TTSE: WITCO at it again, now $116

June 25, 2013 by

Tuesday, 25th June 2013 | The West Indian Tobacco Company saw trading in 25,385 shares with a value of $2,940,376 as the stock raced to $116, an all-time high and gained $2 on a day when 167,869 shares traded in the main market valued at $7,325,249 and 5,504 mutual fund shares valued at $126,592 traded.

Trading took place in 11 securities of which 3 advanced, 1 declined and 7 traded firm. Another stock that reached a 52 weeks high was Unilver Caribbean which traded 705 shares and gained 93 cents on the day to close at $53.25.

The major trading of stocks took place for Neal & Massy Holdings, 57,303 shares for a value of $3,380,877, Angostura Holdings, 55,000 shares valued at $495,000 and Guardian Holdings, 13,848 shares valued at $221,568.

IC bid-offer Indicator | At the end of trading, the IC bid-offer sentiment indicator shows that bids for 2 stocks were higher, with 4 stocks that had offers lower than their last selling price.

At the close, it would appear that both Witco and Unilver are poised for more gains ahead. Scotia Investment with a bid of 117,000 shares at $1.78, the last selling price, should move up in price as there is no stock on offer at the close today nor on Monday.

TTSEJun25

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

Low loan demand squeezes BNS TT

June 25, 2013 by

Scotia Bank Trinidad & Tobago hit a new 52 weeks high recently in the price of its stock, so what is happening at the bank to warrant the move in the stock price? Last year the stock was selling at $60.86 in April and on June 24, 2013 it sold at $70.01, a 15 percent rise, yet profits have not been growing all that well. However, the bank raised its dividend from 32 cents per share quarterly last year to 40 cents this year.

Interestingly, the fortune of the Trinidad bank and that of its Jamaican counterpart are tracking similar paths. In Jamaica, profits for Scotia Group have not grown from 2009, almost the same has happened in the Trinidad bank, with no growth since 2011. It looks as if the trend will continue for the Trinidad bank this year as well.

For the six months to April this year, Scotia Trinidad profits just barely budged above the results for the same period in 2012. Net Interest income fell from $462 million in 2012 to $443 million in 2013 but other income rose from $172 million to $224.5 million. The bank was able to keep a lid on expenses which rose from by $24 million to $314 million leaving a profit before tax of $353 6 million some $10 million more than that earned in 2012.

After allowance for taxation of $83 million, net profit rose to $273 million up slightly from $268.7 million in 2012. In the latest April quarter, after tax profits grew by only $1.9 million to reach $128.9 million.

scotiabanklogo150x150The bank seems to have a good grip on loan quality as provisioning bad loans is very low at just $8 million for the six months, an improvement over the $10.5 million in 2012.

Return on Equity | The bank boasts a return on equity of 17.27 percent for the six months period, down from 18.47 percent for the full twelve months for 2012 financial year, which ended in October.

Where is the growth? | For profits to really grow attractively, the bank must grow its loans and assets at a faster pace than it has been doing since 2009. Loans to customers climbed by to $10 billion up from $9.96 billion in October but is flat with April 2012. Deposits did better as these rose to $13.47 billion up from $12.77 billion in April and $12.9 billion in October last year. Loans on the books in October last year contracted compared to the previous year by $700 million or 7 percent. Assets grew by 4 percent in 2012, 5 percent in 2011 and one percent in 2010 down from 11 percent in the previous year. The bank reported of assets of $18.4 billion and equity capital of $3.2 billion.

The bank operates in an economy that is yet to recover from the recession that started in 2008. A lot of the growth a few years prior to 2008 was induced by a major boost in the construction sector, which left newly built units that took awhile to either occupy or sell. This has been a serious drag on the construction sector and by extension, slowed growth in the economy. Without economic growth, bank lending will be slow, which is the main area for growth in income. GDP performance is as follows: 2009, minus 3.3 percent, 2010, 0 percent 2011, minus 1.3 percent, 2012, a positive 1.7 percent. The construction sector fared even worse falling by 7 percent in 2009, 28 percent in 2010 and 8 percent in 2011.

Stock outlook | Against this economic background, it appears that investors cannot expect to see electrifying growth in profits for some time. They also have to be aware that interest rates on savings are at very low levels and any upturn could affect the valuation of stocks on the Trinidad stock market further down the road.

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

TTSE: Trading picks up

June 24, 2013 by

Monday, 24th June 2013 | Trading activity on the Trinidad Stock Exchange picked up a bit today with 9 stocks trading of which 3 increased in price, 2 declined and 4 held firm. Scotia Bank recording a new 52 weeks high when it closed up 29 cents to $70.01 having traded 80,052 shares with a value of $5,604,440. Jamaica Money Market Brokers traded 340,700 shares changing hands for a value of $174,320 at a price of 50 cents. Sagicor Financial Corporation, 180,115 shares valued at $1,129,553, Trinidad Cement contributed 40,500 shares at a value of $38,475.  Clico Investments with 402,842 shares at a value of $9,263,266.

The main market saw a volume of 649,936 shares trading valued at $844,178 in addition to 402,842 shares valued at $9,263,266 in the mutual fund market.

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 that had offers lower than their last selling price.

Bourse Brazil Latin Fund (BBLF) listed 1,112,384 units on the Stock Exchange effective Tuesday, 11th June 2013 at a price of US$10.00. There was no trading for this fund in today’s trading.

TTSEJun24

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

Stocks to watch 24th June, 2013

June 24, 2013 by

Keep an eye on these stocks for movement during the week of 24 to 28 June, 2013.

JSE Junior Market

  • Access Financial
  • AMG Packaging
  • Blue Power
  • Consolidated Bakeries
  • General Accident
  • Lasco Financial
  • Paramount Trading 

JSE Main Market

  • Cargo Handlers
  • Desnoes & Geddes
  • Jamaica Broilers
  • Jamaica MMB
  • Mayberry
  • National Com. Bank
  • Sagicor Life
  • Scotia Group 

TTSE

  • BNSTT
  • Clico Find
  • Grace
  • JMMB
  • Scotia Investments
  • WITCO
  • UNILEVER
Filed Under: Company News, Stocks to watch Tagged With: , ,

TTSE: Only 5 stocks trade

June 21, 2013 by

Friday, 21st June 2013 | On another slow day on the Trinidad Stock exchange, just five stocks traded today with only one stock, Scotia Bank, recording a change in price by falling slightly 28 cents to close at $69.72. The main market saw a volume of 111,693 shares crossing the floor of the exchange valued at $844,178 in addition to 177,545 shares valued at $4,083,535 in the mutual fund market.

The main companies that traded on Friday were Guardian Holdings with a volume of 22,811 shares for $364,976, Sagicor Financial Corporation, 68,016 shares valued at $428,568.59 and Clico Investments with 177,545 shares at a value of $4 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 4 stocks that had offers lower than their last selling price.

TTSEJun21

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

TTSE: Not much action as 7 stocks trade

June 20, 2013 by

Thursday, 20th June 2013 | Clico Investment Fund enjoyed $0.50 increase to reach a new 52 weeks high at the end of trading at $23. A volume of 351,140 shares valued at $8,076,220 were traded for the fund.

Trading took place in 7 securities of which 2 advanced, none declined and 5 traded firm as the main market saw a volume of 128,971 shares crossing the floor of the exchange valued at $4,121,394 in addition to the mutual fund trading. Guardian Holdings traded 67,490 shares for a value of $1,079,840. Neal & Massy Holdings had a volume of 50,071 shares trading for $2,954,189. Grace Kennedy contributed 6,918 shares with a value of $28,018 and Angostura Holdings  added 2,732 shares valued at $24,588.

IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice market sentiment indicator shows that bids for 5 stocks were higher and 4 stocks had offers were lower than their last selling price.

TTSEJun20

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

TTSE: It’s WITCO again, up $1

June 18, 2013 by

Tuesday, 18th June 2013 | With 600 shares traded, West Indian Tobacco marched on to new record again in Tuesday’s trading as the stock jumped $1 to close at $114 on a day when 15 securities traded with 5 advancing, 1 declined and 9 traded firm. Guardian Holdings suffered the day’s sole decline, falling $0.45 to end the day at $16.00.

Trading in the main market resulted in 157,621 shares crossing the floor of the Exchange valued at $2,624,514. National Commercial Bank Jamaica traded 60,781 shares for $73,196. National Flour Mills had 30,000 shares trading for $22,500. ANSA Mcal exchanged 19,254 shares with a value of $1,294,200, while Grace Kennedy added 15,163 shares valued at $61,410 to the trading activity.

Clico Investment Fund was the only active security on the Mutual Fund Market, posting a volume of 95,425 shares valued at $2,147,063.

IC bid-offer Indicator | At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer market sentiment indicator shows that bids for 6 stocks were higher, with 3 stocks that had offers lower than their last selling price, an improvement over Monday numbers. The Indicator points to continued moderate market gains ahead.

52 weeks high | Three stocks traded at new 52 weeks high with Unilever closing with a bid of $52.34 versus the closing price of $52.32 for 396 shares. The stock had 1,226 units trading on Tuesday, there was no stock on offer at the close. The same is true of One Caribbean Media which hit a new 52 weeks high of $17.30 with 800 shares trading.

This market seems poised to price certain stocks higher as supply for a number of them is low. But not all are likely to participate in upward price movement.TTSEJun18

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

Guardian ongoing profits up 29%

June 18, 2013 by

Guardian Holdings, an insurance group primarily involved with life insurance underwriting, reported after tax profit of US$11 million compared to $15 million earned in the first quarter last year. Last year’s results were bolstered by an exceptional foreign exchange gain of $3 million and this quarter’s outcome was impaired by the loss of $5 million derived from participation in Jamaica’s National Debt exchange (NDX). Excluding these two items, the after tax profits results would have grown 29 percent to $16 million.

Premium Income | Gross premiums grew 25 percent from $214 million in first quarter 2012 to $268 million in this first quarter. Excluding $12 million generated from a new acquisitions, gross premiums written grew by 20 percent.

Net results from insurance activities improved 52 percent to reach $20 million from $13 million in the previous year’s quarter. New acquisitions contributed $1 million, in line with management’s expectations.

The new Netherlands-based broker, Thoma, contributed $2 million in fee income. Investment income, excluding the loss relating to the NDX, came in at $36 million compared to $37.7 million in 2012 (exceptional foreign exchange gains are included 2012 figures). The new acquisitions resulted in increased operating expenses and finance charges increasing by 21 percent and moving costs from $32 million in 2012 to $38 million in this year’s quarter.

Segment Results | Premiums written in the Life, Health and Pensions business increased by 16 percent over the comparable period.  The Property and Casualty segment’s top line was bolstered by the recent acquisition of Globe Insurance, the quarterly results of which were consolidated into the Group’s figures for the first time, and by low-risk fronting arrangements from which fee income was received. Net premiums written, which are premiums after deducting fronting premiums and reinsurance costs, grew $5 million or 17 percent over the comparable quarter.

GHL_logographic150x150Operating profit, while still strong at $7 million for the first quarter, declined $2 million from the 2012 figure due to increased claims activity and the one-off effect of this segment’s portion of the NDX.

Integration | The company’s management said, “they have moved diligently with the integration of Globe and West Indies Alliance and are quite pleased with the achievements obtained to date. Thoma has been fully consolidated into our reporting and contributed $0.65 million to after tax profits this quarter. Although it has occurred after the reporting period, I am pleased to reveal that we have now received all necessary regulatory approvals for our acquisition of Royal & Sun Alliance, Antilles (RSA). Details will be given in the report for the ensuing quarter.

“The Asset Management business contributed $1 million in operating profits for the quarter, down from the $2 million earned in the same quarter last year. This decline is attributable to lower fair value gains in this quarter due to the weak investment climate persisting across the territories in which we do business.”

Assets & Equity | Guardian has the size and equity base to expand and grow profits. As of March, total assets amounts to $3.6 billion with shareholder’s equity of $500 million.

Stock outlook | Earnings per share last year came in at US22 cents or TT$1.40, which is fetching a stock price of TT$17 on the Trinidad stock market giving it an historical PE ratio of 12. Investor’s Choice projects US30 cents per share for 2013 putting the PE at just 9. Compare that to West Indian Tobacco with a rich PE of 27 or Republic Bank with 15 times. It would appear that dividend yield is a major force for the PE differential. WITCO yields around 3.30 percent while Treasury bill rates are under one percent. Guardian has a yield of 3.7 percent.

A buy | Guardian is a good long term investment for a stock that is clearly undervalued in a market where price earnings ratio tend to be much higher than the level Guardian is priced at.

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

TTSE: WITCO climbing away

June 17, 2013 by

Monday, 17th June 2013 | On another slow day of trading, 8 securities traded of which 3 advanced, 1 declined and 4 traded firm, as a mere 40,001 shares crossed the floor of the main exchange valued at $525,195. West Indian Tobacco closed at another record of $113 up 48 cents on the day as just 360 units traded. Clico Investment Fund enjoyed robust interest as investors traded 858,834 shares valued at $19,323,216, while the share advanced by $0.23 to end at $22.50. Sagicor Finance traded 31,762 shares in the main market at a value of $200,223, followed by Neal & Massy with 3,699 shares valued at $218,241.

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 3 stocks that had offers that were lower than their last selling price. The Indicator points to continued moderate market gains ahead.TTSEJun17

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

Stocks to watch: 17th June, 2013

June 17, 2013 by

IC Insider will be keeping a close watch on these stocks for movement during the week of 17th to 21st June 2013.

JSE Junior Market

  • Access Financial
  • AMG Packaging
  • Blue Power
  • Consolidated Bakeries
  • General Accident
  • Lasco Financial
  • Paramount Trading

JSE Main Market

  • Desnoes & Geddes
  • Jamaica Broilers
  • Jamaica Money Market Brokers
  • Mayberry
  • National Commercial Bank
  • Sagicor Life
  • Scotia Group

T&TSE

  • BNSTT
  • Clico Find
  • Grace
  • JMMB
  • Scotia Investments
  • WITCO
Filed Under: Company News, Stocks to watch Tagged With: , ,