Angostura Holdings have been quietly making progress, with increased profit for yet another period. In its latest results to June this year, the company best known for its Angostura bitters posted gains in its bottom-line over the similar period in 2014 with an increase of 17 percent in the second quarter to $43 million and 7 percent for the half year to $63 million.
Profit for the full year should end around $175 million after taxation or 86 cents per share compared with $153 million in 2014 for an increase of 14 percent. The 2015 performance came from a fall in sales revenues and a rise in gross profit from $91 million in 2014 to $96 million in the second quarter this year but suffered a fall in the six months to $158 million from $169 million last year.
Selling and marketing expenses rose from $25.4 million to $27.1 million in the June quarter and declined from $58 million to $54 million for the half year while administrative expenses declined marginally in the quarter to $15 and $28 million for the six months.
The 2015 results show a picture of increasing improvement with the 2014 financial year showing growth in results from continuing operations before taxation of 10.8 percent to $217 million from revenues that were slightly up by just $9 million to $672 million, with a cut in administrative and selling and marketing expenses. In 2013 revenues grew 2 percent to $663 million and results from continuing operations before taxation of 16.5 percent to $196 million, which was helped by a $20 million fall in interest cost.
The group is engaged in the manufacture and sale of rum, ANGOSTURA® aromatic bitters and other spirits, the bottling of beverage, alcohol and other beverages on a contract basis, and the production and sale of food products.
The final quarter of the year is the one in with the largest sales volume and profits for Angostura. The stock trades at TT$14 on the Trinidad Stock Exchange.
While profits have been on the increase, its coming mainly from cost reduction rather than revenue growth which is not a great formula for highly profitable investing.
Angostura profits grow but?
J$ loses modestly vs US on Tuesday
The Jamaican dollar loss modestly against the US on Tuesday as trading ended with the equivalent of US$28,126,519 bought by dealers, compared with US$37,071,417 on Monday, while they sold the equivalent of US$27,742,141, versus US$38,611,906 previously.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$24,426,414 compared to US$34,186,451 on Monday. The buying rate for the US dollar rose 1 cent to $118.06 and US$26,566,997 was sold versus US$35,640,829 on Monday, the selling rate rose 1 cent to close at $118.82. The Canadian dollar buying rate fell 27 cents to $86.63, with dealers buying C$756,523 and selling C$636,593, at an average rate that fell $1.63 to $88.80. 
The rate for buying the British Pound climbed 32 cents to $181.05 for the purchase of £1,995,879, while £379,448 was sold, at an average rate that dropped $1.65 to end at $182.71. At the end of trading, it took J$133.01 to purchase the Euro, with a fall by $2.17 on Monday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$130.17, for a decline of $2.26 from Monday’s rate. The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded, amounts to US$84,437 being bought, while US$115,923 was sold.
Highs & Lows| The highest buying rate for the US dollar 
rose 3 cents to $119.08 on Tuesday. The lowest buying rate, the highest and lowest selling rates remained at $97.28, $124.66 and $97.28 respectively. The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar dropped 90 cents to $89.20, the lowest buying rate fell $1 to end at $71.38, the highest selling rate declined 21 cents to end at $93.09 and the lowest selling rate remained unchanged at $85.50. The highest buying rate for the British Pound, dropped $1.80 to $183.20, the lowest buying rate slipped 91 cents to $148.16, the highest selling rate dived $4.01 to $188.16 and the lowest selling rate was unchanged at $177.50.
12 up 12 down on JSE on Tuesday
On Tuesday the Jamaica Stock Exchange saw more activity than on Monday but the market still seems to be nervous with a high level of stocks riding and declining. At the close there were 12 stocks rising to 12 that declined.
The market continues to trade with low volumes but the number of securities trading picked up to 33 from only 19 securities changing hands on Monday as 3,036,646 units, valued at a mere $11,130,858 traded in all market segments.
The JSE Market Index dipped 569.70 points to 95,589.22, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index slipped 636.67 points to 105,782.62 and the JSE combined index fell 543.24 points to end at 98,736.62.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had a reading of 13 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 with offers that were lower.
Trading in the main market ended with Cable and Wireless rising 2 cents with 295,388 shares changing hands, to close at 50 cents. At the close the stock had 2,003,038 units on the bid at 48 cents, Caribbean Cement traded 11,529 shares at $7.70, down by 10 cents, Desnoes & Geddes ended with 31,250 shares trading with a 90 cents loss at $6.10, Jamaica Broilers traded at $6.05 with 75,476 shares changing ownership and lost 15 cents. Jamaica Stock Exchange traded at $7,20, down by 25 cents with 29,500 shares, JMMB Group traded 22,320 units and lost 7 cents to end at $7.63, Kingston Wharves had 28,000 units trading to close 
at $6.50, Mayberry Investments added 42,000 units at $2.80 after shedding 20 cents, National Commercial Bank had only 5,900 units changing hands, ended at $27.48 while gaining just 1 cent, Radio Jamaica traded 27,079 shares to close at $3.08, Sagicor Group with 97,907 shares trading, closed for40 cents higher at $13, Scotia Group traded 32,956 shares to close with a gain of 1 cent at $23.91, Supreme Ventures had 31,600 shares changing hands at $3.40, for a loss of 34 cents, Proven Investments ordinary share traded 93,750 units at 20.01 US cents, down by 1.99 cents and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded 1,304,000 units at $2 after dropping 1 cent and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share traded 110,000 shares at a 52 weeks low of $2.65 after losing 15 cents.
Only 6 TTSE’s stocks trade on Tuesday
The Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange closed Tuesday with only 6 securities trading. One stock traded higher and the rest remained unchanged as a total of 168,975 units, valued at $3,420,935 changed hands.
At the close all the indices remained unchanged with the Composite Index ending at 1,148.12, the All T&T Index at 1,951.90 and the Cross Listed Index at 45.17.
Gains| Clico Investment Fund closed with a volume of 127,046 shares valued at $2,859,805 changing hands 1 cents higher at $22.51.
Firm Trades| First Citizens Bank had 2,250 shares changing hands at $35, 
One Caribbean Media traded 150 shares at $22. Sagicor Financial Corporation closed with 31,647 shares changing hands at $6, Trinidad Cement had 5,720 shares changing hands and ended at $3.15 and West Indian Tobacco traded 2,162 shares valued at $271,180 to close at $125.43.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 6 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 7 stocks with offers that were lower.
4 junior stocks gain on Tuesday
The junior market ended on Tuesday with the index falling marginally by 0.60 points to close at 950.33. A total of 4 stocks advanced, none declined with a total of 9 securities trading. The market ended with 772,681 units, valued at $1,436,470 changing hands.
The market ended with 4 securities with no bids to buy, while 7 had no stocks being offered for sale. A total of 7 stocks closed with bids higher than the last traded prices and 2 closed with lower offers.
Stocks trading are, Caribbean Cream ended with 185,000 shares changing hands at $1.71, as the price rose 6 cents, Caribbean Producers traded 23,000 units to close at $2.35, General Accident trading 26,621 sharesCargo Handlers with 550 shares changing hands ended at $31, 
to end at $1.46 with a 1 cent rise. Honey Bun had 10,000 shares trading with an increase of 28 cents to close at a 52 weeks’ high of $4.28, Knutsford Express had 8,000 shares changing hands at $6.10, Lasco Distributors with 115,800 shares trading, closed at $1.84 after rising by 2 cents. Lasco Financial ended with 174,000 shares changing hands for a decline of at $1.55, Lasco Manufacturing with 229,630 shares trading closed at $1.90.
JSE slips in early Tuesday trading
Activity picked up on the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Tuesday morning with 25 securities changing hands after 90 minutes had passed from the opening resulting in a volume of 2,096,728 units, with 7 stocks declining and 7 rising.
Trading activity resulted small changes to the indices with the JSE Market Index falling 446.85 points to 95,712.07. The JSE All Jamaican Composite index down 499.38 points to 105,919.91 and the JSE combined index slipped 435.03 points to be at 98,844.83. The junior market is 1.47 points to 949.46.
The main trade is Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share has traded 1,304,000 units at $2.
Food prices push inflation in August
‘Vegetables and Starchy Foods’ had the strongest impact on the division moving up by 8.5%
‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ recorded the highest movement for the month of 2.1 percent. ‘Vegetables and Starchy Foods’ had the strongest impact on the division moving up by 8.5 percent as drought conditions persisted in the growing areas. The upward overall movement was, however, tempered by declines of 2.3 percent and 0.5 percent in the divisions ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ and ‘Transport’ due to lower petrol prices and reduction in air fares.
Other divisions that recorded increases are: ‘Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco’ 0.2 percent, ‘Clothing and Footwear’ 0.3 percent, ‘Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance’ 0.2 percent, ‘Health’ 0.1 percent, ‘Recreation and Culture’ 0.4 percent, ‘Miscellaneous Goods and Services’ 1.3 percent, while ‘Restaurants and Accommodation Services’ recorded a 0.2 percent increase. ‘Education’ and ‘Communication’ remained unchanged.
J$ made modest gains vs US on Monday
The Jamaican dollar gained modestly against the US on Monday as trading ended with the equivalent of US$37,071,417 bought by dealers, compared with US$31,852,692 on Friday, while they sold the equivalent of US$38,611,906, versus US$28,523,499 previously.
In US dollar trading , dealers bought US$34,186,451 compared to US$29,664,276 on Friday. The buying rate for the US dollar fell 13 cents to $118.05 and US$35,640,829 was sold versus US$27,412,881 on Friday, the selling rate slipped 1 cent to close at $118.81
The Canadian dollar buying rate fell 65 cents to $86.90, with dealers buying C$1,201,346 and selling C$2,466,912, at an average rate that rose 11 cents to $90.43. The rate for buying the British Pound fell $1.11 to $180.73 for the purchase of £1,155,490, while £591,450 was sold, at an average rate that rose 25 cents to end at $184.36. At the end of trading, it took J$135.18 to purchase the Euro, a rise of 79 cents on Friday’s rate, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$132.44, for an increase of 69 cents from Friday’s rate. The US dollar equivalent of other currencies traded, amounts to US$231,560 being bought, while US$175,719 was sold.
Highs & Lows| The highest buying rate for the US dollar rose 5 cents to $119.05 on Monday. 
The lowest buying rate and the highest selling rate remained at $97.28 and $124.66 respectively, while the lowest selling rate dropped $18.02 to $97.28. The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar dropped 20 cents to $90.10, the lowest buying rate added 75 cents to end at $72.38, the highest selling rate rose 21 cents to end at $93.30 and the lowest selling rate fell $1.20 to close at $85.50. The highest buying rate for the British Pound, rose 35 cents to $185, the lowest buying rate gained $1.08 to $149.07, the highest selling rate jumped $2.56 to $192.17 and the lowest selling rate was unchanged at $177.50.
Undervalued Pan Jam few look at
Pan Jamaican Investment Trust is one undervalued company that not many investors seem to be paying much attention at even as many seem to be piling into a few sexy overvalued ones, ignoring the gains being make in the bottom-line of the company. Net profit attributable to owners of Pan Jamaican Investment Trust increased 24 percent for the June 2015 quarter to $853 million, from $688 million in the 2014, second quarter.
Pan Jam generated net profit attributable to owners for the six months to June with an increase of 28 percent to $1.4 billion from $1.09 billion for 2014. Profits resulted in earnings per stock unit of $4.07 for the 2015, second quarter and $6.65 for the six months. Earnings for the year should be in the range of $15-17 per share. The stock traded last at $61.71 while the book value is at $105 per share.
Investment income of $158 million in the second quarter is 28 percent higher than last year’s comparable quarter’s income of $123 million. Year to date, investment income declined 25 percent from the 2014 period to $193 million. Investment income fell due a number of factors, “principally as a result of a profitable conclusion to a real-estate related investment in Canada, which more than offset lower foreign exchange gains of $33 million, versus $42 million last year, dividends and interest of $35 million, versus $45 million last year and trading gains of $26 million, versus $32 million last year. Year to date investment income of $193 million is 25 percent behind last year due principally to reduced foreign exchange gains of $31 million, versus $83 million last year, and trading gains of $12 million versus $37 million last year” the company said in a release accompanying the financials.
Rapid True Value owned by Hardware & Lumber an associate of Pan Jam
Share of results of associated and joint venture companies for the quarter, rose 32 percent to $791 million and grew by 35 percent for the six months period to $1,234 million. The results of Sagicor increased by $175 million or 31 percent for the quarter and by $289 million or 33 percent for the half year. The results for Sagicor Group have some non-recurring income that arose from loan loss recovery.
Operating expenses were held fairly tightly with a 12 percent rise in the quarter to $305 million and for the half year only 5 percent to $565 million. Finance costs declined compared to last year, by $25 million to $106 million for the quarter and $74 million to $200 million for the 6 months, resulting from reduced foreign exchange losses on the International Finance Corporation loan and reduced interest on a smaller average principal balance outstanding for the period compared to 2014.
Stocks react negatively to PM speech?
If Monday’s trading on the Jamaica Stock exchange is anything to go by investors seem far from impressed with the presentation delivered by the Jamaica’s Prime Minister at Sunday’s closing of her party’s annual conference as there were only two stocks rising to 13 that declined.
The market saw low volumes on a day that enjoyed only moderate trading activity with 19 securities changing hands as 1,481,773 units, valued at a mere $7,074,688 traded in all market segments.
The JSE Market Index dipped 736.27 points to 96,158.92, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index slipped 822.83 points to 106,419.29 and the JSE combined index fell 757 points to end at 99,279.86.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had a reading of 11 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 with offers that were lower.
Trading in the main market was very low keyed with extremely low volumes with only one stock trading with volumes in six digits. Cable and Wireless fell 3 cent with 20,584 shares 
changing hands, to close at 48 cents. At the close the stock had 2,167,369 units on the bid at 48 cents. Caribbean Cement traded 35,389 shares at $7.80 to gain 10 cents, National Commercial Bank with 29,091 units changing hands, ended at $27.47 while losing $2.52. Sagicor Group with 173,580 shares trading, closed for 5 cents higher at $12.60, Scotia Group traded 21,500 shares to close with a loss of 1 cent at $23.90, Supreme Ventures had 31,600 shares changing hands at $3.40, for a loss of 34 cents and Proven Investments ordinary share traded 25,000 units at 22 US cents.
