After closing higher on four of five days last week with the week closing with a gain of 42 points on Friday, the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange lost grounds on the first trading day of the week with the market Index declining 32.01 points to close at 2,581.40.
Trading on the finished with 30 securities changing hands, resulting in an exchange of 4,645,198 units valued at $13,350,189 compared to 2,764,337 units valued at $7,742,462 on Friday.
At the close of market activities, the prices of nine securities advanced, 11 declined and nine remained unchanged.
An average of 154,840 shares for each security traded at $445,006 An average of 154,840 units stock traded on Monday at $445,006 each, in contrast to 86,386 units for an average of $241,952 on Friday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 173,151 units valued at $411,659 and previously 175,086 units valued at $408,136. May closed with an average of 150,274 units valued at $491,077 for each security traded. IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows two stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and three with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Access Financial declined $2.24 in trading of 4,500 units at $22.51, CAC 2000 lost $1.40 in exchanging 4,718 units at a 52 weeks’ closing low of $8, Cargo Handlers closed 50 cents higher at $7.50, trading 25,181 stock units. Caribbean Assurance Brokers rose 8 cents and ended with 5,133 stock units changing hands at $2.24, Caribbean Producers lost 4 cents in trading of 954,039 units at $2.36, Express Catering ended trading with 16,529 shares, after rising 10 cents to end at $4.30. Fontana dipped 51 cents in trading of 276,289 units at $5.46, Honey Bun ended market activity exchanging 201,000 shares to close at $5.10, after falling 23 cents. iCreate lost 3 cents in trading of 457,276 units at 55 cents, Indies Pharma closed trading of 957,799 units and gained 7 cents to end at $3, Jetcon Corporation closed trading of 106,326 units and gained 20 cents to end at $1.10. Lasco Distributors ended with a loss of 1 cent at $2.95 with 75,054 stock units changing hands, Lasco Financial ended market activity exchanging 7,000 shares to close at $2.51 after falling 13 cents, Lasco Manufacturing ended market activity exchanging 119,598 shares to close at $4, after falling 5 cents. Limners and Bards climbed 35 cents, exchanging 537,280 shares at $2.50. Mailpac Group gained 1 cent with 284,048 shares changing hands at $1.89, Main Event dipped 32cents in trading35,314 units at $4.08, Medical Disposables rose 1 cent to end at $6.70 trading 10,000 shares and SSL Venture declined by 4 cents to settle at 75 cents after 25,931 shares crossed the market.
In the Junior Market preference segment,CAC 2000 9.5% closed trading of 8,000 units and gained 16 cents to end at $1.16 and Derrimon Trading 9% exchanged 5,010 shares with a rise of 5 cents to end at 41.55.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
The Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange bounced on Friday with the market index rising the most since May 28 when it put on a 48 points rally. The market index closed the week with a rise of 41.62 points to close at 2,613.41, the highest level since the start of June.
At the close of market activities, the prices of 12 securities advanced, eight declined and 11 remained unchanged. The PE ratio of the market ended at 9.8 times IC Insider.com projected 2020-21 earnings.
Trading ended, with 32 securities changing hands, resulting in an exchange of 2,764,337 units at $7,742,462, down from 5,176,803 units for $13,735,351 on Thursday.
The average stock trading on Friday at 86,386 units at $241,952 was well below recent levels and around half the amounts in April and contrast with an average of 161,775 units for $429,230 on Thursday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 175,086 units valued at $408,136 and previously 186,349 units valued at $429,239. Trading in May closed with an average of 150,274 units at $491,077 for each security traded. IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows two stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Access Financial jumped $2.24 to settle at $24.75 with just 100 shares changing hands, AMG Packaging ended trading with 100 shares, after rising 11 cents to settle at $1.70, Cargo Handlers gained 49 cents in exchanging 300 units at $7. Caribbean Flavours climbed $2.80 to settle at $14.50 with 22,728 shares trading, Dolphin Cove lost 47 cents in trading of 8,148 units at $7.80. Express Catering fell by 10 cents trading 48,700 units at $4.20, Fontana lost 2cents trading 56,326 units at $5.97, Fosrich closed 38 cents higher at $3.80, with an exchange of 1,050 stock units, General Accident declined by 5cents to settle at $5.50 exchanging 21,536 shares. iCreate ended trading 565,798 shares, after rising 4 cents to close at 58 cents, Indies Pharma closed 4 cents higher at $2.93, with 188,296 stock units trading, Jamaican Teas shed 20cents in switching ownership of 506,540 shares at $4.50. Knutsford Express closed 11 cents higher at $8.11, with 3,861 stock units changing hands, Lasco Distributors closed trading of 598 units and gained 6 cents to end at $2.96, Lasco Financial ended with gains of 14 cents in exchanging 12,256 shares and closed at $2.64. Lasco Manufacturing closed trading of 200,000 shares and gained 10 cents to end at $4.05. Limners and Bards shed 5 cents in trading of 4,500 units at $2.15, Mailpac Group gained 2 cents trading 402,322 shares at $1.88, Medical Disposables fell 11 cents in trading of 46,152 units at $6.69 and Stationery and Office Supplies closed with a loss of 2 cents at $6in swapping 74,999 shares.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise
The Junior Market scraped out some gains on Thursday as the index advanced 15.44 points to close at 2,571.79 as trading picked up, with 32 securities changing hands, resulting in an exchange of 5,176,803 units at $13,735,350 compared to 4,550,105 units for $10,318,665 from 27 stocks on Wednesday.
At the close of market activities, the prices of nine securities advanced, 14 declined and 10 remained unchanged and the PE ratio ended at 9.6 times 2020-21 earnings.
The average stock trading on Thursday was 161,775 units for $429,230 in contrast to 168,522 units for an average of $382,173 on Wednesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 186,349 units valued at $429,239 and previously 189,924 units for $429,240. In contrast, May closed with an average of 150,274 units valued at $491,077 for each security traded. IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows four stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
At the close of the market, AMG Packaging declined by 11 cents to settle at $1.59 with 1,850 shares changing hands, Blue Power rose 26 cents and traded 2,327 shares to end at $3.86, Caribbean Assurance fell 9 cents to $2.15 with an exchange of 45,000 units. Derrimon Trading shed 14 cents in swapping 4,500 units to close at $2.45, Dolphin Cove gained 2 cents and exchanged 2,165 shares to settle at $8.27, Fontana slipped 1 cent lower to $5.99 with 245,999 stock units traded. Fosrich closed with a loss of 38 cents at $3.42, swapping 8,938 shares, General Accident fell 14 cents and exchanged 76,302 shares to finish at $5.55, Honey Bun declined by 12 cents in trading 11,712 units to end at $5.33. iCreate dipped 3 cents to 54 cents in swapping 32,288 units, Indies Pharma exchanged 1,653,278 shares, rising 59 cents after the company reported a 92 percent rise in the second quarter, to end at $2.89, Jamaican Teas closed at $4.70 after trading 183,433 shares and falling 19 cents. Knutsford Express jumped 99 cents to end at $8 with 1,173 units changing hands, Lasco Distributors fell 7 cents in the trading of 152,900 units to finish at $2.90, Lasco Financial slipped 1 cent to $2.50 with 183,709 shares exchanged. Lasco Manufacturing closed 10 cents higher at $3.95, with 468,332 stock units swapped, Limnersand Bards ended at $2.20 after rising 23 cents and trading 138,733 shares, Mailpac Group gained 1 cent to end at $1.86 with 308,449 shares changing hands. Main Event closed 5 cents higher at $4.40, with 1,136 stock units traded, Medical Disposables fell 9 cents in the exchange of 9,173 units at $6.80, Paramount Trading shed 2 cents and swapped 321,870 units to settle at $1.98 and tTech jumped 41 cents to $4.70 with 10,597 units crossing the exchange.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
The Junior Market lost momentum on Wednesday as the index declined by 19.52 points to close at 2,556.35. Market activities ended with the prices of 12 securities advancing, twelve declining and prices of three remaining unchanged.
Trading concluded with 27 securities changing hands, resulting in an exchange of 4,550,105 units valued at $10,318,665 versus to 3,765,461 units costing $7,141,689 from 29 stocks on Tuesday. The PE ratio of the market ended at 9.5 times 2020-21 earnings.
The average stock trading amounted to 168,522units at $382,173 in contrast to an average of 129,843 units for $246,265 on Tuesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 189,924 units for $429,240, previously 192,917 units valued at $435,825. Trading in May closed with an average of 150,274 units valued at $491,077 for each security traded. IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows nine stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers. IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows nine stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
At the close of trading, Cargo Handlers declined 4 cents in the exchanging a mere 522 shares to settle at $6.51, Caribbean Assurance Brokers fell 4 cents to $2.24, with an exchange of 2,000 units, Caribbean Flavours ended with a loss of 30 cents at $11.70 with 200 shares changing hands. Caribbean Producers exchanged 1,086,459 stock units to close 5 cents higher at $2.40, Derrimon Trading climbed 19 cents to $2.59 with 94,870 units trading, Elite Diagnostic ended at $4.17 after rising 17 cents and swapping 31,990 shares. Everything Fresh closed 10 cents higher at 82 cents, with 109,527 stock units changing hands, Express Catering lost 8 cents in exchanging 29,463 shares to finish at $4.30, Fontana added 10 cents and exchanged 16,442 shares to close at $6. Fosrich climbed37 cents to $3.80 with 14,720 shares crossing the market, General Accident inched 4 cents higher, trading 47,327 stock units to settle at $5.69, Honey Bun closed gained 24 cents to close at $5.45 after exchanging 70,204 stock units. iCreate moved up 3 cents to 57 cents with 338,046 units changing hands, Jamaican Teas slipped 1 cent to close at $4.89 with 3,427 shares traded, Knutsford Express shed $1.29 and exchanged 30,140 shares to close at $7.01. Lasco Distributors fell 3 cents in the swapping of 1,237,690 units to settle at $2.97, Lasco Financial lost 12 cents trading 19,000 shares to close at $2.51, Lasco Manufacturing slipped 4 cents to $3.85 with an exchange of 27,829 stock units. Limnersand Bards gained 3 cents and traded 12,994 units to end at $1.97, Lumber Depot slipped 1 cent to $1.11 with 97,749 stock units changing hands, Mailpac Group lost 3 cents in trading 624,718 shares to close at $1.85. Medical Disposables ended at $6.89 after rising 14 cents, with 10,000 shares changing hands, Paramount Trading added 1 cent and swapped 4,784 shares to settle at $2 and Stationery and Office Supplies lost 18 cents to close at $6.02 with 14,783 shares crossing the exchange.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange inched higher for a second day at the close of the market on Tuesday, with the market index advancing by 15.31 points to 2,575.87 as advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones almost two to one. IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows five stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer. The reading suggests that the market prices should close mostly up on Wednesday.
By the close of market activities, 29 securities changed hands, resulting in an exchange of 3,765,461 units valued at $7,141,689 compared to 12,747,813 units valued at $17,475,914 from 32 securities on Monday.
The prices of 13 securities advanced, eight declined and eight remained unchanged. The PE ratio of the market ended at 9.5 times 2020-21 earnings.
The average trade for the day was 129,843 units at $246,265, in contrast to 398,369 units for an average of $546,122 on Monday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 192,917 units valued at $435,825 and previously 204,071 units valued at $469,345. In contrast, May closed with an average of 150,274 units valued at $491,077 for each security traded.
At the close of the market, Cargo Handlers traded 8,678 units and gained 4 cents to end at $6.55, Caribbean Flavours climbed $1.90 to $12 with 7,991 shares changing hands, Caribbean Producers declined 5 cents in the exchange of 239,156 units to settle at $2.35. Derrimon Trading closed 20 cents higher at $2.40 with 199,000 stock units changing hands, Dolphin Cove jumped 75 cents and exchanged 6,037 shares to finish at $8.25, Elite Diagnostic ended at $4 after adding 15 cents and with 113,646 stock units crossing the exchange. Everything Fresh slipped 6 cents in the trading of 39,188 units to close at 72 cents, Fontana lost 24 cents to end at $5.90 with 139,298 units changing hands, Fosrich gained 2 cents and exchanged 12,337 shares to finish at $3.43. General Accident closed trading of 21,778 units and gained 28 cents to end at $5.65, Honey Bun fell 24 cents in the swapping of 68,316 units to settle at $5.21, Indies Pharma exchanged 123,141 shares after rising 9 cents to end at $2.30. Iron Rock Insurance closed at $3.20 after exchanging 100 units and falling 50 cents, Jamaican Teas finished 1 cent higher at $4.90, with 3,200 stock units trading, Lasco Distributorsexchanged 238,000 stock units and gained 2 cents to settle at $3. Lasco Financial climbed 8 cents in the swapping of 59,840 shares to finish at $2.63, Lasco Manufacturing ended the day with 23,943 shares traded after rising 4 cents to $3.89, Limners and Bards shed 9 cents to close at $1.94 with 7,835 changing hands. Lumber Depot gained 2 cents to end at $1.12, trading 135,250 stock units, Mailpac Group swapped 189,900 shares to close at $1.88 after falling 2 cents and Stationery and Office Supplies fell 6 cents to $6.20 with 25,881 units crossing the exchange.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
The Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange ended five days of decline with a rise in the index on Monday with the Market Index rising 11.49 points to close at 2,560.56.
At the close of market activities, the prices of 13 securities advanced, 14 declined and five remained unchanged. The PE ratio of the market ended at 9.2 times 2020-21 earnings.
Trading ended with 32 securities changing hands, compared 26 on Friday and resulted in an exchange of 12,747,813 units valued at $17,475,915 compared to 1,400,627 units valued at a mere $3,764,005 on Friday.
The average trade on Monday was 398,369 units at $546,122, in contrast to 53,870 units, for an average of $144,769 on Friday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 204,071 units valued at $469,345 and previously 156,968 units valued at $450,732. Trading in May closed with an average of 150,274 units valued at $491,077 for each security traded. IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows three stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and none with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Access Financial dropped $2.09 trading 18,091 units in closing at $22.51, AMG Packaging gained 14 cents and exchanged 2,864 shares at $1.70, Blue Power closed with a loss of 26 cents at $3.60 after swapping 9,390 shares. CAC 2000 rose 10 cents and exchanged 1,000 shares at $9.40, Derrimon Trading lost 39 cents trading of 70,316 units at $2.20, Dolphin Cove dropped 80 cents exchanging 8,547 shares to close at $7.50. Elite Diagnostic gained 11 cents with 85,292 shares changing hands at $3.85, Everything Fresh declined by 2 cents in trading of 52,869 units at 78 cents, Express Catering closed trading of 2,789 units and gained 3 cents to end at $4.38. Fontana rose 14 cents exchanging 122,435 shares, at $6.14, Fosrich closed with a loss of 48 cents at $3.41in swapping 11,141 shares, General Accident rose 7 cents with 19,637 shares changing hands at $5.37, Honey Bun gained 15 cents trading of 133,905 units to end at $5.45. Indies Pharma declined by 5 cents to settle at $2.21 after investors switched ownership of 32,151 units, Jamaican Teas ended trading with 57,832 shares, after rising 36 cents to close at $4.89, Jetcon Corporation closed 5 cents higher at 90 cents, with 355 stock units changing hands. Knutsford Express climbed 30 cents and exchanged 950 shares at $8.30, Lasco Distributors ended trading with 152,436 shares, after rising 7 cents to end at $2.98, Lasco Financial shed 10 cents to settle at $2.55 after exchanging 168,566 shares, Lasco Manufacturing lost 5 cents trading 16,100 units at $3.85. Limners and Bards closed, with a loss of 2 cents at $2.03 in swapping 87,179 shares, Lumber Depot lost 3cents with 11,147,733 shares crossing the market to close at $1.10, Mailpac Group closed trading of 68,279 units and gained 3 cents to end at $1.90. Main Event stock fell by 12 cents in exchanging 2,000 units at $4.35, shares of Medical Disposables declined by 13 cents to settle at $6.75 with 39,870 units changing hands, Paramount Trading gained 1 cent to end at $1.99, trading 1,000 shares and SSL Venture shed 14 cents in transferring 16,674 units at 79 cents.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Friday resulted in another day of decline of the Market Index, for the six consecutive days of fall and shedding 83.90 points for the week.
At the close, the Junior Market Index declined 5.69 points to close at 2,549.07 with 26 securities changing hands, in an exchange of 1,400,627 units for $3,764,005 compared to 2,120,809 units at $5,882,853 from the trading of 33 securities on Thursday.
At the close of market activities, the prices of 12 securities advanced, eight declined and six remained unchanged. The PE ratio of the market ended at 9.4 times 2020-21 earnings.
The average trade for the day was 53,870 units at $144,769, in contrast to 64,267 units for an average of $178,268 on Thursday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 156,968 units valued at $450,732 and previously 312,432 units at $866,497. Trading in May closed with an average of 150,274 units at $491,077 for each security traded. IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows five stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Blue Power rose 22 cents to end at $3.86, with 20,000 stock units changing hands, Cargo Handlers closed with an exchange of 10,000 units and gained 30 cents to end at $6.51, Caribbean Producers ended trading with 75,841 shares, after rising 2 cents to close at $2.40. Consolidated Bakeries shed 13 cents in trading 100 units at $1.51, Dolphin Cove climbed 50 cents and exchanged 433 shares at $8.30, Express Catering declined by 5 cents to settle at $4.35, after trading 11,507 units. Fontana closed 1 cent higher at $6, with the trading of 54,638 stock units, General Accident lost 11 cents in exchanging 8,500 shares to close at $5.30, Honey Bun declined by 25 cents trading 10,742 units to settle at $5.30, iCreate ended trading with 104,081 shares, after rising 3 cents to end at 54 cents. Jamaican Teas declined by 45 cents trading of 171,503 units at $4.53, Knutsford Express shed 90 cents to settle at $8 in exchanging 872 units, Lasco Financial closed trading of 10,101 units and gained 24 cents to end at $2.65. Lasco Manufacturing declined by 12 cents in exchanging 117,442 shares to close at $3.90, Limners and Bards closed 5 cents higher at $2.05, with 227,798 stock units changing hands, Lumber Depot added 2 cents to close at $1.13, with 121,357 stock units trading. Mailpac Group ended trading with 127,888 shares, after rising 1 cent to end at $1.87, Medical Disposables closed trading with 7,156 shares, after gaining 12 cents to end at $6.88 and Paramount Trading ended with a loss of 1 cent at $1.98 with 150,500 stock units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Another day of Junior Market trading and another fall in the market index a further 34.89 points to close at 2,554.76 on Thursday as 33 securities changed hands compared to 36 securities on Wednesday.
The prices of 14 securities advanced, 12 declined and seven remained unchanged. The market closed with the average PE ratio of 9.4 times IC Insider.com projected 2020-21 earnings.
Trading settled on Thursday with, resulting in an exchange of 2,120,809 units valued at $5,882,853 compared to 4,571,474 units valued at $12,078,991 from.
The average trade for the day was 64,267 units at $178,268 in contrast to 126,985 units for an average of $335,528 on Wednesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amounts to 236,556 units valued at $872,686 and previously 289,692 units valued at $1,086,852. In contrast, May closed with an average of 150,274 units valued at $491,077 for each security traded. IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows four stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
At the close of the market, AMGPackaging traded 96,209 shares to end at $1.56 after falling 14 cents, Blue Power rose 4 cents to $3.64 with 22,000 shares crossing the exchange, Cargo Handlers shed 19 cents to finish at $6.21 with 3,602 units changing hands. Caribbean Assurance gained 3 cents and exchanged 27,678 shares to settle at $2.20, Caribbean Flavours lost $1.20 in the trading of 281 shares to close at $10.10, Caribbean Producers slipped 2 cents to $2.38 with an exchange of 79,994 units. Derrimon Trading ended 24 cents higher at $2.59, with the trading of 29,510 stock units, Dolphin Cove gained 40 cents to $7.80 with 12,812 shares changing hands, Elite Diagnostic finished at $3.74 after rising 27 cents in swapping 6,154 stock units. Express Catering gained 5 cents and exchanged 14,543 units to close at $4.40, Fontana climbed 19 cents to $5.99 with 276,649 shares changing hands, Fosrich gained 74 cents to $3.89 after trading 24,261 stock units. General Accident lost 11 cents in the exchange of 105,293 units to finish at $5.41, Honey Bun closed at $5.55 after rising 10 cents in the swapping of 56,743 shares, Iron Rock Insurance fell 15 cents to $3.70 with an exchange of 1,100 units. Jamaican Teas lost 2 cents in the trading of 2,481 shares to close at $4.98, Knutsford Express jumped 30 cents to $8.90 with 3,409 units changing hands, Lasco Financial lost 9 cents in trading 23,840 shares to close at $2.41. Lasco Manufacturing dipped 26 cents to $4.02 with 16,926 units crossing the exchange, Limnersand Bards climbed 10 cents and exchanged 144,500 shares to settle at $2, Lumber Depot declined by 3 cents to settle at $1.11 with 552,285 shares changing hands. MailPac Group lost 2 cents in the trading of 279,180 units to finish at $1.86, Main Event exchanged 27,952 units and gained 29 cents to end at $4.47, Medical Disposables gained 1 cent to end at $6.76 with 2,319 shares traded. SSL Venture climbed 3 cents to 93 cents with 20,000 shares crossing the exchange and Stationery and Office Supplies fell 4 cents in the swapping of 2,238 units to land at $6.26.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Lasco Distributors reported full-year results to March, with revenues rising 7.5 percent to $19.5 billion and profit increasing 21.4 percent to $726 million. The year’s performance reflects a big recovery after profit fell 30 percent in the first quarter to June last year, and 10 percent to the end of the third quarter.
The company enjoyed an 8.24 percent rise in revenues for the March quarter to $5.2 billion, with profit after tax for the quarter at $183 million, up 961 percent from just $17 million in 2019. The quarter suffered from a fall in gross profit margin to 18.4 percent versus 19.2 percent in 2019. Gross profit was 19.4 percent for the fiscal year versus 19.6 percent in 2019. Other income in the fourth quarter climbed to $60 million, a turnaround from a loss of $37 million in the March quarter in 2019, but was nearly flat at $130 million for the year to March.
The increase in cost for the year was kept close to the growth in revenues, with Administrative expenses rising 8 percent to $2.37 billion while selling and promotion expenses fell 9 percent to $703 million for the year. Segment results show revenues rising 3.6 percent for the Consumer division for the fiscal year to $15.7 billion while the Pharmaceutical division jumped 27.7 percent to $3.8 billion. Segment profit jumped 36.5 percent for the Consumer division to $557 million but the Pharmaceutical division dropped by 18.6 percent to $154 million even as revenues rose strongly. Earnings per share ended at 21.27 cents and IC Insider.com projects 38 cents per share for the 2021 fiscal year, with the stock trading at a PE ratio at 7.7 at the last traded price of $2.91, well below its sister company, Lasco Manufacturing. Cash flows from operating resulted in the generation of $1 billion before working capital changes. Current assets stood at $6.9 billion, including Cash and cash equivalents of $1.47 billion at the end of March with current liabilities closing the year at $3.38 billion. Shareholders’ equity ended the year at $5.7 billion, with borrowed funds being just $116 million.
The company paid a dividend amounting to $151 million last year, with profit rising, a large pool of cash and virtually no borrowed debt, there is room for a big increase in future dividend payments that could make the stock an attractive dividend payer.
Trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Wednesday with 36 securities changing hands, resulting in an exchange of 4,571,474 units valued at $12,078,991 compared to 12,626,886 units valued at $37,770,740 from 36 stocks on Tuesday.
At the close of market activities, the prices of 9 securities advanced, 12 declined and 14 remained unchanged. The Junior Market Index declined by 7.12 points to close at 2,589.65.
The average security traded for the day ended at 126,985 units and $335,528, in contrast to 350,747 units for an average of $1,049,187 on Tuesday. The average volume and value for the month to date amount 289,692 units valued at $1,086,852 and previously 372,181 units valued at $1,467,806. Trading in May closed with an average of 150,274 units valued at $491,077 for each security traded. IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows three stocks ending with bids higher than their last selling prices and one with a lower offer.
At the close of the market, Access Financial climbed $1.55 to settle at $24.60 with 1,000 shares changing hands, Blue Power closed with a loss of 10 cents at $3.60, with an exchange of 50,000 shares, CAC 2000 declined by 9 cents in trading of 2,575 units at $9.30. Cargo Handlers ended trading with 6,921 shares, after rising 19 cents to close at $6.40, Caribbean Cream ended t with 35,115 shares changing hands after rising 33 cents to settle at $2.80. Caribbean Flavours fell 70 cents in exchanging 20,000 shares to close at $11.30, Derrimon Trading dipped 25 cents in trading of 100 units at $2.35, Dolphin Cove fell 40 cents with 11,200 units changing hands at $7.40. Elite Diagnostic closed trading of 8,446 units and gained 5 cents to end at $3.47, Express Catering ended with a loss of 1 cent at $4.35 with 25,692 stock units changing hands, Fosrich closed with a loss of 85 cents at $3.15 swapping 6,300 shares. General Accident lost 51 cents in trading of 97,860 units at $5.52, GWest Corporation exchanged 10,996 shares to close at 95 cents, after falling 5 cents, Honey Bun climbed 25 cents and exchanged 85,194 shares at $5.45. Jamaican Teas ended trading with 118,470 shares, after rising 40 cents to end at $5, Jetcon Corporation closed 3 cents higher at 85 cents, with 41,800 stock units trading, Knutsford Express closed 8 cents higher at $8.60, trading 3,910 stock units. Lasco Distributors lost 2 cents with 717,278 shares changing hands to close at $2.91, Lasco Manufacturing declined by 22 cents in trading of 169,108 units at $4.28, Main Event lost 32 cents in ending at $4.18 while exchanging 9,108 shares and Medical Disposables climbed 22 cents and traded 14,727 shares at $6.75.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.