Record gains for JSE

November 27, 2018 by

The main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, gained the most, in its history, with a rise of 10,574.31 points on the All Jamaica Index, to close at 407,482.62 on Tuesday.

The day’s move bettered the previous best gain in a day of 9,823.00 points on October 1, 2018, when the index closed at 403,100.29 on October 5 and bettered the next highest one day index gain with a rise of 9,736.35 points, to end at 416,956.11 on January 27, 2017.

The main market was being driven by gains in NCB Financial, Scotia Group and Sagicor Group, with the latter two responding to news out of Scotia in Canada of sale of the life insurance arm to Sagicor Financial.

During today’s trading, the market clocked more than 12,000 points at one stage. The junior market did not enjoy the gains of the main market and dropped 82.66 points to close at 3,187.17.

Filed Under: Breaking News, JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: , , , , ,

BNS huge Carib financial market shake up

November 27, 2018 by

scotia/BNS

Scotiabank Canada today announced agreements with respect to certain of its Caribbean operations, as part of its strategy to focus the Bank’s efforts on its core markets with significant scale.
As part of this strategy, Scotiabank’s subsidiaries in Jamaica (Scotia Group Jamaica Limited, “Scotiabank Jamaica”) and Trinidad & Tobago (Scotiabank Trinidad & Tobago Limited, “Scotiabank Trinidad & Tobago”) announced that they will enter into a 20-year distribution agreement with Sagicor Financial Corporation (“Sagicor”) through which an enhanced suite of market-leading insurance products and solutions, underwritten by Sagicor, will be offered to Scotiabank customers in Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. As part of this partnership, Scotiabank Jamaica and Scotiabank Trinidad & Tobago have entered into agreements to sell their respective insurance subsidiaries: Scotia Jamaica Life Insurance Company and ScotiaLife Trinidad and Tobago Limited to Sagicor.
These agreements are subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. The transaction is also subject to the closing of the announced transaction whereby Sagicor will be acquired by Alignvest Acquisition II Corporation subject to conditions in and pursuant to a plan of arrangement and the

Republic Bank

surviving entity will continue the Sagicor brand and be publicly-listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Scotiabank has also entered into an agreement to sell its banking operations in 9 non-core markets in the Caribbean (Anguilla, Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent & the Grenadines) to Republic Financial Holdings (“RFHL”). The agreement is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
These transactions are not financially material to Scotiabank the release from the group stated. Until such approvals are obtained and conditions are met, and the transactions close, all Scotiabank operations in these countries will continue as usual.
“Scotiabank is proud to work with the Republic Group and Sagicor – both leaders in financial services in the Caribbean who are well positioned to invest and grow these businesses,” said Ignacio (Nacho) Deschamps, Group Head, International Banking at Scotiabank. “We are pleased to partner with Sagicor

Sagicor

to deliver an enhanced suite of insurance products and services, underwritten by Sagicor, to our customers and to work with Republic Group, who is committed to delivering enhanced financial products and services that best serve customers’ needs.”
“Due to increasing regulatory complexity and the need for continued investment in technology to support our regulatory requirements, we made the decision to focus the Bank’s efforts on those markets with significant scale in which we can make the greatest difference for our customers,” continued Mr. Deschamps. “Scotiabank is committed to the Caribbean as demonstrated by the Bank’s ongoing investment in products, services and processes to provide an enhanced banking experience to customers across the region.”

Filed Under: Breaking News, Feature Stories Tagged With: , , ,

Sagicor Financial severely undervalued

May 20, 2018 by

Sagicor Cayman building.

The Barbados based Sagicor Financial is seriously undervalued with the shares selling at less than a half the multiple of the Trinidad based Guardian Holdings and its Jamaican based subsidiary Sagicor Group.
Sagicor Financial continues to reap success with net income for March quarter of US$39 million against a prior year’s US$27 million. Net income attributable to shareholders was US$20 million compared to the prior year, of US$17 million, an increase of 19 percent and continues the trajectory seen since they reported a loss in 2012.
For 2018 first quarter, the group adopted two new accounting standards effective January 2018 covering Revenue from Contracts with Customers and for Financial instruments. The standards change the way that financial instruments are recognised and measured. There was no significant impact on the implementation of both standards on the net assets of the Company Sagicor reported.
Total revenue for the quarter increased 5 percent to US$297 million, against US$283 million in 2017. Revenue included a one-time gain of US$5.3 million on the acquisition of the British American insurance portfolio but net investment and other income fell to $109 million from $115 million in the similar period in 2017. Policyholders’ benefits fell 5 percent to US$132 million, compared to US$138 million for the previous year. Operating expenses increased just 2 percent to US$118 million, compared to US$115 million in 2017.

Jamaica Sagicor Group contributes more than half of Sagicor Financial profits.

Group comprehensive income dropped to US$17 million, from US$32 million for the prior year, with shareholders’ comprehensive income of US$6 million, compared to US$21 million for the prior year. The decline in comprehensive income was mainly due to marked-to-market losses on our international bond portfolio.
Total assets amounted to US$7 billion, with liabilities of US$6 billion at the end of March with Group equity of US$932 million and equity attributable to the company’s shareholders of US$623 million. The Group’s debt was US$407 million with a debt to capital ratio of 30.4 percent.
Earnings per share for the quarter amounted 6.5 cents and continues the growth enjoyed in the 2017 full year of 23.7 US cents compared to 20 cents in 2016 and puts earnings for the full year for 2018 around 30 cents. The stock trades on the exchanges in Trinidad and Barbados, closed on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange, the more liquid of the two markets at TT$7.90 and trades at a PE of an attractive 4 times earnings, well below Guardian Holdings at around 10 times earnings.
Although, the group is based in Barbados, data shows Trinidadians as the major owners with 49.6 percent with Barbadian owing around 33 percent while more than half of the profits come from Jamaica.

IC Insider.com has placed a BUY RATING on Sagicor Financial.

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

60% of trading for Trinidad Cement

April 19, 2017 by

Trinidad Cement closed at a 52 weeks’ high on Friday.

Market activity on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange on Wednesday ended with the All T & T index falling while Trinidad Cement was the dominant trade with just over 60 percent of the value traded.
At the close 14 securities changed hands with 3 trading higher 4 declining and 7 trading unchanged compared to 13 trading on Tuesday. A total of 583,316 shares traded at a value of $3,038,295 compared to Tuesday’s 262,613 shares valued at $6,532,372.
The Composite Index declined 1.13 points to 1,230.77, the All T&T Index dropped by 6.54 points to 1,793.38 and the Cross Listed Index gained 0.59 points to close at 89.67.
IC bid-offer Indicator|The Investor’s Choice bid-offer ended with 7 stocks with bids higher than last selling prices and 7 with lower offers.
Gains| JMMB Group gained 1 cent to close at $1.31 exchanging 115,911 units, NCB Financial Group advanced 10 cents to $3.99 trading 2,480 shares and Trinidad Cement closed at $4.22, gaining 2 cents with an exchange of 440,340 units valued at $1,857,749.
Losses| Clico Investment lost 1 cent to close at $22.50 trading 7,444 shares, Massy Holdings was down 2 cents, closing at $51.48 with 3,000 shares changing owners, Grace Kennedy closed at $2.69, losing 1 cent exchanging 333 units and National Enterprises fell 59 cents to close at $10.01 with trades of 500 shares.
Firm Trades| Ansa McAL closed at $66.50 trading 1,571 units, Ansa Merchant Bank exchanged 1,000 shares at $40, National Flour Mills closed at $2.56 with an exchange of 431 units. Republic Financial Holdings exchanged 3,524 shares at $101.90 valued at $359,096, Sagicor Financial held firm at $9.10 trading 2,161 shares, Scotiabank was unchanged at $58 trading 1,851 shares and Trinidad & Tobago NGL remained at $21.40 exchanging 2,770 shares.

Filed Under: Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Massy dominant on TTSE on Tuesday

April 18, 2017 by

Massy Holdings was the leading trade accounted for more than 50 percent of traded value on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Market activity resulted in 13 securities exchanged compared to 16 on Thursday as 2 stocks advanced, 3 declined and 8 were unchanged.
Trading closed with 262,613 shares changing hands at a value of $6,532,372 compared to Thursday’s 437,400 shares valued at $7,816,009.
The Composite Index declined 0.77 points to 1,231.90, the All T&T Index fell 0.55 points to 1,799.92 and the Cross Listed Index was down 0.13 points to close at 89.08.
IC bid-offer Indicator|The Investor’s Choice bid-offer ended with 7 stocks with bids higher than last selling prices and 6 with lower offers.
Gains| Clico Investment gained 1 cent to close at $22.51, with 43,661 units valued at $982,394 changing hands and Trinidad & Tobago NGL closed at $21.40, gaining 28 cents exchanging 13,161 units.
Losses| Guardian Holdings traded 20 cents lower to close at $15.25 with an exchange of 500 shares, JMMB Grouplost 5 cents, closing at $1.30 with 84,655 shares changing ownership and Sagicor Financial closed 5 cents lower at $9.10 trading 540 units.
Firm Trades| Angostura Holdings traded 34,900 shares at $14.90 valued at $520,050, Ansa McAL closed at $66.50 with trades of 67 units, Massy Holdings exchanged 68,195 shares valued at $3,512,098 shares to end at $51.50, National Enterprises closed at $10.60 with an exchange of 2,312 units. Prestige Holdings closed at $11 trading 2,279 units, Republic Financial Holdings closed at $101.90 while exchanging 8,739 shares valued at $890,509 Scotiabank remained at $58 trading 2,904 shares and Trinidad Cement held firm at $4.20 exchanging 700 shares.

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

Stocks rise in Trinidad

April 12, 2017 by

Trading on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange on Wednesday resulted in 14 securities changing hands compared to 16 on Tuesday with 4 stocks advancing, 1 declining and 9 unchanged.
A total of 391,982 shares were exchanged at a value of $3,344,255 compared to Tuesday’s 70,109 shares valued at $577,875.
The Composite Index rose 2.97 points to 1,234.35, the All T&T Index advanced 1.07 points to 1,804.97 and the Cross Listed Index gained 0.67 points to close at 89.05.
IC bid-offer Indicator|The Investor’s Choice bid-offer ended with 5 stocks with bids higher than last selling prices and 7 with lower offers.
Gains| Clico Investment traded at $22.52, gaining 2 cents with 2,242 units changing hands, First Citizens closed 7 cents higher to $31.80 exchanging 2,718 units, JMMB Group gained 1 cent to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $1.31 with an exchange of 35,000 shares and NCB Financial Group closed at $3.89 with gains of 9 cents trading 2,150 units.
Losses| Republic Financial Holdings lost 4 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ low of $101.90 with a mere 20 units trading.
Firm Trades| Angostura Holdings traded 86,454 units at $14.90 valued $1,288,165, Grace Kennedy closed at $2.70 with trades of 100,720 shares, Guardian Holdings closed at $15.50 exchanging 24,898 units valued at $385,919. Massy Holdings traded just 65 shares at $51.66, Prestige Holdings closed at $11 with 800 units changing hands, Sagicor Financial held firm at $9.15 trading 103 units, Trinidad Cement closed at $4.20 with an exchange of 101,167 shares valued at $424,901, Trinidad & Tobago NGL exchanged 35,473 units at $21 valued at $744,862 and West Indian Tobacco closed at $127 with 172 units changing owners.

Filed Under: Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Readymix now 14% above TCL offer

April 5, 2017 by

Readymix price rose for the third consecutive day on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange on Wednesday, adding 50 cents, for a 13.6 percent increase over the Trinidad Cement’s offer price of $11. Ansa McAL dominated trading and led with more than 100,000 units valued at more than $7.5 million.
Trading resulted in 14 securities changing hands compared to 13 on Tuesday with the price of 4 rising, 2 falling and 8 remaining unchanged. A total of 317,668 shares were exchanged at a value of $8,880,820 compared to Tuesday’s 445,375 shares valued at $5,118,190.
The Composite Index rose 1.30 points to 1,232.55, the All T&T Index lost 0.24 points to 1,807.58 and the Cross Listed Index gained 0.39 points to end at 88.19.
IC bid-offer Indicator|The Investor’s Choice bid-offer ended with 5 stocks with bids higher than last selling prices and 6 with lower offers.
Gains| Ansa McAL gained 13 cents to close at $66.50 with trades of 114,214 shares valued at $7,590,863, JMMB Group closed at $1.25 with gains of 7 cents trading 47,529 shares, NCB Financial Group closed at $3.80, after gaining 2 cents with an exchange of 63,778 units. Readymix closed 50 cents higher at $12.50 exchanging 1,567 shares and
Losses| Angostura Holdings closed 5 cents lower at $14.90 with an exchange of 40 shares and National Enterprises lost 2 cents, closing at $10.80 while trading 26,885 units.
Firm Trades| Agostini’s traded 502 units to close at $18.50, Clico Investment traded 2,260 shares at $22.50, First Caribbean International closed at $8.85 with 50 shares changing hands, Point Lisas exchanged 10,000 units at $3.76, Sagicor Financial remained at $9 with trades of 6,202 shares. Scotia Investments closed at $2.50 with 2,000 units changing hands, Trinidad Cement traded 34,900 units at $4.20, Trinidad & Tobago NGL closed at $21 with 5,741 units exchanged and West Indian Tobacco was unchanged at $127 trading 2,000 units.

Filed Under: Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Readymix heads higher on Tuesday

April 4, 2017 by

TCL may be challenged to succed with its bid to buy out the minority shares in Reaymix at TT$11.

Readymix the subject of a bid by its parent company, Trinidad Cement to acquire the minority shares, surged past the $11 offer price and closed at $12 on Tuesday. Based on the bid and offers at the close, it appears that the price could head higher.
Market activity on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange on Tuesday resulted in 13 securities changing hands compared to 11 on Monday with 3 rising, 6 falling and 4 remaining unchanged. At the close, 445,375 shares were exchanged at a value of $5,118,190 compared to Monday’s 238,247 shares valued at $1,151,376.
The Composite Index fell 1.62 points to 1,231.25, the All T&T Index declined 2.39 points to 1,807.82 and the Cross Listed Index lost 0.11 points to 87.80.
IC bid-offer Indicator|The Investor’s Choice bid-offer ended with 6 stocks with bids higher than last selling prices and 7 with lower offers.
Gains| JMMB Group closed at $1.18 with a 1 cent gain trading 112,080 shares, Point Lisas traded 1 cent higher with 7,159 shares changing hands to close at $3.76, Readymix advanced 49 cents, closing at $12 with an exchange of 155,862 shares valued at $1,870,387. In the last two years the company stock traded only 11,218 units prior to the buy-out offer.
Losses| Guardian Holdings closed at $15.50, losing 40 cents trading 454 shares, Massy Holdings lost 4 cents to close at $52.95 with an exchange of 188 units, NCB Financial Group closed 1 cent down to $3.78 exchanging 24,872 shares. One Caribbean Media lost 10 cents to close at $16.90 with trades of 1,450 units, Republic Financial Holdings closed at a 52 weeks’ low of $101.95, with a loss of 4 cents trading 203 units and Trinidad & Tobago NGL traded at $21, losing 12 cents with an exchange of 120,691 shares valued at $2,534,710.
Firm Trades| Angostura Holdings closed at $14.95 with 333 shares changing hands, Clico Investment traded 14,000 shares at $22.50 valued at $315,000, National Enterprises exchanged 1,234 shares at $10.82 and Sagicor Financial closed at $9 with trades of 4,590 shares.

Filed Under: Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

8 stocks fall & 1 gain on TTSE

April 3, 2017 by

Declining stocks dominated trading on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange on Monday as 11 securities changed hands compared to 12 on Friday resulting 8 falling 1 rising and 1 remaining unchanged.
At the close, 238,247 shares were exchanged at a value of $1,151,376 compared to Friday’s 67,974 units valued at $1,375,038.
Price movements were modest, leading to small movements in the market indices. At the close the Composite Index fell 0.92 points to 1,232.87, the All T&T Index declined 1.33 points to 1,810.21 and the Cross Listed Index lost 0.07 points to 87.91.
IC bid-offer Indicator|The Investor’s Choice bid-offer ended with 10 stocks with bids higher than last selling prices and 8 with lower offers.
Gains| NCB Financial Group gained 1 cent to close at $3.79 with trades of 2,588 shares.
Losses| Angostura Holdings lost 5 cents, closing at $14.95 with 11,000 units changing hands, Clico Investment traded 12,545 shares at $22.50 after falling 1 cent, Guardian Holdings closed at $15.90 with a loss of 8 cents trading 600 shares, JMMB Group traded 3 cents lower to close at $1.17 with an exchange of 157,500 shares, Massy Holdings was down 1 cent to $52.99 with trades of 281 units. Scotiabank closed 1 cent down to $58.99 exchanging 696 shares, Trinidad Cement lost 1 cent to close at $4.20 trading 47,572 units, Trinidad & Tobago NGL traded at $21.12, after losing 38 cents with 4,173 shares exchanged and West Indian Tobacco closed at $127, with a 1 cent loss and 992 units changing owners.
Firm Trades| Republic Financial Holdings exchanged 300 shares at $101.99.

Filed Under: Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Prices steady on TTSE

March 29, 2017 by

The last prices of stocks on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange ended on Wednesday without any change from the last traded price at the close on Tuesday. Based on the weighted average price movements, used in computing the market indices, the market recorded mostly falling values.
Trading levels fell to very low level with just 90,080 shares valued at $621,874 compared to Tuesday’s 178,508 units valued at $2,180,740 with 11 securities changing hands, the same as the day prior.
The Composite Index fell 5.36 points to 1,234.51, the All T&T Index declined by 11.56 points to 1,812.63 and the Cross Listed Index gained 0.13 points to 88.03.
IC bid-offer Indicator|The Investor’s Choice bid-offer ended with 10 stocks with bids higher than last selling prices and 12 with lower offers.
Firm Trades| Stocks changing hands on Wednesday with the last traded price unchanged are, Clico Investment closing at $22.50 with 4,158 units traded, JMMB Group at $1.22 with 43,325 units changing hands, National Enterprises closing at $10.88 with trades of 5,010 units. Point Lisas traded 6,117 shares at $3.65, after trading earlier at $3.75, Prestige Holdings closed at $10.75 trading 100 units, Republic Financial Holdings exchanged 500 shares to end at $105.48 but traded as low as $102. Sagicor Financial held firm at $9.01 with an exchange of 18,217 units, Scotiabank closed at $59.01 with 1,169 shares changing hands, Scotia Investments traded 115 shares at $2.30, but traded as high as $2.50, Trinidad Cement closed at $4.17 trading 7,629 shares and Trinidad & Tobago NGL remained at $22.71 with 3,740 units traded, after being as high as low as $21.50.

Filed Under: Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,