3 TTSE stocks rose 3 declined – Wednesday

January 9, 2019 by

Market activity on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange ended on Wednesday with trading in 14 securities against 12 on Tuesday, 3 advanced, 3 declined and 8 remaining unchanged.
At close of the market, the Composite Index rose 2.22 points to 1,307.74, the All T&T Index lost 0.77 points to 1,706.70, while the Cross Listed Index rose 0.72 points to close at 122.81
Trading ended with 381,550 shares at a value of $8,295,652, compared to 398,742 shares on Tuesday valued at $12,990,512.
IC bid-offer Indicator| The Investor’s Choice bid-offer ended at 3 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 4 with lower offers.
Stocks trading with gains| Ansa Mcal increased by 1 cent and ended at $55.01, with 4,319 units trading, Grace Kennedy rose 1 cent and concluded trading at $3.06, with 450 stock units changing hands and NCB Financial Group gained 10 cents and completed trading at $8.65, after exchanging 4,090 shares.
Stock trading with losses| Clico Investments closed with a loss of 66 cents at $19.50, with 36,163 stock units changing hands, Sagicor Financial shed 1 cent and settled at $8.99, after exchanging 1,400 shares and Trinidad & Tobago NGL lost 1 cent and ended at $29.05, with 35,072 units changing hands.
Stocks trading firm| First Caribbean International Bank ended at $8.30, with an exchange of 20,001 units, First Citizens completed trading at $34, after exchanging 1,428 shares, JMMB Group settled at $1.75, after trading 200,000 shares, Massy Holdings settled at $47, with 900 shares changing hands, National Flour ended at $1.65, trading 25,047 units. Republic Financial Holdings completed trading 50,236 shares at $107.26, Trinidad Cement ended at $2.70, after exchanging 25 shares and West Indian Tobacco concluded trading at $95.40, with 2,419 stock units changing hands.

Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.

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Republic & Witco climb again on TTSE

November 13, 2018 by

Republic Financial climbed $1 to a 52 weeks’ high of $111 and West Indian Tobacco rose 30 cents on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange on Tuesday and remained poised for more gains.
West Indian Tobacco closed higher slightly higher but closed with the bid at $94.20 to buy 3,950 shares with none on offer at the close, as investors respond to improved results and a pending stock split.
Market activities ended with 16 securities trading versus 12 on Monday, 8 advancing, 5 declining and 3 remaining unchanged. The market closed with one stock trading at 52 weeks’ high and two at 52 weeks’ low as 135,571 units valued at 824,024 traded, compared to 449,177 units valued at 8,056,501 changing hands on Monday.
The Composite Index climbed 3.03 points to 1,251.43. The All T&T Index rose 4.81 points to 1,715.01, while the Cross Listed Index rose 0.16 points to close at 106.05.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading closed with 3 stocks ending with higher bids than the last selling prices and 2 with lower offers.
Stocks closing with gains| Clico Investments ended trading with a rise of 20 cents to close at $20.20, with 3,205 stock units changing hands, First Citizens finished 26 cents higher and completed trading at $33, after exchanging 4,061 shares, JMMB Group concluded trading of 105,700 shares and gained 8 cents to settle at $1.80, National Flour added 6 cents and ended at $1.68, with 500 units trading, Republic Financial Holdings gained $1 in settling at $111, after exchanging just 10 shares. Trinidad & Tobago NGL increased 1 cent and completed trading at $29.51, after exchanging 8,284 shares, Trinidad Cement rose 5 cents and settled at $2.70, exchanging 4,100 shares and West Indian Tobacco closed with a gain of 30 cents and ended at $94.50 trading 245 units.
Stocks closing with losses|Agostini’s lost 20 cents and settled at $23.20, after exchanging 421 shares, Angostura Holdings ended trading 10 cents lower at $15.60, with 64 stock units changing hands, Massy Holdings concluded trading of 1,269 shares with a loss of 17 cents to close at $46.83, Prestige Holdings traded with a loss of 20 cents and ended at a 52 weeks’ low of $7.30, with 1,000 units and Sagicor Financial closed with a loss of 1 cent and ended at a 52 weeks’ low of $7.39, with 2,050 stock units changing hands.
Stocks trading with no price change| National Enterprises closed at $8.44, with 100 stock units changing hands, NCB Financial Group completed trading at $6.50, after exchanging 3,949 shares and Scotiabank ended at $64.50, as just 613 units changing hands.

Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.

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Nothing for Carib Cement stockholders

November 4, 2018 by

Carib Cement silos.

Jamaica’s Caribbean Cement Company slashed the cost formerly associated with leasing of Kiln 5 and Mill 5, from Trinidad Cement after acquiring direct ownership of the assets by $2 million per annum but shareholders are getting none of it the September quarterly results show.
Shareholders are unlikely to see any major benefit form the savings until 2019 when the plant upgrading costing US$45 million comes on stream and aided by a near 5 percent price increase effected in October to help offset cost increase.
For a number of years, some of the company’s shareholders have complained that the lease arrangement of the two items with the Trinidad parent was not in favour of the minority owners as it was costing too much and was not properly accounted for in past financial reports, thus suppressing the profit. With the termination of the lease and acquisition of assets it was expected that there would be a immediate noted impact on the results, that was not to be. The interim results to September, with the first period showing the full impact, indicate that shareholders are not benefitting from the $500 million cost reduction per quarter.
Data disclosed by Jamaica’s sole cement producer in their nine months interim report, show that excluding foreign exchange loss, there is a $500 million savings in the overall cost associated the acquisition of the two items formerly leased.
The equipment lease ended in April 2018 when both parties agreed to end the arrangement, leading the Jamaican company to purchase the assets. The interim figures show finance cost excluding foreign exchange loss rose of $227 million up sharply from just $11 million in 2017, in the quarter, resulting from funds borrowed to help finance the purchase of the equipment and $299 million versus $4 million year to date. Depreciation and amortisation cost rose to $342 million from $132 million in 2017 and for the nine months to $808 million from $400 million in 2017, with the increase mostly relating to the former leased equipment. The net effect is that the company enjoyed a savings of $500 million for the quarter or $2 billion per annum. None of these gains are so far flowing to the bottom-line for the benefit of shareholders.
Revenues grew 6.7 percent in the September quarter or $282 million but certain direct operating cost rose by $546 million with no indication that any attempt was made to recover the increased cost except for price increase in October. The effect is that profit before foreign exchange losses and taxation was only $148 million greater than in the prior year, when $846 million was reported.

Peter Donersloot – Managing Director

“The true story should be that the company’s performance illustrates the resilience of the its operations with the reporting of a profit even when taking a big foreign exchange loss, the company’s managing director, Peter Donkersloot, suggested in an interview with IC Insider.com. Going forward he said that, the upgrading of the plant will push the capacity to 1.2 million tonnes of cement allowing them to meet local demand and resume exports. “The upgrade should be completed and be in production around December but no later than January,” Donersloot stated. The immediate impact will be the elimination of imports that added to cost of sales and reduced profit margin, up to September”
Subsequent to the end of the quarter the price of cement was adjusted up by 4-4.5 percent Donkersloot confirmed. Information gleaned is that the increase took place for sales as of October 22 and is the first increase in 16 months.
The often talked about energy plant to be constructed to cut the huge energy bill was not an area the managing director was prepared to talk about, in light of negotiations currently in place.
As it stands, what appears to be a decision to defend their market share resulted in the company reporting much lower profit in the quarter as a result of a $464 million foreign exchange loss hitting the results for the September quarter, pulling the strong 44 percent increase in operating profit to $1.2 billion from $836 million, into lower net profit of only $305 million, versus $748 million generated for the prior year’s period.
Since the results, the stock that has been trading between $47 and $50 dropped to a recent low of $41.20.

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Carib Cement hit by exchange loss

October 31, 2018 by

Caribbean Cement traded at $45.200 on Tuesday.

Sale revenues at Caribbean Cement rose 6.7 percent for the quarter, to $4.46 billion from $4.18 billion in 2017 and rose 7.9 percent for the year to date, to $13.2 billion from $12.25 billion in 2017.
A $464 million foreign exchange loss hit the results for the September quarter pulling the strong 44 percent increase in operating profit to $1.2 billion from $836 million, into lower net profit of $305 million than $748 million for the prior year’s period. For the nine months to September, profit fell 28 percent to $1.3 billion from $1.8 million in 2017.
Energy cost climbed by $233 million in the quarter and $342 million year to date but other operating cost declined, with the repurchase of the mill and kiln, previously leased from Trinidad Cement with only $213 million was incurred in the third quarter versus $1.1 million in 2017. For the nine months $1.57 million was incurred compared to $3.3 billion. On-the-other-hand finance cost excluding foreign exchange loss rose to $227 million up sharply from just $11 million in 2017 in the quarter and $299 million versus $4 million year to date. Depreciation and amortisation cost rose to $342 million from $132 million in 2017 and for the nine months to $808 million from $400 million in 2017. The net effect is that the company enjoyed a savings of $500 million per quarter or $2 billion per annum as a result of the buy of the lease, but virtually none of this, benefited shareholders.
Earnings per share came out at 39 cents for the quarter and $1.54 for the nine months and should end the fiscal year ending to around $3.50, as the company reverses the foreign exchange loss in the December quarter and picks up some gains, as well as increased revenues resulting from a price increase of just over 4 percent, effective on October 22.

Carib Cement could earn $5.30 in 2019.


But IC Insider.com is forecasting a jump in earnings for 2019 around $5.30 per shares, as the plant upgrades is completed and commissioned, allowing for the elimination of costly imports that negatively impacted cost in 2018 and will see them moving back into exports.
Gross cash flow brought in $849 million but growth in receivables, inventories, addition to fixed assets, loan repayment and increased payables resulted in negative total flows thus reducing the cash on hand to $468 million. For the nine months the operations brought in $2.6 billion but working capital needs and capital transactions saw cash funds reduced from $1.67 billion to $468 million.
The sharp changes in funds is due to the repurchase of equipment that was previously leased that drove fixed assets to $23 billion from $7.7 million in 2017 and borrowing to $12 billion.
Shareholders’ equity stood at $10.26 billion with borrowings at just $12 billion and net current assets ended the period was negative $1 billion.
The stock traded at $45.20 on the Jamaica Stock Exchange with a PE ratio of 13 times 2018 earnings and sits around the centre of the market valuation. the price could double in 2019. Net asset value is $12 with the stock selling at almost 4 times book value.
Going forward, the company results should be helped from the improvement in the Jamaican economy and growth that is likely to flow from the construction sector including buildings and roads and bridges as well as from increased exports. There is also focus on cost reduction with the high energy cost being the next centre of attention.

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Carib Cement chops $2B from lease cost

October 28, 2018 by

Jamaica Caribbean Cement Company slashed the cost formerly associated with leasing of Kiln 5 and Mill 5, from Trinidad Cement after acquiring direct ownership of the assets by $2 million per annum.
Data disclosed by Jamaica’s sole cement producer in their nine months interim report showed that excluding foreign exchange gains or loss that there was a $500 million savings in the overall cost associated with the two items formerly leased.
The equipment lease ended in April 2018 when both parties agreed to the ending of the arrangement leading the Jamaican company agreeing to purchase same. The interim figures show finance cost excluding foreign exchange loss rose to $227 million up sharply from just $11 million in 2017, in the quarter and $299 million versus $4 million year to date. Depreciation and amortisation cost rose to $342 million from $132 million in 2017 and for the nine months to $808 million from $400 million in 2017. The net effect is that the company enjoyed a savings of $500 million for the quarter or $2 billion per year.
A $464 million foreign exchange loss hit the results for the September quarter pulling the strong increase in operating profit of 44 percent to $1.2 billion from $836 million into lower net profit of $305 million than the $748 million generated for the prior year’s period. For the nine months to September, profit fell percent to $1.3 billion from $1.8 million in 2017.

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

2 TTSE stocks fall 11 trade firm -Tuesday

August 28, 2018 by

The Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange ended trading on Tuesday with 13 securities changing hands against 9 on Monday, none advanced, 2 declined and 11 remained unchanged.
Market activity resulted a slippage of volume traded to a mere 46,796 shares at a value of just $656,926, compared to 279,181 shares at a value of $3,306,273, previously traded.
At close of the market the, Composite Index the Composite Index lost 1.62 points to 1,243.65, the All T&T Index declined 0.89 points to 1,713.92, while the Cross Listed Index shed 0.33 points to close at 104.04.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading closed with 2 stocks ending with higher bids than the last selling prices and 6 with lower offers.
Stocks closing with losses| One Caribbean Media shares fell 11 cents and concluded trading at $12.18, after exchanging 2,039 shares and West Indian Tobacco closed with a loss of 54 cents and completed trading at $88 with 946 units
Stocks trading with no price change| Angostura Holdings ended at $15.75, with 2,386 stock units changing hands, Clico Investments ended at $20, with 2,037 stock units changing hands, First Citizens settled at $34.91, after exchanging 899 shares, Guardian Holdings completed trading at $17, with 146 units, JMMB Group traded down to $1.70 but concluded trading at $1.78, after exchanging 28,516 shares, Massy Holdings concluded at $47, after exchanging 2,085 shares, Republic Financial Holdings concluded at $103.50, after exchanging 1,580 shares, Sagicor Financial ended at $7.75, with 546 stock units changing hands, Scotiabank completed trading at $65, with 325 units, Trinidad & Tobago NGL settled at $30, after exchanging 3,031 shares and Trinidad Cement concluded at $2.90, after exchanging 2,000 shares
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.

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All 3 TTSE stock indices rise – Monday

August 13, 2018 by

Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange Head Quarters

Trading on Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange ended on Monday with trading in 14 securities against 15 on Friday, with 3 advancing, 4 declining and 7 remaining unchanged leading gains in all market indices.
Market activity ended with one stock ended at 52 weeks’ closing high as 203,230 shares valued at $1,737,939 changing hands, compared to 366,114 shares valued at $2,694,047, on Friday.
At the close the Composite Index rose 1.09 points to 1,232.01, the All T&T Index added 0.22 points to 1,711.96 and the Cross Listed Index gained 0.27 points to close at 101.10.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the close of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows market sentiment with 3 stocks ending with higher bids than the last selling prices and 2 with lower offers.
Stocks with Gains| Guardian Holdings concluded trading of 10,696 units after rising 5 cents to $16.55, NCB Financial Group added 1 cent and settled at $5.66, after exchanging 5,000 shares and Republic Financial Holdings gained 5 cents and ended trading at a 52 weeks’ high of $103, after exchanging 1,200 shares.
Stocks Losses| Clico Investments traded with a loss of 6 cents and ended at $19.94, with 23,050 stock units changing hands, First Citizens closed with a loss of 1 cent and settled at $35, after exchanging 2,963 shares, National Flour shed 4 cents and completed trading at $1.75, with 5,000 units and Unilever Caribbean lost 10 cents and ended at $26.90, with 50 stock units changing hands.
Firm Trades| Calypso Macro Index Fund traded 314 shares at $15.74, Grace Kennedy ended at $2.90, with 66,687 stock units changing hands, Massy Holdings closed at $46.90, after exchanging 281 shares, One Caribbean Media concluded trading of 796 shares at $12.29, Sagicor Financial ended at $7.50, with 65,393 stock units changing hands, Scotiabank completed trading of 900 units at $65.02 and Trinidad Cement ended at $2.90, after exchanging 20,900 shares.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.

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Carib Cement post fall in Q1 profits

April 26, 2018 by

Carib Cement reports lower Q1 profit for 2018

Revenues rose 6 percent in the March quarter this year for Caribbean Cement, compared to the first quarter of 2017 to $4.3 billion, but profit before taxation slipped modestly to $510 million from $528 million last year.
Increased taxation, from $67 million to $176 million dragged profit down to $348 million or 39 cents per share versus $460 million in 2017 or 54 cent per share.
“This performance was mainly driven as a result of the scheduled annual maintenance of Kiln 5 and Mill 5, during February and March of 2018,” the directors reported to shareholders and they went on to state that “our investment in maintenance efforts will no doubt increase our operational efficiencies with the goal of driving exports, in due course.”
Operating cost rose over 2017 by 10 percent to $3.7 billion, at a faster pace than revenues but repairs and maintenance jumped 75 percent to $345 million and staffing cost rose 18 percent to $542 million. Cost is set to fall sharply with the buyback of assets that were leased from Trinidad Cement which will reduce the $3 billion per annum charge that was incurred in this area in 2017.
Net cash generated by operating activities for the period of $856 million, but $1.5 billion was expended on capital improvement, including the installation of a new coal mill. According to management, the coal mill project currently in the final stages, and production is expected by the end of the third quarter of this year. This will continue to contribute to the plant’s operational efficiency and also to a reduction in operating costs. Cash on hand at the end of the quarter amounted to just over $1 billion.
The first quarter results left accumulated losses at $2.9 billion with shareholders’ equity at $9.3 billion. The stock closed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange at $38.51.

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Cement signs buy back agreement

April 25, 2018 by

Caribbean Cement paid $1.3 billion as initial payment on the buy back of kiln.

Caribbean Cement is reporting that they signed an agreement with our parent company Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL), for the acquisition of Kiln 5 and Mill 5 thereby terminating the lease agreement.
The company reported that they made the initial payment of $1.3 billion towards the acquisition representing a significant investment in plant and equipment, improving the company’s asset base.
In March, Caribbean Cement announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing to the termination of the operating lease and the purchase by CCC of the assets covered under the Lease.
Agreement is for approximately USD$118 million to be paid to TCL and redemption of an aggregate number of 52 million preference shares held by TCL for approximately USD$40.5 million to be paid over a nine-year period, starting in 2018 and sourced from at least one third of CCC’s profits available for distribution from the previous year. CCC will also seek financing to fund the Asset Acquisition and the Redemption.
The agreement flows from concerns of minority shareholders who at the company’s last annual General meeting, at which shareholders were given the commitment by management that the best structure would be identified to acquire ownership of the assets.
The company paid $3.3 billion in 2017 for the lease of the assets that was installed to facilitate expansion of the plant.

Filed Under: Breaking News, Company News, General Business News Tagged With: , ,

Trading levels fall on the TTSE – Wednesday

April 25, 2018 by

Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange Head Quarters

Market activity on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange ended on Wednesday with trading in 16 securities against 13 on Tuesday, with 5 advancing, 2 declining and 9 remaining unchanged.
Trading ended with 679,573 shares at a value of $4,850,767 compared to 729,767 shares at a value of $20,238,234 on Tuesday.
At close of the market the, Composite Index rose 0.02 points on Wednesday to 1,227.64, the All T&T Index inched up by 0.04 points to 1,694.12, while the Cross Listed Index remained unchanged, to close at 102.44.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator reading shows the market continuing to be weak as it closed with 3 stocks ending with higher bids than the last selling prices and 4 with lower offers, an indication of the continuation of a weak market currently.
Gains| Massy Holdings gained 1 cent and ended at $47.42, with 1,281 stock units changing hands, National Flour finished trading with a rise of 5 cents and settled at $1.80, after exchanging 72,002 shares, Scotiabank closed with an increase of 23 cents and settled at $62.75, in exchanging 1,132 shares, Trinidad Cement rose 1 cent to $2.62, after trading 460,000 shares and West Indian Tobacco finished 4 cents higher to $88.55, with 50 stock units changing hands.
Losses| Ansa Mcal shed 10 cents and completed trading at a 52 weeks’ low of $59.80, with 16 units and Clico Investments lost 1 cent and ended at $20.15, with 11,679 units.
Firm Traded| Ansa Merchant Bank settled at $40, after exchanging 25 shares, First Citizens concluded trading at $32.55, with 1,900 shares changing hands, Grace Kennedy completed trading at $3.10, with 1,932 units, Guardian Holdings closed at $15, trading 2,265 shares, JMMB Group ended at $1.86, with 13,919 stock units changing hands, Prestige Holdings settled at $10.01, after 3,265 shares traded, Republic Financial Holdings ended at $101.58, with 368 stock units changing hands, Sagicor Financial completed trading at $7.80, with 5,275 units and Trinidad & Tobago NGL ended trading at $27.90, with 104,464 units changing hands.
Prices of securities trading for the day are those at which the last trade took place.

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