The main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed at a new record high on Tuesday to break into the 338,000 mark, for the first time, with the All Jamaican Composite Index climbing 820.63 points to a record 338,079.54 and the JSE Index rising 747.69 points to a record 308,028.64.
Activities in the main and US dollar markets resulted in 30 securities trading including 5 from the US dollar market, compared to 31 securities trading on Monday. At the close, the prices of 9 stocks advanced, 16 declined and 6 closed unchanged.
Trading activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed with an exchange of 7,061,151 shares valued at $104,913,847 compared to 7,903,876 units valued at $168,386,017 on Monday.
The day’s volume was led by Wisynco Group with 3,436,668 units accounting for 48.67 percent of the day’s volume, followed by Jamaica Broilers with 1,004,631 units and 14.23 percent of the day’s volume and Ciboney with 1,004,631 units accounting for 14.23 percent of the volume traded.
Stocks with major price changes are, Grace Kennedy dropped $2.48 to $51.52, Jamaica Broilers up $2 to end at $26, JMMB Group rising $1 to $29.50, NCB Financial jumping $2.93 to $98, Sagicor Group rose 75 cents to $38.75, Scotia Group gained 50 cents to $51.50, Supreme Ventures slipped 60 cents to $15 and Sygnus Credit Investments rose 54 cents in closing at $13.55. 138 Student Living traded with a loss of 25 cents to end at a 52 weeks’ low of $3.85 and Pulse Investments traded at an intraday high of $3.50 but end trading at $3.
Trading resulted in an average of 252,184 units valued at an average of $3,746,923 for each security traded, in contrast to 303,995 units for an average of $6,476,385 on Monday.
The average volume and value for the month to date amounts 175,865 units valued at $3,072,419 compared to 163,654 units valued at $2,946,511, on Monday. June closed with an average of 250,168 shares with a value of $5,895,281, for each security traded.
In the US dollar market, 122,190 units valued at $31,374, as JMMB Group 6% preference share rose 1.5 cents and ended trading at US$1.025 with 11,100 stock units changing hands and Proven Investments rose 1 cent and closed at 18 US cents with 111,090 units changing hands. The JSE USD Equities Index rose 2.02 points up to 152.41.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 4 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and 4 closing with lower offers.
Juniors in big drop – Monday
Trading on the Junior Market climbed on Monday with an exchange of 21,868,083 units valued at $65,699,802 compared to 1,704,155 units valued at $7,059,645 on Friday but the market index fell more than 40 points.
At the close, the market Index dived 40.70 points to close at 3,021.51 as the prices of 6 securities rose, 4 declined and 6 traded unchanged resulting from 16 securities changing hands, down from 20 on Friday.
IC bid-offer Indicator|At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 7 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 with lower offers.
Trading ended with an average of 1,366,755 units for an average of $4,106,238 in contrast to 85,208 units for an average of $352,982 on Friday. 
The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 340,878 units valued at $1,271,893 and previously 187,472 units valued at $848,065. June closed with an average of 139,543 units, valued at $671,002 for each security traded.
At the close of trading in the Junior market, AMG Packaging ended 1 cent higher at $2, with 5,028 stock units, Caribbean Producers finished trading at $5.25, with 8,291 units, C2W Music added 15 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $1.45, with 13,408 shares, Elite Diagnostic settled with a loss of 3 cents at $2.97, with 20,046,806 units, Everything Fresh traded 29,100 units and closed at $2.14, Express Catering gained 4 cents to close at $7.14, with 8,135 shares. FosRich Group finished trading 10 cents higher at $2.75, with 125,000 shares, Honey Bun concluded trading at $5, with 9,475 shares, Jamaican Teas ended trading 24,929 stock units and rose 1 cent to close at $5.01,
Jetcon Corporation traded 17,500 units at $4. Key Insurance traded 1,500,000 shares with a loss of 99 cents at $3.01, Knutsford Express declined by $1.01 to $11.50, with 1,000 shares, Lasco Distributors rose 3 cents to $4.18, with 25,668 stock units, Lasco Financial finished at $5.10, with 17,996 units traded, Lasco Manufacturing settled at $4, with 1,107 shares and Stationery and Office closed with a loss of 5 cents at $7.95, with 34,640 units changing hands.
In the Junior Market US dollar bond market Eppley 5% bond traded 373 units at US$1.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
Record high for JSE main market
At the close of the trading on Monday, the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed at a new record high, with the All Jamaican Composite Index climbing 868.61 points to a record close of 337,258.91 and the JSE Index rising 791.40 points to a record 307,280.95.
Activities in the main and US dollar markets resulted in 31 securities trading including 5 from the US dollar market, compared to 27 securities trading on Friday. At the close, the prices of 9 stocks advanced, 16 declined and 6 closed unchanged.
Trading activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange rose strongly over Friday’s level, with an exchange of 7,903,876 units valued at $168,386,017 compared to 2,029,215 units valued at $42,587,552 on Friday.
The day’s volume was led by Carreras with 2,439,495 units and accounted for 30.86 percent of the day’s volume, followed by Wisynco Group with 1,873,893 units or 23.71 percent of the day’s volume, Scotia Group with 1,254,140 units accounting for 15.87 percent of the volume traded and JMMB Group with 1,010,243 units.
Stocks with major price changes are, Grace Kennedy climbing $1 to $54. Jamaica Broilers up $1 to end at $24, JMMB Group falling $1 to $28.50, Kingston Wharves jumping $3.45 to $50, Proven Investments fell $1.50 in the Jamaican market to$27 but is still priced well above the US dollar market listing. Salada Foods rose $1 to $11, Scotia Group jumped 88 cents to $51, Sterling Investments fell $1.50 to $10, Supreme Ventures gained $1.50 in closing at $15.60 and Sygnus Credit Investments lost 70 cents in closing at $13.01. 138 Student Living traded with a loss of 30 cents to end at a 52 weeks’ low of $4.10.
In the US dollar market, 202,559 units valued at $28,806 as JMMB Group 6% preference share ended trading at US$1.01 with 4,319 stock units, Productivity Business declined by 0.5 cent and ended at 58 US cents with 2,659 shares traded, Proven Investments lost 1 cent and closed at 17 US cents with 15,350 units changing hands, 
Sterling Investments ended trading at 9 US cents with 898 shares after falling 1 cent and Sygnus Credit Investments ended trading 179,000 shares after falling 1 cent to 11 US cents. The JSE USD Equities Index lost 2.81 points up to 150.39.
Trading resulted in an average of 303,995 units valued at an average of $6,476,385 for each security traded, in contrast to 92,237 units for an average of $1,935,798 on Friday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts 163,654 units valued at $2,946,511 compared to 167,222 units valued at $2,763,542, on Friday. June closed with an average of 250,168 shares with a value of $5,895,281, for each security traded.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 4 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 closing with lower offers.
Mayberry Jamaican Equities hits market
Mayberry Investments (MIL) offer of 120,114,929 ordinary shares at $7.56 in the capital of Mayberry Jamaican Equities opens today at 9 and is scheduled to close on July 30.
The offer is slated to raise $908 million after cost of relating to the issue. The shares are expected to be listed on the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, if the issue is successfully taken up and will result in 80 percent of the shares owned by MIL. MIL states in the prospectus that they will reduce their holding if they receive institutional buying interest in them.
There is an inter-company margin loan of J$545,386,403 due to MIL but after the offer, the loan is expected to be fully repaid. The offer is fully underwritten by companies owned by Mark and Christopher Berry.
Mayberry Jamaican Equities is a closed end mutual fund that will be paying a cash dividend. The Board intends to adopt a liberal dividend policy. Assuming there are sufficient distributable reserves then for each financial year the Company intends to target a dividend payout of up to 75 percent of net profits after tax.
Mayberry Head office in Kingston.
The Company does not have any employees of its own and that is consistent with its business model. It has an investment management agreement with Mayberry Asset Management (“MAM”). MAM in turn relies on the investment expertise of its principals, Christopher Berry, Konrad Mark Berry and Gary Peart, to provide the requisite investment management services to the Company. A performance fee of 8% of any increase in the Company’s Total Comprehensive Income must be paid to MAM.
The Company will buy and sell securities from, and to, brokers and dealers in the Jamaican market and the US securities market. It may also invest in bonds or notes issued by borrowing companies.
At the end of 2017, shareholders equity stood at US$71 million up from US$51.6 million in 2016 as the underlying investment grew in value. Revenues from interest dividends and trading gains amounted to $3.7 million from $1.7 million in 2016 and profit of US$3.1 million compared to $1.26 million. The company reported profit of $1.25 million for the March 2018 quarter from total revenues of $1.87 million and shareholders’ equity rose to US$76.2 million.
There are positives and negatives to take from the offer. Unlike unit trust, the issue may not provide the same level of liquidity, but the use of leverage from time to time can boost returns for the portfolio, if executed properly. The flip side it can negatively affect returns if the portfolio value stagnates of falls.
The vehicle is new to the stock exchange and it is not known how investors will price the stock once listed.
JSE majors 300 points from record
Jamaica Stock Exchange main market continues its slow upward climb as it eyes new highs ahead.
At the close of the trading on Friday, the All Jamaican Composite Index sits just 300 points and the JSE Index just 276 points from the record high reach on June 13, after rising over 1,200 points on Friday.
The All Jamaican Composite Index climbs 1,332.76 points to close at 336,390.30 while the JSE Index advanced by 1,214.30 points to close at 306,489.55.
Trading activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Friday remained low, with an exchange of just 2,029,215 units valued at $42,587,552 compared to 4,036,088 units valued at $49,293,055 on Thursday.
Activities in the main and US dollar markets resulted in 25 securities trading including 3 from the US dollar market, compared to 27 securities trading on Thursday. At the close, the prices of 11 stocks advanced, 6 declined and 8 closed unchanged.
Thursday’s volume was led by Mayberry Investments that settled at $6.52, with 501,000 units trading, Scotia Group traded at $50.12, with 447,178 units and Sygnus Credit Investments traded 378,850 shares at $13.71.
Stocks with major price changes are, Berger Paints that rose 71 cents to $22, Grace Kennedy climbing $1.39 to $53. Jamaica Broilers lost 50 cents to end at $23, JMMB Group declined 40 cents to $29.50, Kingston Wharves lost 70 cents to end at $46.55 and Supreme ventures lost 40 cents in closing at $14.10.
In the US dollar market, 22,095 units valued at $2,546 as with Margaritaville traded 500 shares at 18 US cents, Proven Investments closed at 18 US cents with just 245 units changing hands and Sygnus Credit Investments ended trading 21,350 shares after rising 0.7 cent to 12 US cents. The JSE USD Equities Index inched 0.05 points up to 153.20.
Trading resulted in an average of 92,237 units valued at an average of $1,935,798 for each security traded. In contrast to 161,444 units for an average of $1,971,722 on Thursday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts 167,222 units valued at $2,763,542 compared to 183,396 units valued at $2,264,736, on Thursday. June closed with an average of 250,168 shares with a value of $5,895,281, for each security traded.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 4 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and 4 closing with lower offers.
Juniors inched higher – Friday
Junior market index moving higher gradually, but seems poised to surge higher by August as happened in 2017.
Trading on the Junior Market returned to more sedate levels on Friday with 1,704,155 units valued at $7,059,645, compared to 13,901,904 units valued at $65,220,930 on Thursday.
At the close, the market Index advanced by 8.27 points to close at 3,062.21 as the prices of 4 securities rose, 10 declined and 6 traded unchanged resulting from 20 securities changing hands, up from 25 on Thursday.
IC bid-offer Indicator|At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 5 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and 4 with lower offers.
Trading ended with an average of 85,208 units for an average of $352,982 in contrast to 556,076 units for an average of $2,608,837 on Thursday.
The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 148,472 units valued at $848,065 and previously 210,982 units valued at $961,878. June closed with an average of 139,543 units, valued at $671,002 for each security traded.
At the close of trading in the Junior market, AMG Packaging ended with a loss of 1 cent at $1.99, with 23,429 stock units, Caribbean Cream fell 16 cents to close at $4.84, with 21,756 shares, Consolidated Bakeries closed with 117,515 shares trading and lost 10 cents to end at $1.90, C2W Music ended at $1.30, with 29,999 shares changing hands, Derrimon Trading exchanged 23,136 shares and traded at an all-time intraday high of $20.50 but fell afterwards by 44 cents from Thursday’s close to end Friday at $19.16. Dolphin Cove finished at $15, with 1,400 stock units, Elite Diagnostic settled with a loss of 5 cents at $3 and trading 95,139 units, Express Catering traded 5 cents higher at $7.10, with 18,979 shares, 
FosRich Group finished trading with a loss of 30 cents at $2.65, in exchanging 6,242 shares. Honey Bun ended trading at $5, with 200 shares, Jetcon Corporation traded at $4, with 30,280 units changing hands, Knutsford Express ended 41 cents higher at $12.51, with 3,870 shares, Lasco Distributors concluded trading with a loss of 4 cents at $4.15, in exchanging 540,300 stock units. Lasco Financial finished 11 cents higher at $5.10, with 445,789 units, Lasco Manufacturing lost 20 cents to close at $4, with 103,771 shares, Medical Disposables traded 2,000 shares at $5, Paramount Trading closed 3 cents higher at $3, trading 4,200 stock units, Stationery and Office closed at $8, with 15,869 units changing owners and tTech declined 10 cents to $5.90, with 350 shares changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
JSE main market falters on low volume
Grace Kennedy traded at an intra-day high of $56 on Thursday.
Trading activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Thursday remained low, with an exchange of 4,036,088 units valued at $49,293,055 versus 3,503,975 units valued at $50,822,952 on Wednesday.
Trading levels fell below that of the Junior Market, a rare occurrence as two companies in that market dominated trading. Activities in the main and US dollar markets resulted in 27 securities trading including 2 from the US dollar market compared to 28 securities trading on Wednesday. At the close, the prices of 13 stocks advanced, 9 declined and 5 closed unchanged.
At the close of the market, the All Jamaican Composite Index fell 169.56 points to close at 335,057.54 while the JSE Index declined by 154.49 points to 305,275.25.
Wednesday’s volume was led by Ciboney with 1,075,072 units at 10 cents, accounting for 26.6 percent of the day’s volume, followed by Jamaica Broilers traded 798,007 stock units at $23.50, 
Mayberry Investments settled at $6.50, with 613,468 units and Pulse Investments jumping $1 to $3, with 460,835 shares.
Stocks with major price changes are, Caribbean Cement that dropped $2.57 to $42.43, Jamaica Broilers gaining 50 cents to end at $23.50, JMMB Group gaining 90 cents to $29.90, Kingston Wharves rising 85 cents to end at $47.25, NCB Financial dropping $2.50 to $95, Sagicor Group losing 75 cents to close at $38.25. Scotia Group fell 40 cents to close at $50.10, Seprod jumped $2.25 to $35.50, Supreme ventures lost 50 cents in closing at $14.50 and Productive Business Solution rose $2 to $105. Grace Kennedy traded at an intraday high of $56 but last traded at $51.61.
In the US dollar market, 8,800 units traded valued at $1,520 as Sterling Investments ended trading 800 shares at after rising 0.8 cent to 10 US cents and Proven Investments lost 0.5 cent to 18 US cents with 8,000 units changing hands. 
The JSE USD Equities Index declined 2.86 points to 153.15.
Trading resulted in an average of 161,444 units valued at an average of $1,971,722 for each security traded. In contrast to 134,768 units for an average of $1,954,729 on Wednesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts 183,396 units valued at $2,264,736 compared to 190,523 units at a cost of $2,359,871, on Wednesday. June closed with an average of 250,168 shares with a value of $5,895,281, for each security traded.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 3 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 closing with lower offers.
Volume surged on Junior Market – Thursday
Jamaican Teas CEO, John Mahfood – the company’s shares traded the most on the Junior market on Thursday.
Trading on Thursday surged more than 7 times Wednesday’s level on Junior Market with 13,901,904 units valued at $65,220,930 traded, compared to 1,732,089 units valued at $7,477,627 on Wednesday.
The day’s trading levels were boosted by Jamaican Teas with more than 9 million units and Lasco Distributors with nearly 3.5 million shares.
At the close, the market Index dropped 32.96 points to 3,053.94 as the prices of 6 securities rose, 10 declined and 9 traded unchanged resulting from 25 securities changing hands, up from 20 on Wednesday. Derrimon Trading ordinary as well as its preference share ended at 52 weeks’ high of $19.60 and $2.50 respectively. Derrimon posted a 45 percent rise in its first quarter profit and announced 10 to 1 stock split to be voted on at the company’s upcoming AGM.
IC bid-offer Indicator|At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 8 stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and 4 with lower offers.
Trading ended with an average of 556,076 units for an average of $2,608,837 in contrast to 86,604 units for an average of $373,881 on Wednesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 210,982 units valued at $961,878 and previously 71,831 units valued at $297,781. June closed with an average of 139,543 units, valued at $671,002 for each security traded.
At the close of trading, Access Financial closed with a loss of 50 cents at $46.50, trading 500 shares, AMG Packaging price fell 8 cents to end at $2, with 11,775 stock units, Caribbean Cream ended trading 40 cents higher at $5, with 10,000 shares, Caribbean Producers finished trading with a loss of 35 cents at $5.25, in exchanging 140,555 units, Consolidated Bakeries closed with a loss of 5 cents at $2, with 116,600 shares. C2W Music ended at $1.30, with 27,566 shares, Derrimon Trading jumped $1.20 to a new high of $19.60, with 13,766 shares changing hands, Elite Diagnostic settled 8 cents higher at $3.05, with 32,097 units, FosRich Group finished trading 20 cents higher at $2.95, with 38,505 shares. General Accident closed with a loss of 1 cent at $2.95, after trading 106,177 stock units, Honey Bun concluded trading of 20,000 shares with a loss of 25 to $5, Iron Rock finished at $3, with 501 shares traded, ISP Finance settled at $15, with 904 shares. 
Jamaican Teas ended trading 1 cent higher at $5, with 9,332,829 stock units changing hands, Jetcon Corporation traded with a loss of 10 cents at $4, as 40,594 units were exchanged, KLE Group closed at $2.90, with 1,864 shares, Knutsford Express lost 41 cents to close at $12.10, with 2,000 shares. Lasco Distributors concluded trading with a loss of 1 cent at $4.19, as 3,477,500 stock units were exchanged, Lasco Manufacturing settled at $4.20, with 104,600 shares, Main Event ended trading at $7, with 26,189 shares, Medical Disposables traded 872 shares at $5 and Stationery and Office closed with a loss of 50 cents at $8, trading 107,942 units. In the junior market preference segment, Derrimon Trading 9% preference share ended 60 cents higher to an all-time high of $2.50, with 1,000 stock units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.
Derrimon hikes profit 45%
Staff at Derrimon Trading.
Revenues for the Derrimon Trading first quarter March this year, climbed 27 percent to $1.94 billion above the $1.53 billion reported for the 2017 quarter and led to a big hike in profit.
The company reported a strong 45 percent jump in its first quarter results, from $35 million to $52 million or 21 cents per share to March this year, but profit could have been even higher had they not incurred finance cost which jumped 56 percent to $38 million from $25 million in 2017, in refinancing the preference shares they held previously at higher rates than the new ones. IC Insider.com is forecasting earnings per share of just over 80 cents for the current year.
This year is the last for profit to enjoy full tax free status, in 2019 profit will be taxed at half the usual 25 percent rate less payroll tax credits.
“The full quarter’s performance of the retail stores as well as the impact of the joint venture positively influenced the growth of the revenue during this reporting quarter,” Derrick Cotterell, the chairman reported to shareholders.
Gross profit for the period was $353 million representing 18 percent of revenues and was up from gross profit of $279 million in the 2017 period with a similar percentage of revenues. According to Cotterell there was improved margin in the core business resulting from “a combination of improvement in margins arising from strategies employed within both the distribution & retail segments of the business, the positive impact from the culled distribution portfolio and improved margins from growth of the supermarket portfolio.” Margins for the non-manufacturing arm rose to 17.2 percent from 16.94 percent in 2017.
The company’s equity position is $1.04 billion but borrowed funds stand at $1.22 billion, cash and investments amounts to $432 million thus negating some of the negative of the high leveraging of the group. With much of the cash and investments held by Caribbean Flavours, the larger portion is not readily available to Derrimon. Current assets amount to $2 billion and current liabilities at $413 million.
The company is proposing to do a major increase in the authorized share capital, with some being set aside to facilitate the 10 for 1 stock split. With the stock price having climbed to the $20 region, the company should take the opportunity to raise equity capital and retire some of the debt now being carried by the parent company.
JSE main market climbs on low volume
Caribbean Cement ended at a new closing high of $45 on Wednesday.
The volume traded on the Jamaica Stock Exchange declined on Wednesday to 3,503,975 units valued at $50,822,952 compared to 8,102,862 units valued $101,385,351 on Tuesday.
Market activities in the main and US dollar markets resulted in 28 securities trading including just 1 from the US dollar market. At the close, the prices of 14 stocks advanced, 8 declined and 6 closed unchanged, compared to 27 securities trading on Tuesday.
At the close of the market, the All Jamaican Composite Index rose 1,170.17 points to 335,227.10 while the JSE Index advanced by 1,066.16 points to close at 305,429.74.
Tuesday’s volume was led by Ciboney with 1,230,196 units accounting for 35 percent of the day’s volume, followed by JMMB Group 7.25% preference share with 850,000 units or 24 percent of the day’s volume and PanJam Investment with 326,719 units.
Stocks with major price changes are, Caribbean Cement rising $1.50 to an all-time closing high of $45, Jamaica Broilers lost the $1 it added on Tuesday to end at $23, Kingston Wharves gained 43 cents to end at $46.40, NCB Financial rallied 50 cents to $97.50, Sagicor Real Estate Fund rose $1.45 to close at $15.45, Scotia Group was up 40 cents to close at $50.50 and Seprod jumped $1.65 to $33.25.
In the US dollar market, 5,704 units traded valued at $921 as Proven Investments rose 1 cent to 18.50 with 3,704 units changing hands and 
Sygnus Credit trading 2,000 shares, with the price slipping 0.25 cent to end at 11.25 US cents. The JSE USD Equities Index rose 1.30 points to 156.01.
Trading resulted in an average of 134,768 units valued at an average of $1,954,729 for each security traded. In contrast to 311,649 units for an average of $3,899,437 on Tuesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 190,523 units at a cost of $2,359,871, compared to 218,947 units valued at $2,566,413 on Tuesday. June closed with an average of 250,168 shares with a value of $5,895,281, for each security traded.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows 6 stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and 6 closing with lower offers.