Trading picked up over Mondays levels in Tuesday’s trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange with the prices of 7 stocks rising and 8 declined as 30 securities changed hands resulting in 6,769,006 shares trading valued at $93,106,961.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index inching up by 68.50 points to 69,499.13 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite index moved up 76.59 points to close at 76,420.86
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the main market are Caribbean Cement trading of 10,000 shares to close with a gain of 20 cents at $2.95, Carreras gained 50 cents to close at $34 with 1,100 units changing hands, Kingston Wharves with 216,216 shares as the price gained 10 cents to close at $5, National Commercial Bank with 173,550 shares to close with a gain of $1.20 at $18.50 and
Scotia Group with 428,791 units to close with a gain of 50 cents to end at $19.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in price at the end of trading are Berger Paints with 6,161 units to close at $1.66, Cable & Wireless 856,277 shares to close at 30 cents, Desnoes & Geddes with 2,500 units to close at $4.50, Gleaner 11,000 shares in closing at $1.10, Jamaica Producers with only 2,462 units to close at $15.60, Mayberry Investments 22,846 units to close at $1.45, prior to the close the stock hit a new 52 weeks intraday low of $1.35, Radio Jamaica 9,549 units to close at $1.29, Scotia Investments with 15,950 units to close at $21.50 and Supreme Ventures 2,500 units traded to close at $1.90.
Preference| Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded 48,750 units to close at$2 and the Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share 558,109 units to close at $3.03.
Declines| The number of stocks that declined in the main market are Grace Kennedy with 480,829 shares valued at $25,940,725 traded to close down 5 cents at $53.95, Jamaica Money Market Brokers 62,200 units lost a cent to end at $6.65, Proven Investments traded 2,470,874 shares lost 2 US cents to close at 16 us cents, Sagicor Group with 776,336 shares lost 8 cents to end at $8.80 and Salada Foods with 1,000 shares lost 20 cents to end at $7.80.
Junior Market| The JSE Junior Market Index declined by 7.03 points to close at 707.51 as 9 stocks traded with 2 advancing and 3 declining.
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the junior market are Dolphin Cove with 700 units to close a gain of a cent to end at $8.51 and Jamaican Teas with just 1,383 units as the price inched up by 5 cents to end at $3.30.
Firm Trades| The stocks in the junior market stocks that traded to close at the same price as the day before are Access Financial with 6,500 units to close at $13.50, Blue Power 1,900 units to close at $9.01
Caribbean Producers with 231,000 units to close at $2.65 and Consolidated Bakeries 9,910 units to close at 80 cents.
Declines| Stocks declining in the junior market at the end of trading are with Lasco Distributors trading 7,800 shares to close 2 cents down to $1.18, Lasco Financial 153,913 shares with the price falling 7 cents to close at $1 and Lasco Manufacturing with 198,900 shares close with a 3 cents fall to $1.07.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 3 stocks with the bid higher than the last selling price and 4 stocks with offers that were lower.
Pick up in market activity
Declines continue to dominate
Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Monday saw the prices of only 3 stocks rose and 8 declined as 20 securities changing hands resulting in 1,417,573 shares trading valued at $12,223,034 as the market continues to remain soft.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index fell by 310.45 points to 69,430.63 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite index lost 347.13 points to close at 76,344.27.
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the main market are Caribbean Cement with only 747 shares to close with a gain of 50 cents at $2.75, Jamaica Broilers with 100 units gained 13 cents to close at $4.70 and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 4,100 shares to close with a gain of a cent at$6.66.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in price are Barita Investments with 1,780 shares closing at $2.34, Carreras with 5,000 units and closed at $33.50, Grace Kennedy with 11,646 units as the price closed at $54, Mayberry Investments 58,414 shares and closed at $1.45, Pan Jamaican Investment with a mere 377 shares at $48.01 and Proven Investments with 73,960 ordinary shares as the price closed at 18 US cents.
Declines| The number of stocks declining in the main market are Jamaica Producers with 15,287 shares as the price dropped $1.40 to end at $15.60, a new 52 weeks low, Kingston Wharves 135,850 shares while losing 10 cents to close at $4.90, a new 52 weeks low, National Commercial Bank only 10,100 units to close with a loss of $1.20 at $17.30, Sagicor Group with 395,701 shares changing hands for a 2 cent decline to $8.88 and Scotia Group with 76,490 shares as the price slipped by 51 cents to close at $18.50.
Preference| Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share traded with 370,000 units changing hands for a 2 cents decline to end at $3.03 and Jamaica Teas debenture note traded 10,000 units at par of $100.
Junior Market| The JSE Junior Market Index declined by 4.81 points to close at 714.54 as only 4 stocks traded with none advancing and 2 declining.
Gains| In a low trading market there were no stock recording gain at the end of trading in the junior market.
Firm Trades| Stocks in the junior market stocks that traded to close at the same price as the day before are Access Financial 107,600 shares to close at $13.50 and Lasco Distributors with 127,598 units and closed at $1.20.
Declines| Stocks declining in the junior market at the end of trading are Lasco Manufacturing with 10,000 shares changing hands for a 2 cents decline to close at $1.10 and Lasco Financial with 12,823 shares closed 8 cents lower at $1.07
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 9 stocks with the bid higher than the last selling price and 5 stocks with offers that were lower.
Declining stocks more than advancing
In Friday’s trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange the prices of 5 stocks rose and 7 declined as 19 securities changed hands resulting in 8,662,257 shares trading, valued at $48,043,196 sparking a moderate gain in the main indices as well as the Junior market Index.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index inched up 78.18 points to 69,741.08 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite index moved up by 87.42 points to close at 76,691.40.
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the main market are Desnoes & Geddes with 304,463 units changing hands and the price gained 20 cents to close at $4.50, Jamaica Money Market Brokers with 4,600 shares to close with a gain of 4 cents to close at $6.65, Proven Investments with 7,700 ordinary shares to close with a gain of 0.0001 US cents to close at 18 US cents and Sagicor Group with 18,919 shares to close with a gain of 10 cents at $8.90.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in price are Cable & Wireless which traded 609,766 shares to close at 30 cents, Gleaner with 3,759,161 shares to close at $1.10, Grace Kennedy traded 464,183 units valued at $25 million, just over half of the value of trade in the market, to close at $54, Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share, traded 14,400 units to close at $2 and Seprod with 234,532 units to close at $10.50.
Declines| The number of stocks that declined in the main market are Carreras with 141,077 shares, declined by 1 cent to end at $33.50, Pan Jamaican Investment 2,000 units to decline by 4 cents to end at $48.01, Sagicor Real Estate Fund 30,000 shares as the price fell by a cent to close at $6.0, Scotia Group with 11,365 units as the price drifted down by 19 cents to end at $19.01, Scotia Investments with only 2,750 units to close with a 50 cents loss at $21.50, a new 52 weeks low and Supreme Ventures with 3,051,100 shares as the price slipped 9 cents to end at $1.90.
Junior Market| The JSE Junior Market Index gained 1.25 points to close at 719.35 as 3 stocks traded with 1 advancing and 1 declining and a debenture.
Gains| The only stock recording gains at the end of trading in the junior market was Lasco Distributors with a mere 1,490 shares to close with a gain of 2 cents at $1.20.
Firm Trades| Jamaican debenture notes traded 34,000 units at par of $100 each, valued at $3,400,000 and Medical Disposables 2,000 units to close at $1.95 were the only securities in the junior market that traded to close at the same price as the prior trading day.
Declines| The only stock declining in the junior market at the end of trading is AMG Packaging with 2,751 shares to close with a loss of 20 cents at $3.10, for a new 52 weeks low.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 7 stocks with the bid higher than the last selling price and 5 stocks with offers that were lower. This suggest continued sideways movement for the market in the short term.
D&G dominates trade as JSE gains
There was trading in 25 securities on the Jamaica Stock Exchange with 7 rising and 4 declining as 3,530,162 units changed hands valued at $40,444,650 on Friday with Desnoes & Geddes being the dominant trade with 1.99 million units valued at $9.1 million.Main Market| The JSE Market Index advanced by 164.38 points to close at 70,496.64, the JSE All Jamaican Composite gained 183.80 points to 77,536.24 and only 3 companies in the main market advanced in price and 3 declined.
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the main market are Desnoes & Geddes with 1,986,182 shares changing hands to close with a gain of 35 cents at $4.60, Cable & Wireless with 8,199 units to close with the gain of a cent at 28 cents and Sagicor Real Estate Fund 14,690 shares, in closing 2 cents higher at $6.10.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in price are, Berger Paints with 4,890 units in closing at $1.70, Ciboney with 60,000 units and closed at 7 cents, Grace Kennedy had 449,339 units changing hands to close at $54, Jamaica Broilers 25,474 shares and closed at $4.57, Jamaica Money Market Brokers with 41,722 ordinary shares closed at $6.50, Kingston Wharves with 10,000 units, closed at $5.05, Sagicor Group 17,540 shares to close at $9.10, Salada Foods, 5,885 units and closed at $8, Scotia Group saw 156,453 units trading to end at $19.30 and Supreme Ventures 58,900 units landed the closing price at $1.95.
Declines| The number of stocks that declined in the main market are Jamaica Producers with 923 shares changing hands, in closing 20 cents lower at $17, National Commercial Bank having 90,950 shares in closing at $1.48 down to $17 and Scotia Investments with 6,520 shares closing at $24 for a fall of $1.50.
Preference| Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) 7.50% preference shares traded 78,844 units to close unchanged at $2, JMMB 7.25% preference shares had 141,150 units changing hands to close 5 cents up at $2.50 and JMMB 8.50% preference shares traded 17,000 units to close with a gain of 1 cent at $3.51.
Junior Market| The JSE Junior Market Index inched up by 1.58 points to close at 715.42 as 6 stocks traded with 2 advancing and 1 declining.
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the junior market are Lasco Distributors with 46,700 shares to close at $1.21 with a gain of 3 cents and Lasco Manufacturing with 21,823 shares to close 1 cent higher at $1.05.
Firm Trades| The stocks in the junior market stocks that traded and closed at the same price as the previous trading day are Caribbean Producers with 76,978 units, closing at $2.65, Consolidated Bakeries 10,000 at 90 cents and Lasco Financial with 50,000 units in closing at $1.15.
Declines| Only one stocks declined in the junior market at the end of trading with Jamaican Teas having 150,000 shares changing hands to close 25 cents down at $3.25.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 7 stocks with the bid higher than the last selling price and 4 stocks with offers that were lower.
Market gives back gains
In today’s trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange saw the prices of 5 stocks rise and 9 decline as 30 securities traded resulting in 2,017,726 units changing hands valued at $25,146,924 as the main market gave back all of the gains it enjoyed on Monday.
Main Market| 4 companies in the main market advanced and 8 declined as the indices fell with the JSE Market Index slipping 337.72 points to 70,232.74 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite index eased 377.62 points to close at 77,241.17.
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the main market are Hardware & Lumber with 20,000 shares as the price rose 50 cents to close at $10.50, Kingston Wharves 2,000 units with a gain of 16 cents to close at $5.20, Mayberry Investments with 52,000 shares as the price gained 4 cents to close at $1.80 and Scotia Group with 80,402 shares to rise by 13 cents to close at $19.20.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in price are Caribbean Cement that traded 1,000 units and closed at $2.70, Ciboney 571,386 units and closed at 10 cents, Cable & Wireless 21,678 units to close at 28 cents, National Commercial Bank 261,698 units to close at $17.50, Scotia Investments 6,439 units as the price closed at $23, Seprod 22,459 shares at $10.50 and Supreme Ventures 5,000 shares at $2.
Declines| The number of stocks that declined in the main market are Carreras with 45,367 shares while losing $1.15 to close at $34.10, Desnoes & Geddes with 7,200 units, losing 5 cents to end at $4.25,
Gleaner 100,100 shares as the price lost 2 cents to close at $1.10, Grace Kennedy 268,646 units with a fall of 50 cents to $53.50, Jamaica Broilers 94,000 shares, the price was down by a cent to close at $4.70, Pan Jamaican Investment 15,385 shares, closing 2 cents lower to end at $48.40, Sagicor Group 24,833 shares as the price dipped 55 cents to close at $8.75 and Sagicor Real Estate Fund 22,591 units while losing 10 cents to end at $6.60.
Preference shares| 5 preference shares traded with prices unchanged at the close of the market with Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share trading 75,000 units to close at $2, followed by Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share with 42,700 units to end at $3.03, Jamaica Public Service 6% preference share with just 500 units at 40 cents, Jamaica Public Service 7% preference share 700 units at 39 cents and Proven Investments 8% preference share with 2,000 units and closed at $5.09.
Junior Market| The JSE Junior Market Index gained 1.15 points to close at 734.46 as only 6 stocks traded with 1 advancing and 1 declining.
Gains| Only one stock recorded gains at the end of trading in the junior market as Consolidated Bakeries with 191,823 units trading gained 10 cents to close at 90 cents
Firm Trades| The stocks in the junior market stocks that traded to close at the same price as the day before are Access Financial trading 403 units to close at $13.50, Dolphin Cove 3,400 shares to close at $8.50, Jamaican Teas 50,000 units to end at $3.21 and Lasco Manufacturing with 26,016 shares to close at $1.10.
Declines| One stock declined in the junior market at the end of trading as Lasco Distributors traded 3,000 units to close with a loss of 3 cent at $1.32.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 8 stocks with the bid higher than the last selling price and 5 stocks with offers that were lower.
Jamaica stocks fall again
In Friday’s trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange there were more prices declining than rising as 24 securities traded, 6 stocks rose and 10 declined resulting from 3,903,650 shares trading valued at $25,770,886.
Main Market| 5 companies in the main market advanced and 8 declined as the indices lost altitude with the JSE Market Index erasing 599.73 points to close at 70,257.92 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite index falling 670.61 points to close at 77,269.32.
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the main market are Carreras in exchanging 326,379 shares to close with a gain of 20 cents at $$34.20, Mayberry Investments with 4,280 shares changing hands, gained 5 cents to close at $1.70, Sagicor Group with 78,268 units changing hands, rose by 5 cents to end at $8.95, Sagicor Real Estate Fund had just 710 units changing hands at $6.70 for a 20 cents gain and Scotia Group with 102,134 shares closed at $19.60 with a 60 cents gain, minutes before trading ended.
Firm| There were only 5 stocks in the main market to close without a price change as Cable & Wireless with 122,189 shares changing hands closed at 28 cents, Gleaner traded 50,000 units and closed at $1.10, Jamaica Money Market Brokers traded only 2,700 shares in closing at $7, followed by Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share with 154,000 units to end at $2 and the Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share traded 141,925 shares to close at $3.03.
Declines| The number of stocks that declined in the main market are Barita Investments with 5,000 shares to close at $2.25 while losing 5 cents, Desnoes & Geddes 28,300 units to close at $4.25 with the price slipping by 20 cents, Grace Kennedy traded 69,030 to close a cent lower at $54, Jamaica Broilers 24,927 shares to close at $4.70 while losing 5 cents, Jamaica Producers traded only 2,700 units in closing at $18.25 with a fall of a cent, National Commercial Bank 159,772 shares to close at $17.45, down 5 cents, Scotia Investments had 44,161 shares changing hands to close at $23 falling back by the same amount it gained the previous day of $2.49 and Supreme Ventures 60,000 units in closing at $2 but fell by a cent.
Junior Market| The JSE Junior Market Index declined by 1.33 points to close at 721.71 as only 6 stocks traded with one advancing and 2 declining.
Gains| Lasco Manufacturing traded 2,429,994 shares to close at $1.12 and gained 2 cents as the only stock to record a gain in the junior market.
Firm Trades| The stocks in the junior market stocks that traded to close at the same price as the previous trading day are Consolidated Bakeries which traded just 1,000 units to close at 80 cents, Jamaican Teas 15,839 shares as the price closed at $3.21 and Lasco Financial put through 14,400 units at $1.15.
Declines| Stocks declining in the junior market at the end of trading are Blue Power with 50,942 shares to close at $9.01 with 9 cents decline and Caribbean Producers 15,000 units to close down 10 cents at $2.65.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 5 stocks with the bid higher than the last selling price and 4 stocks with offers that were lower.
Barita Trades 15m shares
Trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange picked up on Wednesday as 29 securities traded and the level of trading increasing helped by 15 million units of Barita going through the market as Barita Investments brokered the one trade as a cross, on behalf of a client. The prices of 8 stocks rose and 9 declined resulting from 19,575,074 shares changing hands valued at $57,957,342.
Main Market| Only 3 companies in the main market advanced and 7 declined as the indices moved up with the JSE Market Index gaining 155.03 points to 72,852.32 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite index increasing 173.35 points to close at 80,170.31.
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the main market are Cable & Wireless in trading 38,081 shares to close with a one cent gain at 35 cents. Investors should a get a glimpse as to the performance of the local Cable & Wireless performance as CWC PLC is scheduled to release full year results on the 22nd of May at 9.30 AM British time. Carreras gained $1.05 to close at $35.80 with 10,018 units changing hands and Sagicor Group traded 974,350 in only two trades to close up 20 cents at $9.50.
Firm| There were 9 stocks in the main market to close without a change in price as Berger Paints with just 1,519 shares closed at $1.67, Gleaner traded 16,000 stock units and closed at $1.10, Jamaica Broilers 1,864 units and closed $4.70, Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference shar, 28,000 units to close at $2 with the 8.75% preference share having 2,069,833 units changing hands at $3.03, Jamaica Producers 70,827 shares to close at $18.26, Mayberry Investments 6,018 shares and closed at $1.77 followed by Radio Jamaica with 7,800 units as the price closed at $1.29 and Sagicor Real Estate Fund with 342,142 shares to close at $6.60.
Declines| 7 stocks with plus one in the US dollar market declined on Wednesday in the main market with Barita Investments trading 15,000,000 shares while losing a cents to end at $2.29, Caribbean Cement with 297,600 units to close at $3 after falling by 30 cents as investors react negatively to the company’s recent disappointing March quarter results showing profit of only $35 million or just 4 cents per share, while sales volumes were up over the 2013 quarter. Jamaica Money Market Brokers traded 25,206 ordinary shares and closed down by 5 cents to $7.21, Margaritaville ordinary shares traded 1,700 units to end at US$0.115 for a .05 cents drop, National Commercial Bank price lost 20 cents in trading 27,722 units to close at $17.80, while Pan Jamaican Investment exchanged 7,680 shares to close at $48.05 while falling 5 cents, Salada Foods traded 2,400 units as the company is reporting a bad period of declining sales revenues and falling profits of $28 million for the half year to March versus $55 million in 2013, with the price dropping 10 cents to $7.80 and Scotia Group ended up with 28,057 units changing hands to close with a 12 cents loss at $19.58.
Junior Market| The JSE Junior Market Index advanced by 7.38 points to close at 736.50 as 9 stocks traded with 5 advancing and only one declining.
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the junior market are Access Financial with 9,000 units to close at $12, up 50 cents, Caribbean Producers with 244,816 units to close with a 2 cents gain at $2.75, Jamaican Teas 80,000 shares to close 5 cents higher at $3.50 followed by Lasco Financial with50,000 units to close at $1.25 for a gain of 10 cents and Lasco Manufacturing 147,016 shares to close a cent higher at $1.15.
Firm Trades| 3 stocks in the junior market stocks that traded to close at the same price as the day before Blue Power with 910 shares traded and closed at $9.10, Dolphin Cove 3,270 shares to close at $8.10 and Lasco Distributors 58,245 units as the price ended at $1.40.
Declines| There was just one stock declining in the junior market at the end of trading with Consolidated Bakeries trading 25,000 shares to close down 2 cents at 90 cents.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 4 stocks with the bid higher than the last selling price and 3 stocks with offers that were lower.
Declining stocks dominate trade
The Jamaica Stock Exchange continues to lose ground with more stocks falling than rising as the prices of only 5 stocks rose and 12 declined with 25 securities traded resulting in 2,034,342 shares trading valued at $8,897,265 but the junior market index rose although the two main market indices fell.
Main Market| Only 2 companies in the main market advanced at the end of trading and one from the US dollar market and 6 declined as the indices moved down with the JSE Market Index erasing 432.21 points to close at 72,697.29 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite index lost 483.28 points to close at 79,996.96.
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the main market are Cable & Wireless in trading 51,164 shares to close with a gain of 2 cents at 34 cents, Margaritaville gained 2 US cents to close at 12 US cents with 340 units changing hands for the first time since listing to close at a new high and Sagicor Group swapped 177,506 units 5 cents higher to end at $9.30.
Firm| There were 6 stocks in the main market to close without a change in price with Grace Kennedy trading 1,000 units and closed at $55, Jamaica Broilers 156,467 shares closing at $4.70, National Commercial Bank 25,550 shares to close at $18, Radio Jamaica 30,895 shares closing at $1.29, Sagicor Real Estate Fund 4,940 units in closing at $6.60, Scotia Group 109,624 shares to close at $19.70.
Declines| The number of stocks that declined in the main market are Caribbean Cement with 30,316 shares while losing 20 cents to end at $3.30, Carreras 11,000 shares to close at $34.75 with a $1.20 decline, Gleaner 74,821 stock units to close with a cent down at $1.10, Pan Jamaican Investment as it traded 15,486 shares to close at $48.10 with the price falling by 40 cents, Salada Foods down by 10 cents while trading 2,830 units at $7.90, Scotia Investments 10,635 shares to close at $23.50, a decline of $2 and Supreme Ventures 316,847 stock units to close with a loss of 10 cents to $2 for a new 52 weeks low.
Junior Market| The JSE Junior Market Index rose 3.56 points to close at 729.12 as only 9 stocks traded with 2 advancing and 2 declining.
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the junior market are Jamaican Teas with 49,530 units to close at $3.45 as the price rose by 24 cents and Lasco Financial Services traded 31,500 shares to close 5 cents higher at $1.15.
Firm Trades| The 2 stocks in the junior market stocks that traded to close at the same price as the day before are Caribbean Producers with 50,000 shares closing at $2.73 and Lasco Distributors with 222,054 units to close at $1.40.
Declines| Five stocks declined in the junior market at the end of trading are AMG Packaging in trading 5,000 units to close at $3.30, down 19 cents, for a 52 weeks low, Caribbean Flavours with 53,065 units to close with a 20 fall to $2.50, followed by Consolidated Bakeries 157,299 as the price declined by 18 cents in light of the reduced profits reported for the March quarter to end at 92 cents. The company saw profits fall 48 percent to $7.4 million in the March quarter from reduced gross profit margin in spite of a 14 percent rise in sales revenues to $197 million. General Accident 200,198 shares to close at $1.48 with a one cent fall and Lasco Manufacturing that is expected to report final results for the year to March by the end of May traded 246,275 units to close with a one cent loss at $1.14.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 5 stocks with the bid higher than the last selling price and 5 stocks with offers that were lower.
6 up 6 down on JSE
In Monday’s trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange the prices of 6 stocks rose and 6 declined with only 22 securities traded, resulting in 3,971,989 shares changing hands valued at $29,955,354.
Main Market| The prices of 5 companies in the main market rose and 5 declined as the indices moved down with the JSE Market Index falling by 252.47 points to 73,129.50 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite index erasing 282.31 points to close at 80,480.24.
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the main market are, Barita Investments with 30,000 shares to close 30 cents higher at $2.30, Cable & Wireless with 745,680 units changing hands as the price gained a cent to close at 32 cents, Carreras closed up by $1.20 to end at $35.95 with 51,728 shares changing hands, Gleaner’s price put on a cent while trading 4,665 units to close at $1.11 and Scotia Group traded 933,985 units as the price gained 14 cents to end at $19.70.
Firm| There were 7 stocks in the main market that closed without a change in price as Grace Kennedy with 37,200 shares closed at $55, Jamaica Broilers exchanged 5,920 units to close at $4.70, Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share traded 231,500 units to close at $3.03, Mayberry Investments put through 23,356 shares to close at $1.75, National Commercial Bank had 74,558 shares trading to close at $18, Sagicor Group with 88,440 shares in closing at $9.25 and Seprod with 35,000 shares as the price ended at $10.75.
Declines| The number of stocks declining in the main market are Caribbean Cement with 330,768 shares while losing 5 cents to end at $3.50. Jamaica Money Market Brokers traded 29,800 ordinary shares as the price eased 4 cents to $7.26, Kingston Wharves traded 11,823 shares to close 50 cents off, at $5, followed by Pan Jamaican Investment with 17,272 units to close at $48.50 with a 10 cents decline and Pulse Investments with 400,000 shares at a new 52 weeks low of 30 cents as the price dropped 50 percent or 30 cents.
Junior Market| The JSE Junior Market Index declined by 2.69 points to close at 725.56 as only 5 stocks traded with one advancing and one declining.
Gains| Lasco Distributors was the sole stock to gain in the junior market on Monday with 100,200 units to close at $1.40 up by 5 cents.
Firm Trades| The stocks in the junior market that traded to close at the same price as the previous trading day are Caribbean Producers with 158,094 units at $2.73, Lasco Financial Services 500,000 shares to close at $1.11 and Lasco Manufacturing with 62,000 shares to end at $1.15.
Declines| Only one stock declined in the junior market at the end of trading with Jamaican Teas exchanging 100,000 units to close at $3.21 having lost 29 cents.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had only 2 stocks with the bid higher than the last selling price and 7 stocks with offers that were lower.
Teas profit up 32 percent
Jamaican Teas just reported a 32 percent rise in profit for the year to September from a 49 percent jump in sales. The company earned profit attributable to the group’s shareholders of $99 million for the year versus $75 million in 2012.
For the last quarter, the group reported profit of $23 million compared $6.2 million in the similar quarter in 2012. The results for the quarter reflect the booking of revenues resulting from the completion of the real estate development and sales of all but two of the units. The 2012 last quarter figures were negatively affected by an adjustment for impairment to an investment amounting to $9 million.
Sales up | The Group recorded improvement in sales for the year increasing by 49 percent to $1.23 billion versus $824.5 million in the prior year. This was due to mainly increased supermarket sales, a strong 46 percent growth in export sales and income from sale of units in the real estate development.
While sales for the manufacturing division were up 26 percent for the year they were only up 5 percent for the latest quarter partially due to flat exports, which was affected by the termination of the sale of coffee that was included in last year’s figure while there were none in the latest quarter.
Image from Behance.net
The sales performance was also helped by Caribbean Dreams’ Jamaica Blue Spring Water, which was introduced shortly before the commencement of the start of the fiscal year.
Sales at the Kingston supermarket in last quarter were up on the similar quarter in 2012 by 15.8 percent and up by 20 percent for the financial year.
Investments | The group holds $140 million including stocks and bonds and generated income of more than $30 million from them during the year. The amount is a part of other income which amounted to $40 million versus $23 million in 2012.
The group absorbed losses of $4.8 million in the latest quarter for the associated company that operates a supermarket in Montego Bay and a loss of $11.3 million versus $8.4 million for 2012. The company made $2.5 million adjustments to differed tax assets during the year based on the change in tax rate to 25 percent thus increasing the loss for 2013 by that amount.
Cost increase | Administrative cost rose by 20 percent to $86.5 million and distribution and marketing cost rose 69 percent to $30.4 million. The admin cost rise is partially due to the booking of the full year’s cost for the supermarket in Savannah La Mar versus only part year cost in 2012 and increased labour cost. Finance cost rose from $8.36 million to $11.3 million due in part to increased borrowings to fund the real estate development and the acquisition of the new factory building.
Statement of Financial Position | Inventories increased mainly as a result of increased cost of inputs and the cost of inventories at the supermarkets due to rising local cost flowing primarily from the devaluation of the Jamaican Dollar. The receivables rose sharply due to pending completion of sales for the apartments sold and increased export sales, especially the last two months of the financial year, causing in the total due from overseas’ customers to rise.
Borrowings | Borrowings jumped from $113 million in 2012 to $245 million at the end of 2013 financial year but this was effectively $162 million as $83 million represented a loan that was kept as a bank deposit for a short time after the year end. The increased borrowings related to the development of the apartment complex and funding of the purchase of the property to house the factory for the manufacturing operation. Subsequent to the year end, most of the short term borrowings were either paid off or converted into long term loans. The amounts used in the funding the construction of the apartment complex were fully liquidated after the year end. Jamaican Teas issued 5 year bonds amounting to $105 million, fixed at 8.5 percent for two years after the balance sheet date. The funds will be mostly used to fund the company’s next real estate development. At the end of the year, shareholder’s equity stood at $596 million, a $85 million increase over 2012.
Outlook | “We expect to build on the foundation created to date. New lines were recently added that will positively impact sales and profit in the new fiscal year. We expect that our latest real estate development planned for St Thomas will contribute positively to profit during the year. Our expectations are that export sales should continue to perform well and so far the local market seems to have stabilized.” Management stated in their release to shareholders.
If the company successfully executes the new real estate development and sales in the other segment continues to grow at close to that of the last year, then the group should go on to see another record year of profit in 2014.
Jamaican Teas is an IC Insider Buy Rated stock.
Related posts | Jamaican Teas lists corporate bond | New additions to Buy Rated stocks | Exports push Jamaican Teas’ profit
