Liberty Global Media

Cable & Wireless HQ – The company’s stock traded at a high of $1.87 in November 2014.

Interest in buying shares of Cable & Wireless at the end of 2016 was lukewarm at best, with sellers out numbering buyers 2 to 1, after 7.6 million units were sold as low as 72 cents on the last day of 2016. On January 11, more than 51 million shares traded between 87 cents and 92 cents, including a 40 million cross by Mayberry Investments.
On Friday last, the stock traded 603,857 units between 92 cents and $1.08. The order book for the stock changed markedly, from a bearish posture to a more aggressive one. Unlike the end of January when sell orders dominated buyers, the situation at the close on Friday was reversed, with buyers almost twice the number of sellers. Importantly, Mayberry’s 30 million units sell order at $1.50 for own account, is removed.
The market activity, suggests that something major is in the offing. In 2015, a group of large minority shareholders approached Cable & Wireless PLC to buy their shares. The Liberty Global takeover of the London listed company intervened. Local investors were expecting that the local company’s minority shareholders would have been made an offer for their shares. After not seeing an offer, interest in the stock fell and took the price with it, down to 65 cents. IC Insiders’ source indicates that a potential offer is likely to be in the making.
Cable and Wireless struggled for years as Digicel, its main rival, clobbered it in the Cell phone market, but the company has been making big strides in reversing the trend.

In addition C&W that focused attention on data service, is seeing that strategy paying rich dividends. The company reported just a small loss of $200 million in the September quarter and seemed to be on the way to making positive profit for 2017 onwards, with revenues growing 15 percent in the quarter and 13 percent for the six months. On the other hand Digicel is struggling as the market has moved towards data than voice and C&W grabs a larger share of the mobile market locally, leading Digicel to be looking at a sharp cut in staff numbers in the not too distant future.
With revenues likely to continue to grow for a while, around $3 billion per year, C&W seems on target to make huge profits down the road, with the prospects of big gains in the stock price ahead.

Not many investors seem to see this picture, instead they focus on the short term developments, raising foolish questions about dividend payments and debt, when the two can’t be avoided. Under the companies Act dividends can’t be paid based on the large accumulated losses that have to be cleared first, while debt has been used to support the operations while it went through restructuring. The company is now cash flow positive and that should lead to debt reduction going forward subject to any large acquisition. Some minority shareholders who sought legal advice indicates that there were transactions that were effected that were not in the interest of the company.

JSE gains with 9 stocks at 52 weeks’ high

Cable & Wireless HQ – the stock traded at a new 52 weeks’ high on Thursday & on Friday.

The Jamaica Stock Exchange closed on Friday with 24 stocks rising, 6 declining as 39 securities, totalling 3,992,906 units valued at $54,025,781 changed hands, in all market segments. A total of 9 stocks ended at 52 weeks’ closing highs as the market closes on a another record for the all Jamaica Index.
The JSE Market Index shot up 952.69 points to 123,979.42, a new closing high. The JSE All Jamaican Composite index gained 1,064.69 to end at 137,510.28 and is 1,400 points away from the old record of 138,917.59 set on 24th of January 2005 and the JSE combined index climbed 1,055.98, points to end at a new closing high of 128,758.68.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had a reading of 13 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 with offers that were lower.
In trading, Cable and Wireless closed with a gain of 15 cents as with only 5,850 shares changed hands to end at 52 weeks’ high of 82 cents. Trading in the stock was suspended for an hour as the trade was executed at a price in excess of 15 per cent from the closing price on Thursday. Attempts were made to trade as high as $1 but those trades were cancelled, being over maximum 30 percent from the opening price permitted. Investors were responding to the news that Liberty Global Media planned on making a bid to acquire Cable and Wireless’ parent company. The stock closed with over 5.1 million shares on the bid at 82 cents and three offers amounting to 40,000 shares between $1.20 and $1.70 and at 2.66 million units at $3.75.

Caribbean Cement gained 82 cents to end at $15 for a new 52 weeks’ closing high, with 68,800 shares changing hands. The company reported earnings of 72 cents for the September quarter and $1.75 for the nine months and should enjoy another week of gains come next week. Cement closed with only three lots being offered amounting to 83,500 shares between $16.50 and $17. Carreras traded 242,083 shares to end at $52, Desnoes & Geddes had 177,539 units changing hands to close at $30, Grace Kennedy exchanged 1,621 shares at $65.10 and gained 35 cents, Jamaica Broilers added 70 cents in trading 625,083 shares to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $8.50. Jamaica Stock Exchange had 10,000 shares trading at $9.15 while the price rose 45 cents for a 52 weeks’ high, JMMB Group lost 10 cents in trading 220,241 shares to close at $9.90. Kingston Wharves traded 32,278 shares to close at $9, Mayberry Investments traded 17,435 shares and gained 14 cents to end at $3, National Commercial Bank closed with a gain of $1 with 290,955 shares trading to end at $32.

Pan Jamaican price jumped $2 in trading 95,000 shares to end at a 52 weeks’ high of $75, Sagicor Group with 73,795 shares closed 25 cents up, to $14.50. Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 5,000 units but the price gained 5 cents to close at $8.15 and closed with a bid to buy 100,000 units at $9.20 and with only two offers posted with one at $10 to sell 16,000 units and 19,000 at $11, Scotia Group ended with 48,410 shares trading at $24.76 after falling 25 cents. Scotia Investments ended with 5,290 shares trading at $27 after adding $1, Supreme Ventures ended at $3.90 with 205,516 units changing hands. Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded 324,850 units at $2 and Proven Investments preference share traded 179,500 units and gained 5 cents to end at of $5.05.