TTSE — Page 243

TTSE: Unilever up $1

July 18, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Thursday, 18th July 2013 | Trading activity returned to what has been taking place in recent weeks on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange when the level of trading pulled back from Wednesday’s increased volume. Stocks of 13 companies traded, of which 4 advanced, 3 declined and 6 traded firm as 324,125 units valued at $3.62 million traded.

Trinidad Cement, an IC Insider pick continues to attract investors with 262,170 shares trading for a value of $238,196, while losing a cent to close at $1.15. At the end of trading, there was a bid for 176,551 units at $1.15, the offer was at $1.20 for 5,000.

Scotiabank Trinidad & Tobago enjoyed trading, much lower than on Wednesday, with just 5,349 units trading at Wednesday’s closing price of $69.97, but it had a bid for 1,400 units at $70 at the end of the day. Guardian Holdings traded 16,800 shares for $268,792, while Barbados’ Sagicor Financial Corporation chipped in with 10,000 shares valued at $62,200. West Indian Tobacco, traded 8,148 shares valued at $957,864 as the stock closed at $118, up 49 cents. Unilever Caribbean gained $1 to end the day at $55 as it traded 3,040 shares. Clico Investment Fund was the only active security on the Mutual Fund Market, posting a volume of 61,955 shares valued at $1,391,735 as it fell 5 cents to $22.46

IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer market sentiment indicator shows that there was 1 stock with its bid higher than the last selling price with 4 stocks having offers lower than their last selling price.

TTSE: The day was BNSTT’s

July 17, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Wednesday, 18th July 2013 | It was a big day on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange with 11 securities of which 2 advanced, 1 declined and 8 traded firm. But it was not the number of companies that traded that made the day big. It was the 1.2 million units valued at $23.1 million that was the real story as this market as not seen this level of trade for some time.

Trinidad Cement, an IC Insider pick continues to reflect increasing interest from investors and was a volume leader with 842,902 shares trading for a value of $978,715, increasing by a cent to end the day at $1.16. Scotiabank Trinidad & Tobago may not have been the dominant volume player with 307,502 shares, but what it lacked there was more than made up by the magnitude of the dollar value of the trade which amounted to $21,515,915. Prestige Holdings contributed 24,778 shares to the total traded with a value of $231,674, while Barbados’ Sagicor Financial Corporation chipped in with 7,162 shares valued at $44,476.02. Clico Investment Fund was the only active security on the Mutual Fund Market, posting a volume of 6,140 shares valued at $138,150 as it traded firm.

IC bid-offer Indicator | At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer market sentiment indicator shows that there was 1 stock with the bid higher than the last selling price with 4 stocks having offers lower than their last selling price.

Filed Under: Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: Daily Trading, Trading Activity, TTSE

TTSE: TCL continues up

July 16, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Tuesday, 16th July 2013 | The total amount of trading took place in 9 securities of which 3 advanced, 1 declined and 5 traded firm on Tuesday as 1,172,484 units crossed the flo0r of the Trinidad Exchange with a value for $3 million.

Jamaica’s National Commercial Bank traded 677,000 shares, for a value of $812,217. IC Insider’s buy rated Trinidad Cement exchanged 448,600 shares for $515,890 as the stock continues to gain closing at $1.15 with a bid at $1.17 for 152,000 shares and the offer at $1.31 for 50,000 units, an indication of more gains ahead. Trinidad’s Scotiabank enjoyed 11,945 shares switching ownership with a value of $835,791, while Angostura Holdings added 3,000 shares valued at $27,169, losing 4 cents to close at $9.06. Clico Investment Fund was the only active security on the Mutual Fund Market, posting a volume of 28,636 shares valued at $644,310. Ansa Merchant Bank Limited enjoyed the day’s largest gain, increasing 7 cents to end the day at $38.60 as 550 units traded.

West Indian Tobacco has a bid at $117.51 for 20,869 shares. The offer is at $118 for a mere 691 units. Unilever has a bid at $54 for 22,980 units, the offer is 43 units at $54.14.

IC bid-offer Indicator | At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer market sentiment indicator shows that bids for 1 stock were higher with 4 stocks having offers lower than their last selling price.

Conversely, Angostura Holdings Limited suffered the day’s sole decline, falling $0.04 to end the day.

Filed Under: Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: Daily Trading, Trading Activity, TTSE

TTSE: Citizens IPO main attraction

July 15, 2013 by IC Insider.com

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Monday, 15th July 2013 | Trading on the T&T stock Exchange today was paltry with 170,869 shares trading valued at just $914,642 but the big news in the market is the opening of the Citizens Bank of Trinidad IPO, which went on sale at $22 per share at a PE of 11 in an attempt to raise $1.1 billion on behalf of the major shareholder of the bank. Some comments out of Trinidad suggest that the shares will be avidly taken up.

Market activity resulted in 11 securities trading of which 3 advanced, 2 declined and 6 traded firm.

One of IC Insider’s buy rated stock, One Caribbean Media moved to a new 52 week high as it closed up by 18 cents to end the day at $17.60 while trading 4,000 shares and another buy rated stock, Caribbean Cement, traded up by 5 cents to $1.15 as 79,581 shares changed hands for a value of $90,391.

Scotia Investments fell 3 cents to close at $1.87 with a volume of 50,414 shares being traded for $94,304. Guardian Holdings contributed 13,377 shares with a value of $214,032, while Sagicor Financial Corporation added 6,177 shares valued at $38,297.

Clico Investment Fund was the only active security on the Mutual Fund Market, posting a volume of 15,990 shares valued at $359,775.00 as the share closed at $22.50 without a change in price.

IC bid-offer Indicator | At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice market indicator shows that bids for no stock was higher with 3 stock having an offer lower than the last selling price.

Filed Under: Initial Public Offers, Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: Daily Trading, Trading Activity, TTSE

First Citizens’ $1B IPO opens today

July 15, 2013 by IC Insider.com

The government of Trinidad & Tobago, through the holding company for First Citizens Bank Group, launches a billion dollar Initial Public Offering (IPO) of shares to reduce its ownership in the bank. The issue opens today, Monday 15th July, and when completed will be listed on the T&T Stock Exchange. The offer of 48,495,665 shares, approximately 19.3 percent of the total shareholding of the bank, is expected to rake in $1.1 billion before expenses for the Government of Trinidad. The issue has an offer price of TT$22 per share for sale to the public. The proceeds will go to the holding company for Citizens and is expected to be paid over to the government.

Citizens, a banking and finance company, has total capital of $6 billion and total assets of more than $37 billion. When compared to the two other banks listed on the Trinidad Stock Exchange, Republic has capital of $7.94 billion and total assets of $55 billion while Scotia Bank has capital of $3.2 billion and total assets of $18 billion as of March this year.

First Citizens Brokerage & Advisory Services (a subsidiary of First Citizens Investment Services) is the Lead Broker for the Offer for Sale.

THE COMPANY | The First Citizens Group is a financial service organization headquartered in Trinidad & Tobago that offers a range of retail, corporate, capital markets, investment management, wealth management, asset management, trustee and brokerage services. The provision of corporate, commercial and retail loans, deposit and other retail services, including credit card accounts, internet, and telephone banking is conducted in Trinidad & Tobago via a network of 26 full service banking locations, one foreign exchange bureau, seven operations centres and 96 ATM machines. In Barbados, these services are provided via five branches, one lending centre and eight ATM locations. In Costa Rica, the provision of corporate loans is done via a centralised corporate banking team that covers both Costa Rica and the Central American region.

COMPANY HISTORY | First Citizens Bank was formed in March 1993 and acquired, The Trinidad Co-operative Bank, Worker’s Bank and National Commercial Bank. At that time, 62 percent of its loan portfolio was in arrears. In the 10 years to 2003, First Citizens Bank grew its profits to TTD233 million, doubled its asset base to TTD6.1 billion and had attained international credit ratings of BBB- and A-3 by S&P and Moody’s, respectively.

In 2009, First Citizens acquired Caribbean Money Market Brokers Limited, now First Citizens Investment Services Limited, a full service securities company with offices in Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, St. Vincent and St. Lucia. In January 2012, a representative banking office was opened in Costa Rica as the Bank’s first entrance into Central America and in August 2012, the Group continued its expansion with the acquisition of Butterfield Bank in Barbados, now called First Citizens Bank (Barbados) Limited.

BALANCE SHEET & PROFITS | At the end of March this year, the bank loaned out $13. 8 billion, an increase over the March 2012 of $11.2 billion. Customer deposits climbed faster to $26.7 billion versus $22.9 billion. Profit before tax grew to $388.7 million, $40 million or 11.5 percent over the $348.7 million earned for the corresponding period last year. Profit after tax amounted to $306.4 million. For the 2012 fiscal year, the bank earned profits of $446 million giving a return on equity of 8 percent and return on assets of 1.58 percent. Return on equity is around 11 percent for 2013.

Citizens is underperforming its two major competitors in a number of areas. Importantly, two critical measures tell the tale as to where the bank sits with its peers. Scotia Bank’s return on equity is 18 percent and return on assets 3 percent while Republic Bank is 14.6 percent return on equity and 2.25 percent return on assets. Republic sells at a PE of 15 and Scotia Bank at 22.5 times 2013 earnings and Ansa Merchant Bank has a PE of 19. The lower numbers of PE for Citizens suggest there is much room for the stock price to climb after the shares list with their PE at only 11.

The performance of the loan portfolio is a matter of concern. Data shows that there is not much impairment in the loan portfolio. However, it is noted that the level of loans that are past due increased markedly in 2012 over 2011 from $1.96 billion to $2.99 billion. “Corporate past due amounts” increased by $800 million, an indication that things may not be a sanguine as the profit figures are suggesting even as the provision for loans losses in the March six months period was much less than what was provided for in the comparable half-year results in 2012.

DIVIDEND POLICY | The dividend policy of the Issuer will be to distribute funds surplus to the operating capital and strategic requirements of the Group, as determined by the Directors, with an annual target dividend pay-out percentage range between 45 to 55 percent of net profit after tax.

Filed Under: Company News, Company Results, Initial Public Offers, Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: First Citizens, Trading Activity, TTSE

TTSE: TCL rolls on as trading picks up

July 12, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Friday, 12th July 2013 | The Trinidad stock market saw greater level of trading on the last day of the week as 15 stocks traded with a volume of 938,000 units valued at $4.16 million as 5 stocks advanced, 2 declined and 8 traded firm.

Trinidad Cement, an IC Insider buy rated stock, remains the main focus on the exchange in today’s trading as the stock traded 590,300 shares, more than twice that of 230,565 shares on Thursday. The value of today’s trade amounted to $649,327 compared to Thursday‘s valued of $242,088. The stock gained 5 cents to $1.10 as the stock continues to respond to the return to profitability as reported by the March quarterly results and the low valuation. The bid for TCL is at $1.10 for 32,794 units and there was no stock on offer suggesting that there are more gains ahead for the stock.

Jamaica Money Market Brokers traded 228,000 shares for $114,000. Guardian Holdings contributed 46,202 shares with a value of $739,232 as the price increased by 1 cents to end the day at $16, while ANSA McAL added 19,573 shares valued at $1,301,017 as the price fell 3 cents to close at $66.47. Point Lisas Industrial Port Development Corporation traded 10,000 shares, which increased 9 cents to close at $3.85. Conversely, Unilever Caribbean traded 9,135 units and lost 15 cents to close at $54. Clico Investment Fund posted 4,400 shares valued at $99,000 as the price remained at $22.50. Sagicor Financial Corporation added 17,560 shares firm, at $6.20.

Scotia Investment traded at $1.90 the equivalent of J$30.19 well over the J$26.50 bid price on the Jamaica Stock exchange. The stock traded just 3,924 units and gained 5 cents but there was no stock on offer to fill the 49,904 units on the buy side at $1.87 each. West Indian Tobacco Company that has been on a tear in recent weeks, remained stuck below $118 as it traded 2,592 shares at $117.51.

IC bid-offer Indicator | At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer market sentiment indicator shows that bids for 2 stocks were higher with 5 stocks having offers lower than their last selling price.

Watch these stocks next week | Trinidad Cement, Scotia Investments, Point Lisas Industrial Port Development, One Caribbean Media and Unilever Caribbean.

Filed Under: Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: Daily Trading, Trading Activity, TTSE

TTSE: T&T Cement continues in focus

July 11, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Thursday, 11th July 2013 | Trinidad Cement, an IC Insider buy rated stock, remains the main focus on the exchange as it traded 230,565 shares on Thursday valued at $242,088 with no price change at $1.05. The stock is responding to return to profitability as reported by the March quarterly results and the low value which it is now priced at.

West Indian Tobacco Company had 2,684 shares trading with a value of $315,397 at the same price as Wednesday’s close of $117.51, while Financial Corporation added 1,670 shares valued at $10,354. There was no change in the price of Scotiabank which traded 5,192 shares at $69.96 with a value of $363,232. Agostini’s Limited had a volume of 19,128 shares traded at value of $318,863. Unilever Caribbean stock price increased 15 cents to end the day at $54.15 a 52 weeks high, while trading a mere 50 shares. Guardian Holdings traded 1,884 units and the price declined by 23 cents to end the day at $15.99.

Market activity resulted in 10 securities trading of which 2 advanced, 1 declined and 7 traded firm. The volume traded was 264,357 shares on the main market, valued at $1,463,540 and Clico Investment Fund, traded 112,800 shares valued at $2,538,000, more than twice Wednesday levels in the Mutual Fund Market and closed with the price at $22.50, the same as yesterday. The total amount traded in the market was priced $4.18 million, less than Wednesday’s $5 million.

IC bid-offer Indicator | At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer market sentiment indicator shows that bids for 5 stocks were higher with 6 stocks having offers lower than their last selling price.

Filed Under: Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: Daily Trading, Trading Activity, TTSE

TTSE: T&T Cement & Neal & Massy in focus

July 10, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Wednesday, 10th July 2013 | Neal & Massy Holdings was the dominant stock in today’s trading on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock exchange as it traded 43,183 shares for $2,547,797 at the previous closing price of $59.

In the overall market activity, 12 securities traded of which 4 advanced, 1 declined and 7 traded firm. A volume of 326,831 shares crossed the floor of the main market of the Exchange valued at $3,848,323 and Clico Investment Fund traded 54,370 shares valued at $1,223,325 in the Mutual Fund Market and closed with the price at $22.50, the same as yesterday. The total amount traded in the market was priced at $5 million.

Trinidad Cement contributed 270,930 shares to the volume at a value of $284,477at $1.05 each, up 5 cents for the day, but closed with the stock being offered at $1.04 for just 500 units. West Indian Tobacco Company had 7,600 shares trading with a value of $893,096, while Sagicor Financial Corporation added 1,670 shares valued at $10,354.

Scotiabank stock gained 21 cents to end the day at $69.96 with only 78 units trading.

IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer market sentiment indicator shows that bids for 3 stocks were higher with 5 stocks having offers lower than their last selling price.

Filed Under: Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: Daily Trading, Trading Activity, TTSE

Republic onto something good in Africa

July 10, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Republic Bank of Trinidad & Tobago (RBTT) acquired 8.79 percent of HFC Bank Ghana Limited in 2012 moving them into the fourth largest shareholder spot. Earlier this year, they increased to 32.02 percent making them the largest shareholder, above the Social Security & National Insurance Trust that held 77,588,794 shares or 26.18 percent.

The holding triggered the mandatory takeover requirement and resulted in an application to the Securities and Exchange Commission in Ghana for a waiver of the Code on Take Overs and Mergers. Republic Bank was informed by letter dated 24th June, 2013, that the Commission has denied its application for a waiver and has been advised to comply with the mandatory takeover requirement and make an offer for 42.98 percent of the shareholding in HFC Bank Ghana Limited.

A release from the Trinidadian bank states “Republic Bank is currently engaged in discussions with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Ghana and the Bank of Ghana regarding the next steps. Republic Bank looks forward to deepening its relationship with HFC Bank Ghana Limited and is committed to working with its management and staff to add value to its operations.”

Shares of HFC Bank Ghana Ltd (HFC) began the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2012 at a share price of GH¢0.45 (around J$23). The share price remained steady at GH¢0.45 to the end of December 2012, closing the quarter at its opening price. Thus, with a year-open price of GH¢0.45, the year 2012 closed with HFC shares registering no gain or loss on the share price. The price is now up to GH¢0.55 as of last Friday’s trading on the Ghana Stock Exchange.

HFC closed the year 2012 trading at a forward (annualised) Price-Earnings (P/E) multiple of 10.9 times, which was above the average of its peers which stood at 7.8 times as at December 31, 2012 and a Price-Book Value of 1.04 times. HFC Bank also paid interim dividends for the 2012 financial year and currently has a dividend yield of 5 percent, which compares favourably with its industry peers averaging at a dividend yield of 5.7 percent.

The fourth quarter of 2012 also saw the bank increase its stated capital by GH¢50 million through its private placement which was fully subscribed to. Consequently, the company issued additional shares of 112.42 million, and in addition to executive share options that were exercised in December 2012, the total issued shares for HFC bank stood at 296.36 million shares and a market capitalisation of GH¢133.36 million as at December 31, 2012.

In the year 2012 under review, the Group posted Net Interest Income of GH¢45.46 million up from GH¢39.74million, while profit after tax was GH¢15.42 million in 2012, up by 42.10 percent.

The Ghanaian bank is just the about a third the size of Sagicor Investments, with total assets of GH¢ 594.90 million, an increase of 36.74 percent and customer deposits increased by 35.6 percent to GH¢312.38 million up from last year’s figure of GH¢230.30 million.

Management’s Outlook | “The Bank is positioning itself to be a leading retail and SME focused financial institution in the country. We are therefore providing our staff with training and orientation to efficiently service the financial needs of the large SME market in Ghana. The Bank will also participate in financing of the oil and gas industry, infrastructural and residential real estate projects. Cocoa remains a major contributor to Ghana’s GDP, we will therefore strengthen our presence in the Country to respond to the needs of the industry.

The equity injection and the participation of strategic investors has among others, competitively repositioned the bank in the banking industry to take advantage of enormous opportunities within Ghana. HFC is poised to grow all aspects of its Universal Banking business to deliver value to its shareholders in the year 2013 and beyond. It is expected that these will impact positively on its share price performance. It is recommended that investors hold HFC shares to benefit fully.”

Ghana’s Economy | Ghana’s population is put at 25 million with a GDP per capita on a purchasing power parity basis is US$3,200, in comparison Jamaica’s is US$9,100 with a population of 2.7 million. The bank has a lot of room to grow based on size and the fact that the economy has been on a good growth path.

Country	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Ghana	4.3	3	3	5.8	4.7	5.4	5.9	6	5.5	7.3	4.1	5.7	13.6

The Bank of Ghana Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA) grew by 6.8 percent in December 2012 compared to 14.9 percent growth in 2011. A provisional estimate of the real GDP growth, according to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), was 7.1 percent in 2012.

Inflationary pressures were subdued in 2012 as depicted by trends in consumer prices ending at 8.8 percent in December 2012. The Policy Rate was raised by 250 basis points to 15 percent in June and maintained for the rest of the year, but the benchmark 91-day Treasury Bill rate rose from 10.7 percent in December 2011 to 22.4 percent in December 2012. The average 3 month deposit rate went up to 12.5 percent in December 2012 from 7.8 percent in December 2011, while average lending rates declined marginally from 25.9 percent to 25.7 percent in the same period.

Tax revenue amounted to GH¢11.6 billion, about 3.7 percent lower than the budget target of GH¢12.1 billion, mainly on account of lower company taxes, especially from oil companies. Total expenditure was 14.7 percent higher than the budget target in 2012. The resulting developments in the fiscal operations resulted in a deficit of GH¢8.7 billion (12.1 percent of GDP) against 6.7 percent targeted.

The stock of total public debt stood at GH¢33.5 billion (46.7 percent of GDP) in 2012, compared with GH¢24.0 billion (42.6 percent of GDP) in 2011 with external debt amounting to US$8.0 billion, compared with US$7.8 billion during the corresponding periods. The overall balance of payments surplus of US$546.5 million in 2011 was reversed, recording a deficit of US$1.2 billion in 2012. Gross International Reserves (GIR) at the end of 2012 was US$5.4 billion (3 months import cover) compared to US$5.5 billion in 2011. Private inward transfers through the Banks amounted to US$18.7 billion in 2012, representing a 4.9 percent growth over 2011. During the second half of 2012, stability was restored in the foreign exchange market, following a heightened volatility in the first half of the year, with the cedi experiencing a year-to-date depreciation of 17.5 percent as at December 2012 compared with 5 percent depreciation in 2011.

Major industries | Ghana is involved mainly in mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, cocoa and other food processing and shipbuilding. The major exports are gold and other minerals, cocoa, timber, and tuna. Imports include capital equipment, petroleum, and foodstuffs. The Netherlands, Nigeria, Great Britain, the United States, and China are Ghana’s major trade partners.

Insider call | Republic Bank is an IC Insider Buy Rated stock.

Filed Under: Company News, General Business News Tagged With: Republic Bank, TTSE

TTSE: AnsaMcAl trades heavy

July 9, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Tuesday, 9th July 2013 | Trading activity on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock exchange took place in 11 securities of which 3 advanced, 3 declined and 5 traded firm. A volume of 878,144 shares changed hands at a value of $24 1 million of which $16,745,549 was by main market stocks and $7,373,701 for mutual funds.

ANSA McAL traded 210,375 shares at a value of $13,989,938 closing 69 cents down at $66.50. Jamaica Money Market Brokers had a volume of 165,987 shares with a value of $74,694, Trinidad Cement contributed 97,696 units with a value of $97,696, while Sagicor Financial Corporation added 27,116 shares valued at $168,119. West Indian Tobacco traded 1,500 shares and closed at $117.50 up 25 cents

Clico Investment Fund traded 327,720 shares at $22.50.

IC bid-offer Indicator | At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer market sentiment indicator shows that bids for 2 stocks were higher with 3 stocks having offers lower than their last selling price.