Sygnus Capital Management

Sygnus Credit priced for a bounce

Sygnus Credit Investments is offering 90,909,091 ordinary shares in two classes in the the company at J$13.72 for shares denominated in Jamaican dollar and 11 US cents for the US dollar ordinary shares.

The issues are to be partially underwritten up to the equivalent of US$5 million by Sagicor Investments. If all shares are taken up in the IPO there will be 250,178,614 ordinary shares issued. The prospectus list the current yield on the portfolio of invested funds at 10.3 percent. In the event that of oversubscriptions, the issuer has the right to upsize the amount to be accepted.
Subscription list opens 9 am on May 2 and is scheduled to close on May 16 if not closed earlier.
The capital structure of the company and the choice of investing funds will tend to result in a return closer to fixed interest levels, but likely higher than some bank lending rates, in the short to medium term as such investors should be looking for steady growth but relatively high dividend payments in the medium term. The falling interest rates on Jamaican dollar money market instrument will make the dividend payment very attractive source of income.
Sygnus Credit Investments is a specialty private credit investment company, dedicated to providing non-traditional financing to medium-sized firms across the wider Caribbean region. These companies typically have revenues between US$5 million and US$25 million.
The investment objective of the Company is to generate attractive risk adjusted returns with an emphasis on principal protection, by generating current income, and to a lesser extent capital appreciation, through investments primarily in Portfolio Companies using private credit instruments.
In 2017, the Company raised US$16 million in equity from 44 investors, with more than half the capital raised from institutional investors. The top 5 largest institutional holders invested $8.5 million and owns 52.9 percent of the Issued Shares. The fund raised was used to capitalize the company and invest in Portfolio Companies. The targeted investment types include bilateral notes and bonds, preference shares, asset backed debt, mezzanine debt, convertible debt and other forms of structured private credit instruments. These types of financing are typically more aligned with the growth and expansion plans of Portfolio Companies.
The company intends to pay out up to 85 percent of its net income as dividends to shareholders, payable on a quarterly basis. The target dividend yield is over 7 percent on the IPO price.
At December 2017, SCI had US$16.7 million in assets and generated net profits of US$660,855. The value of investment in Portfolio Companies was US$11.6 million, generating a yield of 10.3 percent.
Sygnus Capital Management, the Investment Manager, seeded SCI with US$540,000 and owns 3.4 percent of the issued shares. In total, Sygnus Capital Management and Sygnus related parties invested US$1.04 million and owns 6.5 percent of the Issued Shares.
Earnings for 2019 fiscal year could be around J$1-1.2 per share and that could send the stock to between $15 and $20 within twelve months. Returns could be greater if they use borrowed funds to meet some of the demand they have for funding. According to Jason Morris they intend to use borrowed funds once they have used up the equity now being raised. Book Value per Share was 10.5 US cents at the end of 2017.
Thirty-eight-point-nine percent of the fair value of the Company’s investment in Portfolio Companies was denominated in Jamaican dollars. For the period ending December 31, 2017, appreciation of the Jamaican dollar versus the US dollar resulted in Net Foreign Exchange Gains of US$247,705, this gain which flows through the income statement, may be reversed in future periods, and may affect Net Profit.
The Company currently has a robust pipeline of US$31.4 million in deals to finance, of which US$3.2 million has been approved, US$12.3 million has been mandated and US$15.9 million are at various stages of prospecting.

100th listing coming for JSE

The Jamaica Stock Exchange is set to continue to grow with an increase in listings continuing with more than 100 listings being achieved in 2018 for the very first time.
More trading activity is expected in the future as a result of new listings, and the impact of the fall in interest rates will have, on trading activities. The exchange now has 92 listings, with a few duplicated ones, in the main market and US dollar market will see and there could be four on the exchange suggest before the year ends with three of them regarded as definite. Brokers say they are working on 8 new ones for 2018 currently, Marlene Street Forrest, Managing Director of the Jamaica Stock Exchange advised IC Insider.com.
The three are expected to be GWest, a medical complex out of Montego Bay, that is expected to raise over $400 million, the company’s income will come from a combination of rent, from the major part of the complex and fees from operating a small short term medical facility. The complex currently has a number of blue chip clients as tenants. Wisynco Group is looking to raise for itself $1 billion but some of its current shareholders wanting to cash out. Information suggests that shares are to be offered to a wide array of persons including the 700 staff members as well as a large number of customers hence the shares from the IPO could be pretty scarce. FosRich Group of Companies. Caribbean Insurance Brokers that is being handled by Mayberry Investments, is the fourth possible 2017 listings. Mayberry Investments has been working on Neveast Supplies but this seems to be a 2018 listing.

GWest complex in Montego Bay, its IPO is expected soon.

Others that should see their ordinary shares listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange include, Jamaica Plumbing and Supplies, the government’s owned Wighton Wind Farms, Jamaica Public Service Company, with the government wanting to dispose of its share in the power company, KIW International that has taken the decision to have the shares relisted, in preparation for this the company approved at its recently held annual general meeting, a 15 for 1 stock bonus to bring the issued ordinary share capital to just over $50 million. UCC Online, a segment of University College of the Caribbean was expected to have gone to the market this year but have been ironing out issues to facilitate the initial public offering, they could be ready in 2018 and Sygnus Capital Investments should list in the first quarter of 2018, probably by February, on the main market of the stock exchange. Sygnus is a relatively new company, established to undertake loans or make medium term investments in medium size businesses. The company which is registered in St Lucia will be managed by Sygnus Capital Management, a Cayman Island based corporation. The company raised US$15 million in capital and is aiming for another $5 million when they come to market, which could be as early as January next year. According to our source they have so far lent out US$11 million and generated a higher rate of return that originally expected. The company has a good stream of potential users of its funds.