Express Catering started trading today with 102,100 shares trading at $2 to record a 33.33 percent gain of 50 cents over the initial public issue price of $1.50, if the price is allowed to stand.
The opening price for the stock is $1.75, under the stock exchange rules, the maximum price change increase for the day is limited to 30 percent from the issue price of $1.50 or 45 cents.
On the bid are 2.33 million units ranging in price from $1.50 to $2.15 with only one offer of 26,661 units posted on the stock exchange trading platform at a price of $2.75.
The company’s shareholders sold 327.5 million shares valued at $491,250,000 just over a week ago to the public.
The stock price movement has helped the Junior Market index in adding 21.56 points to trade at 2,962.79 at 11.40am.
Express Catering up 50c to $2
Junior Market falls again on Thursday
Caribbean Cream ended at a 52 weeks’ low of $5.
The Junior Market closed lower on Thursday with the market index slipping 19.82 points to 2,941.23 as 565,346 shares valued at $3,255,463 traded, versus a mere 192,720 units traded valued at $1,219,105 on Wednesday.
At the close 21 securities traded, down from 14 on Wednesday with 4 stocks gaining and 7 declining. Trading closed with 3 stocks having a higher bids than the last traded price and 3 closing with lower offers.
The Junior Market ended trading with an average of just 26,921 units for an average value of $155,022 compared to 13,766 units for an average value of $87,079 on Wednesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 51,062 units valued at $282,663 compared 52,787 units valued at $291,780 previously. In contrast, June closed with averages of 395,969 units valued at $1,799,200 for each security traded.
At the close of the market, AMG Packaging fell 65 cents to close at $3.10 with 18,689 units changing hands, Blue Power saw just 200 shares trading to end with a loss of $1 at $49, Cargo Handlers ended trading 24,500 shares to close at $13.75, Caribbean Cream closed trading with 8,000 units and fell $1.60 to end at a 52 weeks’ low of $5, Caribbean Flavours traded 2,500 units to end at $12, Caribbean Producers lost 10 cents and closed trading with 15,936 units, at $3.30. Derrimon Trading ended at $8 with 16,000 shares changing hands, Dolphin Cove ended at $17.50 with 1,900 shares changing hands, General Accident gained 2 cents and closed trading with 3,000 shares to end at $2.72, 
Honey Bun gained 30 cents and closed trading with 19,359 shares at $6, ISP Finance dropped $2 and closed with 31,752 units changing hands at $11, Jamaican Teas lost 20 cents and ended trading 82,972 shares at $4, Jetcon Corporation traded 266,595 shares to end at $4.54, Key Insurance ended at $3.05 with 12,101 shares changing hands, Knutsford Express traded 19,583 shares to end at $14, Lasco Distributors closed 1 cent lower at $6.25 after trading 7,138 units, Lasco Financial ended with 5,301 shares changing hands at $3.55, after rising 15 cents, Main Event rose 10 cents with 13,322 shares trading to end at $5.60, Medical Disposables ended at $5.50 with 6,100 units trading, Paramount Trading ended with 7,785 units changing hands at $2.75 and tTech traded 1,813 units to close at $10.
Junior Market trading nosedives – Wednesday
Trading continued on a down ward path each day of the week and hit rock bottom on Wednesday as a mere 192,720 units traded on the Junior Market on Tuesday down from 401,316 units on Tuesday. Traded value declined to $1,219,105 from $2,286,974.
At the close 14 securities traded, down from 16 on Tuesday with the market index posting a loss of 9.36 points to end at 2,961.05 with no stock gaining and 6 declining. 
Trading closed with 6 stocks having a higher bids than the last traded price and 5 closing with lower offers.
The Junior Market ended trading with an average of just 13,766 units for an average value of $87,079 compared to 25,082 units for an average value of $142,936 on Tuesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 52,787 units valued at $291,780 compared 55,788 units valued at $307,527 previously. In contrast, June closed with averages of 395,969 units valued at $1,799,200 for each security traded.
At the close of the market, CAC 2000 lost 3 cent to end at $6.70 with 20,000 shares trading, Consolidated Bakeries ended with 6,300 units changing hands, to close at $2.62. Derrimon Trading ended at $8 with 2,909 shares changing hands, Dolphin Cove ended at $17.50 with 2,805 shares changing hands, General Accident closed trading with 2,960 shares to end at $2.70, Honey Bun closed trading with 8,000 shares at $5.70, Jamaican Teas ended trading 28,604 shares at $4.20, Jetcon Corporation traded 13,500 shares to end at $4.54, Knutsford Express traded 23,400 shares to end at $14, after falling 50 cents, Lasco Distributors closed 11 cents lower at $6.26 after trading 598 units, Lasco Financial ended with 1,500 shares changing hands to end at $3.40, Lasco Manufacturing fell 17 cents and ended with 37526 shares trading at $4.60, Main Event ended with 46,415 shares trading to end at $5.50, Sweet River fell 1 cent and ended with 863 units changing hands at $3.50 and strong> tTech traded 300 units to close at $10.
More declines for Junior Market – Tuesday
Trading which dropped sharply on the Junior Market on Monday declined even more on Tuesday with only 401,316 units changing hands down from 671,349 units trading on Monday. Traded valued also declined to $2,286,974 from $3,163,547.
At the close 16 securities traded, up from 21 on Monday with the market index posting a loss of 16.66 points to end at 2,970.41 as the price of 6 stocks advanced and 5 declined. Trading closed with 3 stocks having a higher bids than the last traded price and 3 closing with lower offers.
The Junior Market ended trading with an average of just 25,082 units for an average value of $142,936 compared to 31,969 units for an average value of $150,645 on Monday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 55,788 units valued at $307,527 compared 58,347 units valued at $321,243 previously. 
In contrast, June closed with averages of 395,969 units valued at $1,799,200 for each security traded.
At the close of the market, Access Financial Services lost 4 cents to close at $46.01 in trading traded 413 units, CAC 2000 gained 1 cent to end at $6.73 with 10,000 shares trading, Caribbean Producers lost 10 cents and closed trading with 17,628 units, at $3.40, Consolidated Bakeries ended with 29,635 units changing hands, to close at $2.62 General Accident closed trading with 2,960 shares to end at $2.70, Honey Bun . 
lost 14 cents to close trading with 2,000 shares at $5.70, ISP Finance dropped 50 cents and closed with 12,000 units changing hands at $13, Jamaican Teas ended trading 9,700 shares at $4.20, Jetcon Corporation traded 12,961 shares and rose 5 cents to end at $4.54, Knutsford Express traded 750 shares to end at $14.50, after falling 20 cents, Lasco Distributors closed at $6.37 after trading 164,442 units, Lasco Financial ended with 500 shares changing hands to end at $3.60, Lasco Manufacturing fell 3 cents and ended with 117,131 shares trading at $4.77, Main Event rose 32 cents with 3,048 shares trading to end at $5.50, tTech added $2 trading 17,148 units to close at $10 and Eppley 9.5% preference share lost 5 cents to close at $6 with 1,000 units trading.
Another miniscule IPO allocation
The general public ended up collecting a miniscule amount of shares in Express Catering recent public offering of shares with the first 12,000 shares being allocated in with the balance in excess allocated approximately 4.57 percent.
Mayberry Investments, brokers to Express Catering public issue, advised that a total of 1,270 applications valued at approximately $1,197,204,000 were received for 327.5 million shares valued at $491,250,000 that were on offer. Mayberry states that 1,237 applications valued at $634,599,000 were received for the public pool, approximately 13 times the value of $48,937,000 on offer in the public pool.
Shares allocated for Company Reserves Shares, Mayberry Reserved Shares and Key Partner Reserved applications were allocated in full. Mayberry states that “the company will endeavour to return refunds within 10 working days after the closing date.
Junior Market trading drops sharply – Monday
Trading dropped sharply on the Junior Market on Monday with only 671,349 units changing hands well off the 3,595,987 units trading on Friday. Traded valued also declined to $3,163,547 from $20,377,796.
At the close 21 securities traded, up from 18 on Friday with the market index posting a loss of 21.57 points to end at 2,987.07 as the price of 6 stocks advanced and 11 declined. Trading closed with 5 stocks having a higher bids than the last traded price and 3 closing with lower offers.
The Junior Market ended trading with an average of just 31,969 units for an average value of $150,645 compared to 199,777 units for an average value of $1,132,100 on Friday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 58,347 units valued at $321,243 compared 60,745 units valued at $336,751 previously. 
In contrast, June closed with averages of 395,969 units valued at $1,799,200 for each security traded.
At the close of the market, Access Financial Services lost 45 cents to close at $46.05 in trading traded 166 units AMG Packaging fell 25 cents to close at $3.75 with 11,335 units changing hands, Blue Power saw investors buying 2,082 shares at $50, CAC 2000 rose 15 cents to end at $6.72 with 10,000 shares trading, Cargo Handlers dropped 75 cents in trading 3,000 shares to close at $13.75, Caribbean Cream closed trading with 500 units and fell 40 cents to end at $6.60, Caribbean Producers added 49 cents and closed trading with 300,000 units, at $3.50, / Derrimon Trading ended with 2,133 units changing hands, to close at $8 after falling 2 cents. 
General Accident closed trading with 300 shares to end at $2.70, Honey Bun lost 27 cents to close trading with 5,000 shares at $5.84, >ISP Finance dropped 6 cents and closed with 6,700 units changing hands at $13.50, Jamaican Teas gained 20 cents and ended trading 300 shares at $4.20, Jetcon Corporation traded 10,354 shares and rose 19 cents to end at $4.49, Knutsford Express traded 1,700 shares to end at $14.75, after falling 10 cents, Lasco Distributors added 12 cents and closed at $6.37 after trading 115,667 units, Lasco Financial ended with 94,678 shares changing hands to end at $3.60, Lasco Manufacturing rose 10 cents and ended with 6,363 shares trading at $4.80, Main Event dropped 75 cents with 75,392 shares trading to end at $5.18, Medical Disposables ended at $5.50 with 21,679 units trading, and tTech dived $2 trading 2,425 units to close at $8.
Trading jumps on Junior Market – Friday
Caribbean Producers commanded the largest trade on Friday.
Trading picked up on the Junior Market with more than 3,595,987 units changing hands, well up on the 786,779 units trading on Thursday. Traded valued also climbed sharply over Thursday’s low level of $4,004,721 to end at $20,377,796.
At the close 18 securities traded, up from 17 on Thursday, with the market index posting a loss of 31.61 points to end at 3,008.64, as the price of 6 stocks advanced and 8 declined. Trading closed with 1 stock having a higher bid than the last traded price and 4 closing with lower offers.
The Junior Market ended trading with an average of 199,777 units for an average value of $1,132,100 compared to 46,281 units for an average value of $235,572 on Thursday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 60,745 units valued at $336,751, compared 46,842 units valued at $257,217 previously. In contrast, June closed with averages of 395,969 units valued at $1,799,200 for each security traded.
At the close of the market, Blue Power saw investors buying 419 shares and close $6 higher at $50, Caribbean Producers shed 68 cents and closed trading with 2,407,473 units, at $3.01, Derrimon Trading ended with 500 units changing hands, to close at $8.02 after adding 2 cents. Dolphin Cove dived $2.50 to end at $17.50 with 503,584 shares changing hands, General Accident closed trading with 59,606 shares to end at $2.70, 
Honey Bun climbed 57 cents to close trading with 281,092 shares at $6.11, ISP Finance dropped $2.39 and closed with 1,500 units changing hands at $13.56, Jamaican Teas gained 20 cents and ended trading 200,000 shares at $4, Jetcon Corporation traded 12,400 shares and fell 20 cents to end at $4.30, KLE Group ended at $2.10 with 450 shares changing hands, Knutsford Express traded 1,610 shares to end at $14.85, after falling 15 cents, Lasco Distributors fell 73 cents and closed at $6.25 after trading 18,200 units, Lasco Financial ended with 12,497 shares changing hands and fell 10 cents to end at $3.60, Lasco Manufacturing rose 30 cents and ended with 27,727 shares trading at $4.70, Main Event rose 33 cents with 14,828 shares trading to end at $5.93, Medical Disposables ended at $5.50 with 747 units trading, Sweet River fell 4 cents and ended with 12,000 units changing hands at $3.51 and tTech traded 41,354 units to close at $10.
Junior Market jumps – Thursday
Caribbean Cream ended down with a sharp fall in Q1 profit.
Trading on the Junior Market continues to remain low, with 786,779 units valued $4,004,721 trading, resulting from 17 active securities, up from 14 on Wednesday when 246,438 units valued at $1,330,403 passed through the market.
The market index continued the recovery from the steep fall recently, posting 57.54 points rise to end at 3,040.25 as the price of 7 stocks advanced and 8 declined. Trading closed with 3 stocks having higher bids than their last traded prices and 3 closing with lower offers.
The Junior Market ended trading with an average of only 46,281 units for an average value of $235,572 compared to 17,603 units for an average value of $95,029 on Wednesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 46,842 units valued at $257,217, compared 46,904 units valued at $259,622 previously. In contrast, June closed with averages of 395,969 units valued at $1,799,200 for each security traded.
At the close of the market, Access Financial Services rose 50 cents to close at $46.50 in trading 101 units, Caribbean Cream lost 30 cents and ended at $7 with 115,109 shares trading, after the company posted lower profit in the first quarter ending in May, with earnings of 9 cents per share versus 19 cents in the similar quarter in 2016. Caribbean Producers rose 19 cents and closed trading with 1,416 units to end at $3.69, Consolidated Bakeries closed trading with 62,875 shares and lost 10 cents, to close at $2.62, Derrimon Trading ended with 11,510 units changing hands, to close at $8 after slipping 5 cents. Dolphin Cove jumped $2.50 to end at $20 with 3,095 shares changing hands, General Accident closed trading with 16,215 shares to end at $2.70, after falling 20 cents, 
Honey Bun fell 16 cents to close trading with 6,419 shares to end at $5.54, ISP Finance closed with 263 units changing hands at $16, Jamaican Teas ended trading 139,044 shares, to end at $3.80, Jetcon Corporation traded 1,000 shares and fell 30 cents to end at $4.50, Knutsford Express traded 1,208 shares to end at $15, after falling 49 cents, Lasco Distributors rose 73 cents and closed at $6.98 after trading 201,000 units, Lasco Financial ended with 207,492 shares changing hands and rose 10 cents to end at $3.70, Lasco Manufacturing rose 10 cents and ended with 9,820 shares trading, to close at $4.40, Main Event rose 42 cents with 212 shares trading to end at $5.60, and Paramount Trading ended at $2.99 with 10,000 units trading.
Junior Market breaks fall – Wednesday
Trading on the Junior Market remains very low, with just 246,438 units valued at $1,330,403 trading resulting from 14 securities trading, down from 16 securities on Tuesday.
On Tuesday 405,167 units valued at $2,384,673 passed through the market.
The market index breaks its recent decent, as it is approaches close to a short term support level and rose a mere 3.48 points, to end at 2,982.71, as the price of 1 stock advanced and 3 declined.
Trading closed with 5 stocks having higher bids than their last traded prices and 5 closing with lower offers.
The Junior Market ended trading with an average of only 17,603 units for an average value of $95,029 compared to 11,587 units for an average value of $96,328 on Tuesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 46,904 units valued at $259,622, compared 50,567 units valued at $280,196 previously. In contrast, June closed with averages of 395,969 units valued at $1,799,200 for each security traded.
At the close of the market, Caribbean Cream lost 50 cents and ended at $7.30 with 2,000 shares trading, Caribbean Producers closed trading with 1,647 units to end at $3.50,
Consolidated Bakeries closed trading with 8,000 shares at $2.72, Derrimon Trading closed at $8.05 with 2,387 shares changing hands, Dolphin Cove dropped $2.50 to end at $17.50 with 100 shares changing hands, General Accident closed trading with 1,000 shares to end at $2.90, Honey Bun closed trading with 3,000 shares to end at $5.70, ISP Finance closed with 3,183 units changing hands at $16, Jamaican Teas ended trading 71,714 shares, to close at $3.80, Jetcon Corporation traded 1,054 shares and fell 5 cents to end at $4.80, Lasco Distributors closed at $6.25 after trading 122,492 units, Lasco Financial ended with 17,499 shares changing hands at $3.60, Main Event rose 8 cents with 10,862 shares trading to end at $5.18 and tTech traded 1,500 units to close at $10.
PBS & Express Catering over the top
NCB Capital Markets, brokers to the initial public offer of ordinary and preference shares for Productive Business Solutions which opened July 5, 2017 closed on Tuesday, July 11 for the Ordinary Shares at the price of US$0.55 per share.
The brokerage house, stated that the basis of allocation to be communicated later. The Invitation for subscription by the Company in respect of at a price of J$100 per share remains open and the public will be duly advised when same is closed. The original date for closure of both issues was set for July 26.
PBS issue was seeking to raise US$41.5 million by ordinary shares, with US$8.7 million of it to be used to International Finance Corporation. The IPO also includes 25,800,000 9.75% Redeemable Cumulative Preference Shares denominated in Jamaican dollars. The issue allocated 27,272,727 of the ordinary shares for Portland JSX, 7,272,727 units for staff with 4,545,455 shares for the General Public.
Part of the proceeds will be used to paid debt of US$17.45 million and working capital of US$13.85 million.
Ian Dear, Managing Director of Express Catering
For the year to December 2016, a loss of US$3.3 million was incurred down from a profit of $1.2 million in 2015. Revenues fell in both years to $171 million in 2016 from $194 million in 2015 and $202 million in 2014 when a small loss was incurred. Finance cost in 2016 increased by $2.6 million. The increase is attributed primarily to interest associated with the increase in debt of $998,000, FX loss of $920,000, and amortization of deferred expenses associated with the bond of $724,000. In the March 2017 quarter revenues rose to US$42.45 million from US$39.32 million with profit rising to US$838,000 before taxation of US$389,000 from a loss the year before.
PBS has borrowings of US$66 million with US$10 million due to related parties as at December 2016. The prospectus indicates that the shares are to be listed on the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange and on Barbados Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market, subsequent to listing in Jamaica.
Reports reaching IC Insider.com is that Express Catering was oversubscribed with the issue closing this morning as more than 1,000 applications were received by the broker for the issue, Mayberry Investments. The 100 percent Shareholder of Express Catering, Margaritaville St Lucia, offered 327,500,000 of existing shares for sale at $1.50 each, to raise approximately $490 million. Only 32.6 million shares were made available to the general public. The Stock is slated for listing on the Junior Market.
