Indies Pharma reported lower profit for the year to October as slower gains in second half revenues and a more meager profit margin sapped the contribution from the increased sales.
While the company needs to sort out the loss in profit margin. There is also another big issue directors need to deal with. Included in receivables is shareholders’ loan of $136 million with no movement in the year and no information in the audited statements of terms relating thereto including the date for liquidation. IC insider.com source suggest that the recent two large blocks of shares of approximately 115 million units traded in the market this week, is a move to clear off the balance and that should show in the March quarterly report.
Additionally, directors owe the company $37 million, an amount that increased during the year. The company needs to clean up the balance sheet as it could be subject to taxes on distribution for the amount owed to the company by directors and possibly the shareholders. The other factor is that it appears that these amounts are free of interest. Other related party indebtedness also needs regularising with specific terms for transparency.
Profit for the full year is down to $120 million after tax, from $137 million in 2017. At the half way mark, profit was $54 million versus $52 million in 2017, the growth in profit for the 2018 second half was less than in 2017.
Revenues from sales grew just 2.5 percent for the year, down from 9.9 percent at the half-year mark. Cost of sales rose 16.6 percent for the full year compared to the 17.5 percent at April, but with sharply differing sales growth. The net effect is a fall in gross profit for the full year to $393 million from $412 million in 2017. Gross profit improved to $187 million at the 2018 half-way mark, from $177 million in 2017.
Administrative cost was virtually flat at the end of April at $110 million versus $108 million and climbed 6.7 percent to $240 million for the year. Finance cost, inclusive of foreign exchange losses, was flat at $16 million for the year.
As the company listed on the Junior Market, the corporate tax bill is down to $18 million, from $35 million in 2017.
The statement of financial position reflects pretty strong financials, with equity capital of $668 million, strong working capital including $102 million of liquid funds.
Indies last traded at $3.35 on the Junior Market, based on these results the PE ratio would be 37 but investors are looking for a brighter 2019 results.
Indies shareholders exposed to tax risk
Heavy demand for Fontana shares
Fontana shares are now listed on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange with bids now in to purchase 7.7 million shares up $2.50 prior to the opening of trading. There is just one offer at $4 to sell 4,500 shares.
The heavy demand in in keeping with heavy over subscription the IPO received. A number of investors in the stock are not pleased that the company varied the terms of the allocation of shares to persons in the general pool from the stated treatments included in the prospectus that stated that multiple applications would be merged and treated as one.
The share issue attracted 2,770 applicants for shares in the company. The order book on the buy side is shown in the accompanying chart with orders at 10 am.
The PE based on last year’s earnings is a low 8, suggesting that a price in the mid $4 region or higher is likely, once it can trade at those levels. Subsequent to the time the attached chart was created, the highest bid is now at $2.60 to buy 130,000 units with total bids in the syetem to purchase 17.7 million shares. One more offer at $3.77 to sell 30,610 units was posted after trading commenced. The maximum price the stock can trade at today is $2.44, 30 percent above the IPO price of $1.88.
Fontana lists today
Fontana Waterloo Road
Fontana shares will list on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange and will commence trading on Tuesday.
The shares that were well sort after will be in high demand with the price expected to jump sharply in a few days. A number of investors in the stock are not pleased that the company varied the terms of the allocation of shares to persons in the general pool from the stated treatments included in the prospectus that stated that multiple applications would be merged and treated as one.
Scotia Investments advised that they are currently in the process of disbursing refunds to applicants via transfers to each broker for their clients and expects to complete the majority of refunds during the week of January 7th.
The share issue attracted 2,770 applicants for shares in the company. Fontana brings to 38, companies listed on the Junior Market. In December, Eppley that was listed on the Junior Market moved over to the main market.
Record new JSE listings for 2019
This year could be a busy one for Initial public offers (IPOS) and record new listings on The Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE), giving investors many more choices for placing their money.
Nine IPOs came to the market in 2018 with three in December, giving investors more investment choices than in 2017. For 2019, ICreate will be the first IPO out of the block. The government owned Wigton Wind Farm’s IPO will be launched early 2019, probably by March, but it is not one for all investors, in spite of what some politicians would want to see happening. IC Insider.com gathers others to come include, a central Jamaica Manufacturing entity with strong export base, a large paint company and one in the BPO sector.
In addition, IC Insider.com gathers that there are at least another three IPOs, should definitely make it to the market this year.
The JSE is projecting for 21 new listing in the current year, Marlene Street Forrest, General Managing Director, informed IC Insider.com recently.
“The main market expects 10 of the total and the Junior Market 11. The list includes both ordinary and preference shares”, Street Forrest stated.
Barita up 593% top 2018 JSE stock
Barita climbs to a new closing high of $50 on Friday to gain 593% in 2018..
Stocks on the Jamaica Stock Exchange main market ending 2018 with a credible gain of 31.7 percent but brokerage house Barita Investments surged a by a huge 593 percent to be the markets best performing stock in 2018.
Barita Investments gain mostly came after Cornerstone Investment Holdings officially sealed the deal to take over the company and laterally, after announcing a rights issue to shareholders at an exercise price of $15.50. The stock closed the year at $52. But there is a lot more going on with this company as the new majority owners take a more aggressive approach to capture more business locally and within the wider Caribbean.
Four stocks end 2018 with gains of more than 100 percent contributed to the year’s performance but the year’s movement fell below that of 2017, when the index rose 50.7 percent. The next best performer could only deliver a 
211 percent rise in contrast to the stunning gains by Barita. Salada Foods ended the year with a jump in price to $35 on strong gains in profit, to capture the number 2 best performing spot rising by 211 percent for the year, followed by Palace Amusement with gains of 159 percent, the third year in a row that it is occupying the top 10 list. Kingston Wharves grew 135 percent to be one of 4 stocks to reappear in the top 10 for two consecutive years. Jamaica Broilers gained 67 percent. Pulse Investments reappeared in the Top 10 with a rise of 66 percent and heavy weight, PanJam Investment put in a strong showing of 65 percent, while Supreme Ventures chipped in with 57 percent, Mayberry Investments rose 52 percent and NCB Financial with 50 percent to retain one of the Top 10 spots for the second year in a row.
The worst performing stocks included Ciboney down 71 percent due mainly to the sale of property it previously owned 
with most of the proceeds distributed as a dividend thus reducing the value of its assets to a few million dollars. 138 Student Living was next with a fall of 42 percent with Portland JSX ending with a loss for the year of 25 percent following on from Kingston Properties with 22 percent and Sygnus Credit Investments with 20 percent from it 2018 IPO price. Both Ciboney and Carreras that are in the top 10 worst performing stocks in 2018 are coming from the top 10 in 2017.
Big gains for JSE Monday
The main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange surged 11,391.32 points on the All Jamaica Composite index (AJI) with nearly 2 hours of trading on Monday with the index at 417,227.47 points but pulled back from the day’s high of 421,063.54 points earlier after rising 15,227.39 points.
The JSE Index climbed 10,378.78 points to 380,141.40 but the Junior Market Index rose 47.45 points to 3,229.84.
NCB Financial traded at $150, Barita Investments traded at a new high of $55, Grace Kennedy at $68.50 and Sagicor Real Estate Fund jumped to $13.93.
Barita shareholders to vote on rights
Barita climbs to a new closing high of $50 on Friday.
As a result an Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders will be on Thursday, January 17, 2019, at the Terra Nova Hotel, at 10 am to consider the issue of increasing the issued shares by way of a rights issue.
“The purpose of the meeting is to ensure that BIL’s minority shareholders will have an opportunity to contribute to the decision for a Rights Issue,” the directors stated in their release to the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
The resolutions to be put to the extraordinary general meeting, include one for the issue of 262.28 million shares, as a rights issue. Each shareholder will be entitled to 10 shares for each 17 held, at the record date. The price for each share of the rights, is expected to remain at $15.50, as originally approved by the directors, unless varied at the upcoming meeting. The resolution is also asking that the terms of the issue are to be determined by the directors.
The rights in the original directors release were to be non-renounceable, if this condition remains after the vote at the meeting, it will mean that shareholders will not be able to sell their rights to a third party, as such if they decide not to take them up they will not be able to benefit directly from the issue.
The directors had previously voted to offer the rights to shareholders without calling a general meeting but after consultations, decided to put the matter to a general meeting of shareholders where it properly belongs.
Since announcing the rights in early December, the stock price has risen more than 56 percent to $50 and is up 567 percent for 2018 to be the stock exchange’s best performing stock.
Proven buys NCB’s block of JMMB shares
NCB Financial Group sold all the JMMB Group shares amounting 326.7 million units amounting to 20 percent of the total issues shares of the money market brokerage.
The shares were put through the Jamaica Stock Exchange only a few minutes after trading opened today, at $28.25 each and resulting in a consideration of $9.2 billion.. In September this year, PanJam Investment purchased 100 million or 6.1 percent of JMMB shares from NCB, leaving the block that was traded today. A spoke person for PanJam, indicated that they are not the buyers of today’s trade. Our sources indicate that Proven Investments are the buyers of the block today.
Fontana listing in January
Artist impression of Fontana Waterloo Road
Fontana shares are not likely to start trading until January. Feedback from the Jamaica Stock Exchange indicates that the listing committe that has to meet to approve the listing wont meet until next week.
IC Insider.com had previously reported that it would list today which was based on information gleaned from our sources. The shares allocated for the public pool that seems to be at variance with the terms of the propectus would need sorting out, before the shares are listed if in fact the allocation announced is different from the terms of the prospectus.
Fontana allocation varies from prospectus
The Fontana prospectus states that multiple applications by any person whether in individual or joint names will be treated as a single application, but the information included in the broker’s release regarding allocation seems at variance with this.
The brokers indicated that, “multiple applications from a single person or entity were removed except where they were entitled to apply for shares in a reserved and the public pool. Once that process was completed, 2,770 applications remained for 944,150,335 shares”.
It would appear that had the allocation been done in conformity with the terms of the prospectus, the number of shares applied for would still remain at 982,194,569. All multiple applications are to be merged to be one, as such investors
Fontana Waterloo Road
in the public pool should be allocated differently than what has been announced.
Contracts once consummated, are expected to be adhered to, accordingly, the terms set out in the Fontana prospectus, need to be satisfied as far as the allocation of the shares is concerned.
The broker needs to explain to the public if in fact the allocation for the public pool is in keeping with the terms set out on page 14 of the prospectus and if not why not and what will be done to comply with the terms that investors signed on for. It appears that the brokers are trying to unilaterally vary the contract that investors signed on to and they cannot do that.