Demand up for Lasco Manufacturing

December 17, 2014 by

Lasco Manufacturing new bottling line at their new factory at White Marl, St Catherine

Lasco Manufacturing new bottling line at their new factory at White Marl, St Catherine

Activity Trading on the Junior Market saw increased buying interest in Lasco Manufacturing which moved the price higher, at the close there were bids at $1.11 to buy 44,000 units and at $1.10 to buy 881,000 shares. Selling is limited at levels close to the last traded price.
The junior market closed with only 5 securities traded and ended with 226,275 units valued at $273,781. The JSE Junior Market Index rose 12.09 points to close at 679.08, with the price 2 stocks advancing and 1 falling. The junior market sentiment is improving with 5 securities closing with no bids to buy compared to 11 a few weeks ago. There were 8 securities that had no stocks being offered for sale while at the close, there were 4 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and none with lower offers.
The stocks trading are, Lasco Distributors trading 51,000 shares with the price rising 1 cent to $1.41, Lasco Manufacturing concluded trading with 120,875 units and put on 12 cents to $1.12. Consolidated Bakeries ended with 10,000 shares at 82 cents, Lasco Financial ended with 24,400 shares at $1.05 and General Accident ended with 20,000 shares trading 5 cents lower to $1.75.

Filed Under: JSE Junior Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , ,

6 junior stocks fell on JSE

December 9, 2014 by

Trading in the Junior Market on Tuesday was more active than for some time, with 9 securities traded. Trading ended with 1,680,305 units valued at $1,661,213 being active. The JSE Junior Market Index lost 2.67 points to close at 667.42, with the price 2 stocks advancing and 6 declining.
At the close of the market, there were 2 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and none with offers lower. The junior market continues to exhibit weakness with 7 securities closing with no bids to buy. There were 5 securities that had no stocks being offered for sale.
in trading C2W Music ended with 72,000 shares at 38 cents and lost 2 cents, Caribbean Cream ended at 68 cents after losing 2 cents while 881,000 shares changed hands, followed by Caribbean Producers with 182,000 shares at $2.20, Consolidated Bakeries traded 4,000 units at 82 cents, General Accident lost 1 cent to $1.59 with 123,899 shares. Lasco Distributors closed a cent off, at $1.44 while 40,000 shares changed hands, but the price fell 5 cents. Lasco Financial had 150,806 units closing at 96 cents with a gain of 2 cents, Lasco Manufacturing lost 2 cents to 98 cents with only 197,600 being active and Medical Disposables fell 10 cents to a new all-time low of $1.70, with 10,000 units traded.

Filed Under: JSE Junior Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , ,

8 Stocks trade on JSE junior market

December 5, 2014 by

General Accident stock rose 11 cents to $1.57 on Friday

General Accident stock rose 11 cents to $1.57 on Friday

Trading in the Junior Market closed with 8 securities traded, with the price of 2 advancing, 3 declining and 3 traded unchanged. Trading ended with 1,655,230 units valued at $2,097,723. The JSE Junior Market Index rose 1.53 points to close at 672.57.
At the close of the market, there were 2 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 stocks with offers that were lower. The junior market continues to exhibit weakness with 7 securities closing with no bids to buy. There were 4 securities that had no stocks being offered for sale.
Access Financial traded 2,400 shares at $9, Caribbean Producers traded 76,978 units to end at $2.20, and lost 1 cents, Consolidated Bakeries with 105,314 shares closed at 82 cents, Dolphin Cove exchanged 5,300 shares and lost 30 cents to end at $8.50, General Accident closed up, by 11 cents, at $1.57 while 61,516 units were traded. Lasco Distributors ended up with a volume of 650,000 being traded for $1.49 and the price rose 5 cents to $1.49, Lasco Financial traded 721,560 shares to end at 94 cents after losing 2 cents and Lasco Manufacturing traded at 99 cents with 32,162 shares.

Filed Under: JSE Junior Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

6 stocks trade on Junior market

November 21, 2014 by

Caribbean Cream traded at 71 cents. The company has now commissioned it blast freezer that is expected to cut energy cost & result in better frozen products

Caribbean Cream traded at 71 cents. the company has now commissioned it blast freezer that is expected to cut energy cost & result in better frozen products

Trading in the Junior Market on Friday closed with 940,040 units valued at $989,552 changing hands. The JSE Junior Market Index fell 2.80 points to close at 678.24. Only 6 securities traded, with the price 1 advancing and 1 declining.
At the close of the market, there were 4 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 4 stocks with offers that were lower. The junior market continues to be weak with 9 securities closing with no bids to buy. There were 5 securities that had no stocks being offered for sale.
Lasco Distributors ended trading with 184,500 shares changing hands, 3 cents higher at $1.48, Caribbean Cream concluded trading with 115,000 shares changing hands, to close at 71 cents. The company has now installed it blast freezer, that is expected to cut energy cost and allow for better frozen ice cream products. Caribbean Producers had 1,000 shares trading at $2, Consolidated Bakeries ended trading with 3,360 shares at 82 cents, Lasco Financial finished trading with 48,180 units to fall 5 cents to 90 cent, Lasco Manufacturing ended with 588,000 units as the price slipped 5 cents to $1.

Filed Under: JSE Junior Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , ,

8 junior market stocks trade

November 20, 2014 by

General Accident traded 551,733 units at $1.50.

General Accident traded 551,733 units at $1.50.

The number of companies trading in the Junior Market picked up on Thursday with 8 securities traded, with the price of 2 advancing and 2 ending lower.Trading ended with 1,247,208 units valued at $2,018,182. The JSE Junior Market Index rose 1.69 points to close at 681.04.
At the close of the market, there was 1 stock with the bid higher than the last selling price and 2 stocks with offers that were lower. The junior market continues to show signs of weakness with 8 securities closing with no bids to buy. There were 5 securities that had no stocks being offered for sale at the close of the market.
Lasco Distributors closed with 47,970 shares trading 6 cents higher to $1.45, Lasco Manufacturing finished trading with 50,000 shares while gaining 5 cents to end at $1.05, Caribbean Cream had 40,000 shares changing hands, to close at 71 cents, Consolidated Bakeries concluded trading with 10,000 shares changing hands, to close at 82 cents, Derrimon Trading exchanged 20,000 shares in trading at $2.15 and Lasco Financial finished trading with 75,950 shares at 91 cents.
Caribbean Producers finished trading with 451,555 shares with a loss of 25 cents to $2 and General Accident traded 551,733 units to fall 3 cents to $1.50.

Filed Under: JSE Junior Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Lasco Manufacturing trades 1m shares

November 19, 2014 by

Lasco_Building280x150 Trading in the Junior Market was dominated by Lasco Manufacturing with 1 million shares at $1 each. Trading ended with 1,084,716 units valued at $1,128,267. The JSE Junior Market Index rose 6.28 points to close at 679.35. A total of 7 securities traded, with the price of 1 advancing and 1 declining.
At the close, there were 2 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 stocks with offers that were lower. The junior market continues to be weak with 8 securities closing with no bids to buy. There were 5 securities that had no stocks being offered for sale.
Lasco Distributors ended trading with 53,804 shares changing hands as the price climbed 4 cents rise to $1.39 and Lasco Manufacturing with 1,000,000 units gained on 3 cents to end at $1.
Caribbean Producers ended trading 11,152 units to close with a 1 cent loss, at $2.25, Consolidated Bakeries finished trading with 8,000 shares trading at 82 cents, Jamaican Teas had dealing in only 3,860 shares at $3.40. The company reported a small loss in the September quarter and a profit of 35 cents for the full year, versus 58 cents in 2013. Lasco Financial contributed 6,500 shares at 95 cents and Medical Disposables with 1,400 shares trading at $1.94.

Filed Under: JSE Junior Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Knutsford Express top juniors

November 17, 2014 by

KNutsfordOwners280x150Knutsford Express Services traded over 5 million shares at a new high of $5.85 on the Junior Market. Trading ended with 6,061,987 units valued at $30,930,731. The JSE Junior Market Index rose 12.60 points to close at 669.22, only 5 securities traded, with the price of 4 advancing.
At the close of the market, there were 2 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 stocks with offers that were lower. The junior market continues to exhibit weakness with 8 securities closing with no bids to buy. There were 5 securities that had no stocks being offered for sale.
Caribbean Producers finished trading with 185,826 shares, and closed with a gain of 26 cents at $2.26, Jamaican Teas concluded trading with 100 shares to end 10 cents higher, at $3.40, Knutsford Express exchanged 5,020,011 shares with a gain of 40 cents to a new 52 weeks’ high of $5.85. The company will benefit from lower fuel prices with the fall in the price of oil on the world market. Lasco Distributors had dealing in 819,050 shares as the price ended 4 cents higher, to $1.36. Consolidated Bakeries with 37,000 shares trading, closed at 82 cents.

Filed Under: JSE Junior Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Purity’s 2014 profit & stock price falls

October 11, 2014 by

Con sol logo Periods of major economic adjustment negatively affecting consumers, can be tough for bakeries, as demand pressures tend to squeeze margins. That is exactly what happened to Consolidated Bakeries, better known as Purity, for the first six months of 2014.
For although sales’ revenues for the period to June 2014, grew 17.9 percent over the six months to June 2013, profit fell 19 percent to $14.7 million from $24.4 million in 2013. Profit, in the June quarter fell 28 percent to $7.3 million while sales’ revenues for the quarter rose 22 percent. During the six-months, Consolidated said, exports grew 25 percent in US dollars, over the same period last year.
According to management in their report to shareholders for the June results “revenue growth over the six month period in 2013, represent growth in all product categories. This growth is a result of our strategy to grow distribution and volume. During this period, price increases were low due to market competition and in a response to difficulties shoppers face.”
Gross profit| Gross profit margin that ended last fiscal year at 54 percent, fell to 44 percent in the March quarter, 47 percent for the June quarter and for the six months 46 percent. The decline was a major factor dragging profit down for 2014. For 2011, gross profit ended at 62 percent, leaving much room for improvement for management going forward.
Operating cost| comprising administrative, selling and distribution cost, rose sharply by 21 percent for the June quarter to $57 million and 15 percent for the six months, hitting $113 million, faster than the increase in gross profit.
The company has lots of work to do, to improve gross profit margin as well as the paltry return on equity of 6 percent for 2014.
Borrowed funds amount to $57 million at the end of June at a very comfortable level with equity at $518 million. Cash funds available amount to $111 million.
Property plant and equipment was increased by $17 million up to June 2014, additional machinery was ordered to build capacity.
Watch this one| The company has room to grow faster than the economy for a while, this can make it a good growth prospects for investors looking long term. IC Insider’s forecast for earnings per share is around 15 cents for 2014. It may not be until 2015 that the earnings could show improvement to help push the stock price upwards in a major way.

Filed Under: Company News, Company Results Tagged With: , , , ,

Purity’s best year but poor Q4

March 24, 2014 by

Consolidated Bakery, better known as Purity, recorded a major improvement in profits from their ill-fated 2012 results. Buoyed by a 41 percent sales increase, the company ended the year with profits of $33 million or just 15 cents per share. Unfortunately for the initial IPO investors, the results although sharply improved, is yet to reach a level that would see the stock reaching its public issue price in the short term.

Results showed impressive quarterly growth, with the first quarter rising 172 percent, followed by 212 percent in the second quarter, 328 percent in the third quarter and 231 percent in the final quarter. Although sales climbed the fastest in last quarter by 52 percent, it resulted in only $2.7 million in profit. Revenues in the first two quarters averaged 32 percent and the third quarter climbed by 51 percent. Growth in revenues is helped by a number of new products the company launched in the past two years.

Gross profit | Gross profit margin improved in the year to reached 54 percent from 52.7 percent in 2012, still lagging gross profit of 62 percent in 2011.

Consolidated_Purity150x150Cost rose sharply in the year with administrative expenses climbing 23.5 percent to reach $123 million, an increase of $23 million and selling and distribution moving up by $23 million or 43 percent, a bit faster than the increase in revenues.

The company has work to do to improve what is a paltry return on equity of 7 percent even as the results exclude the payment of corporate taxes. The stock price to net asset value is only 50 percent and with the PE ratio is at 7 times last year’s earnings, which is at the upper end of valuation for junior market companies. Investors should not see much improvement here until new and improved results starts coming.

Borrowed funds that were at $40 million at the end of 2012 is up to $71 million but is at a very comfortable level with equity at $504 million. Cash funds available amount to $110 million at the end of 2013.

Watch this one | The company has room to grow faster than the economy for a while and this could make it a good growth prospects for investors looking long term. IC Insider’s forecast is 27 cents per share for 2014, suggesting that the price should be moving up from the current $1.10 level during the course of the year.

Tightness in the local economy, to which the company’s fortunes are predominantly tied, can negatively affect sales and cash flow. They seem to have navigated a tough 2013 unscathed and should be able to do well in 2014, which ought not be as challenging as last year. However, the pressures of last year could well weaken many of the company’s customers with the evidence showing up later. So far, that don’t seem to be the case and the next set of results due by mid-May will point to where the wind is blowing.

Related posts | Big profit jump at Purity | Consolidated Bakeries hiked profit

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Big profit jump at Purity

November 12, 2013 by

Profit more than tripled before taxes at Consolidated Bakeries (Purity) and was up more than 400 percent after factoring taxation in the 2012 period to September, as profit after tax rose to $30.4 million up from $5.7 million, a 429 percent increase. For the September quarter, profit rose to $6 million compared to the 2012 quarter when the company reported a loss of $2.8 million.

The improved numbers did not show up in the quarter over quarter results as profit was lower than the $10 million earned in the June quarter. Some of the improvement is a recovery from a bad period in 2012. The second half of 2012, the year Consolidated went public, was not a good one as the company recorded a loss in the period compared to a profit in the 2011 period.

Consolidated_Purity150x150Revenue for the nine month period increased by 37.6 percent to reach $500 million compared to revenue of $363 million for the same period in 2012.  For the quarter, revenue is up by 53.2 percent over the same period in 2012 to reach $172 million up from $112 million. “These increases represent growth in both unit sales and average sales per customer. During the quarter under review, input cost increased due to exchange rate movements and other factors,” management stated in their report to shareholders. Gross profit margin came in at 49 percent for the quarter down from 53 percent in 2012 and is 54 percent year to date, an improvement over the 52 percent enjoyed in 2012.

It looks as if the company will enjoy profits in the order of $35-40 million for the year or earnings per share around 20 cents. The company is focusing on improved efficiency, increased sales from existing products and new ones for both the local and export markets.

Cash funds and investments are up to $99 million from $24 million last year September and $98 million at the end of December. Current assets are up to $205 million from $184 million at the end of 2012 helped by increased receivables and inventories which grew $40 million year over year. At the same time, current liabilities are down as a result of the clearing of overdraft balance of $13 million and taxation of $9 million leaving $61 million as owing to third parties. Borrowing is up from $19 million to $49 million at the end of September this year versus last year September.

Related posts | Consolidated Bakeries hiked profit | Consolidated Bakeries’ Q1 Profits Up

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