Paints gained 30 cents to close at $11.85 exchanging 33,440 shares, Caribbean Cement declined by $3.32 to end at $56.67, in trading 2,579 stock units, Jamaica Broilers shed 50 cents to settle at $27, after crossing the market with 4,824 units. Jamaica Producers fell $2.05 to $19.70, with 7,450 stock units changing hands, Key Insurance shed 85 cents to close at $7.30, trading 2,602 units, Kingston Wharves climbed $3.90 to settle at $48.90, with investors swapping 1,662 stock units. MPC Caribbean Clean Energy dropped $7.01 in closing at $138 trading 836 units, Pan Jam Investment closed at $65, with gains of $1.76, trading 147,995 shares, Proven Investments shed 50 cents in closing at $38, with 10,286 stock units changing hands. Sagicor Group finished at $48, after losing 50 cents exchanging 151,507 shares and Scotia Group rose 80 cents to settle at $46 trading 5,512 units.