After more than an hour of trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Friday activity 
has been low keyed with a very low volume and the indices having changed marginally. A total of 14 securities have traded including 5 in the junior market with a volume of stocks trading is 446,000 units with the prices of 5 stocks gaining and 5 declining.
Slow trading on JSE
June 19, 2015 by
Little profit in Q4 for Lasco Financial
June 19, 2015 by
Lasco Financial Services reported profit of $191 million or EPS of 15.5 cents for the March 2015 year, an improvement of 8 percent over the $177 million made in 2014. The last quarter was poor with only $10 million in profit, down sharply from $41 million made in 2014, due to a combination of developments.
Revenue for the last quarter hardly grew, ending at $148 million versus $145 million in the 2014 quarter while expenses grew by $28 million due mainly to increased spend on marketing and selling expenses. Jacinth Hall-Tracey, Managing director indicated that the period suffered from squeezed margins on foreign exchange trading and foreign exchange losses in the quarter, resulting from the revaluation of the Jamaican dollar and greater stability of the exchange rate. Loan disbursements slowed as credit rating data used in assessing potential clients resulted in lower loan approvals.
The PE ratio of the stock is 13 based on the last reported earnings, normally the ratio would not be that high. Mayberry’s acquisition of 20 percent of the company’s shares has changed the dynamics and remove some supply from the market.
The company has cash of $500 million and is generating over $200 million per year. If the company can find the formula to ramp up good quality lending successfully, the profit outlook can be transformed considerably with high profit margins for lending. “We are working on a number of initiatives that will help in the transition from lower income in foreign exchange activity” Hall-Tracey said. The area of credit approval is one that they is being revisited as the use of credit rating information is stymying lending. But Hall-Tracey expects profit for this year that ends March 2016 to be higher than for the year just ended, subject to taxes on profit which the company will start bearing at fifty percent of the official tax rate of 25 percent.
The equity capital of Lasco is $812 million and is well below that of its two siblings who have equity in equity of more than $2.4 billion each. The company has done well from the money remittance and cambio operations but it is in the lending that the future growth prospects seems to rest. Hence the connection between Mayberry with the know-how having been exposed at Access Financial. The company has the free capital to increase lending with only $147 million in loans at March.
WITCO up 50 cents to $126
June 18, 2015 by
Trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange ended with 12 securities changing hands of which 3 advanced, 1 declined and 8 traded firm with a total of 501,757 units, valued at $3,073,800 as West Indian Tobacco closed back at its previous 52 weeks’ high of $126.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index lost 0.19 points to close at 1,161.37, the All T&T Index fell by just 0.32 points to close at 1,968.73 and the Cross Listed Index declined by 0.01 points to end at 46.46.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, Ansa Merchant Bank with 2,452 shares trading ending at $38.91 by adding 1 cent, Clico Investment Fund with 13,835 shares valued at $316,264 to advance 1 cent to $22.57 and West Indian Tobacco with 306,708 shares changing hands, for a value of $889,453 closed 50 cents higher, at $126.
Declines| The only stocks declining at the end of trading is, First Citizens Bank with 27,711 shares valued $990,668 and closing with a loss of 4 cents at $35.75.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, Flavorite Foods trading 4,093 units to close at $4.80. JMMB Group trading 100,000 shares at 45 cents, Massy Holdings trading 1,822 shares to close at $64.35. 
National Enterprises with 7,307 shares trading and closing at $17.19, One Caribbean Media trading 1,746 shares to close at $22.42, Sagicor Financial Corporation trading 32,628 shares with a value of $204,345 and closed unchanged at $6.30, Scotiabank had 3,193 units changing hands at $62.15 and Trinidad Cement ending at $2.90, with 306,708 shares changing hands, for a value of $889,453.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and stocks with offers that were lower.
FED comments shake up rates for J$
June 18, 2015 by
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The Jamaican dollar suffered losses on Thursday as the world major currencies gained sharply on the US dollar resulting in a decline in the value of the local currency against the Pound, the euro and the Canadian dollar, it also slipped against the US dollar as inflows declined during the period for low foreign exchange.
Dealers bought the equivalent of US$24,746,899 compared with US$26,333,879, on Wednesday while they sold the equivalent of US$27,237,059 versus US$29,923,738 previously.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$19,916,588 compared to US$21,903,791 on Wednesday. The buying rate for the US dollar rose 16 cents at $115.87 and US$22,177,217 was sold versus US$27,504,837 on Wednesday, the selling rate rose 7 cents to $116.55. 
The Canadian dollar buying rate jumped $1.36 to $94.84 with dealers buying C$3,575,485 and selling C$14,665,541, at an average rate that climbed $1.70 to $95.94. The rate for buying the British Pound increased $2.28 to $181.78 for the purchase of £1,119,476, while £717,241 was sold, at an average rate that rose $1.59 to $183.72. At the end of trading, it took J$130.84 to purchase the Euro, 4 cents more than on Wednesday, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$128.03 for 11 cents less than Wednesday’s rate. Other currencies bought, amounted to the equivalent of US$147,539, while the equivalent of US$88,643 was sold.
Highs & Lows| The highest buying rate for the US dollar inched up 5 cents to $116.85, the lowest buying, the highest and lowest selling rates remained at $95.36, $122.19 and $95.36 respectively. 
The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar climbed $1.20 to $95.95, the lowest buying rate and the lowest selling rates ended unchanged at $74.95 and $90.50 respectively, the highest selling rate was up $1.15 to $97.88. The highest buying rate for the British Pound, climbed $1.90 to $185.15, the lowest buying rate was unchanged at $146.25, with the highest selling rate climbing $2.46 to $189.17 and the lowest selling rate jumping $23.97 to $176.
JSE closes up with 15 stocks rising
June 18, 2015 by
Sagicor Group traded at day a new 52 weeks’ high on Thursday.
TheJSE Market Index gained 372.85 points to 97,630.76, theJSE All Jamaican Composite index rose 416.74 points to close at 108,063.88 and the JSE combined index gained 368.09 points to end at 100,321.14.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets,
the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 10 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 7 with offers that were lower.In trading, Cable & Wireless ended trading with 391,410 shares to end at 45 cents. Caribbean Cement ended with 1,019,125 shares but the price fell 40 cents to $5, Carreras ended trading with 7,660 shares to gain 41 cents to $48.50, Grace Kennedy closed with 32,022 units changing hands, 40 cents higher at $63.90. Jamaica Broilers traded 140,665 shares and was down 5 cents to $5.40, Jamaica Producers jumped $1.46 to $20 on a small volume of 7,239 shares. JMMB Group traded 176,877 shares but remained unchanged at $7.50, National Commercial Bank closed trading with 52,710 units changing hands and gained 5 cents to $29.50,
Sagicor Group traded at a new 52 weeks’ high of $13 during the morning but closed at new 52 weeks’ close of $2.61, 1 cent higher with 69,030 shares trading. Sagicor Real Estate Fund ended with 11,619 shares trading and remained unchanged at $8.Scotia Group had trading in 208,096 shares to gain just 3 cents at $23.14, Supreme Ventures closed with 64,000 shares changing hands at $3.70. Proven Investments traded 91,678 shares and put on 0.38 US cents at the close, for a new closing high of 22 US cents, while Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share, traded 48,470 units at $2 and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share traded 30,500 units and lost 1 cent, to end at $2.98.
Junior market consolidating mode
June 18, 2015 by
Dolphin Cove closed at a new 52 weeks’ high of $11.50 on Thursday.
The JSE Junior Market Index gained 1.83 points to close at 912.96, with the prices of 4 stocks advancing, 4 declining with only Dolphin Cove closing at 52 weeks’ high.
At the close of the market, there were 6 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices, 3 with lower offers and with 4 securities closing with no bids to buy and 6 that had no stocks being offered for sale.
Stocks trading in the junior market are, Access Financial had just 100 shares trading with a loss of 90 cents and ended at $15.85, but had an offer to sell 10,000 units at $15.80. AMG Packaging ending with 915 shares changing hands to close with a loss of 1 cent at $3.16, Cargo Handlers finished with 1,535 units to close unchanged at $24,
Caribbean Cream ended with 99,617 shares trading and fell 10 cents to close at $1.60. On offer are 970,000 units at $1.70 and 500,000 at $1.80 while the closest bid is at $1.15 to purchase only 30,000 units. Consolidated Bakeries finished trading with 4,000 shares2 cents higher at $1.17, Dolphin Cove ended with 23,000 shares changing hands to close 50 cents higher, at a 52 weeks’ high of $11.50. Honey Bun had 866 shares changing hands, 33 cents higher to $2.95, Lasco Distributors traded 39,000 shares 8 cents higher, at $1.68 and Lasco Financial Services finished trading with 134,450 units, the price slipped 10 cents to $1.90.
$18.50 per share max price for H&L
June 18, 2015 by
Grace Kennedy is advising that the terms to dispose of their holdings in Hardware and Lumber (H&L) include a maximum price of J$18.50 per ordinary share subject to conditions and with completion anticipated by the end of July.
The above price is just around book value at the end of March this year and would give Grace Kennedy who owns 58.1 percent of the 80.842 million shares in issue, $845 million.
Don Wehby CEO of Grace indicated that the agreement is conditional and stated that “GraceKennedy is looking forward to the conclusion of the transaction in a timely manner and will communicate further as soon as it is finalized.” He reiterated that Grace Kennedy’s decision to sell its shares in H&L was a strategic one, having regard to its core strategy of expansion in the foods and financial services sectors. He added, “We feel very positive about the continued growth of H&L under the prospective new owners who have signalled that they are excited about the possibilities for the future”.
H&L currently comprises two separate divisions – Rapid True Value local supplier of hardware and home improvement products, and the Agro Grace business, local wholesaler and retailer of agricultural products.
There are currently 10 Rapid True Value outlets across Jamaica, along with six Agro Grace Retail Centres. The company is headquartered at 697 Spanish Town Road in Kingston.
Greystone Equity Partners Inc. the proposed purchaser is a Caribbean based and Caribbean focused private equity firm with a stated strong commitment to the Caribbean.
H&L reported profit in 2014 of $217 million or $2.69 per share. Profit after tax for the three-month ended March, 2015 was $34.5 million, 14.5 percent less than the $40.4 million for the same period last year and earnings of 43 cents per stock unit, compared to 50 cents for the comparative period in 2014 after revenues fell 4.5 percent to $1.73 billion.
JSE gains in early trading
June 18, 2015 by
After an hour of trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Thursday the main market 
is up with the prices of 7 stocks gaining, 5 declined as 20 securities has traded including 4 in the junior market that slipped a bit. Total volume of stocks trading is 1.65 million.
TheJSE Market Index gained 599.07 points to 97,856.98 the JSE All Jamaican Composite index rose 669.61 points to 108,316.75 at and the JSE combined index that gained 549.01 points to 100,502.06, the junior market index lost 1.74 points to 909.39.
Caribbean Cement traded 1,007,125 shares is the big trade but the price fell 38 cents to $5.02, Access Financial lost 90 cents in trading just 100 shares to end at $15.85 and Sagicor Group traded at a new 52 weeks’ high of $13 with 50,530 shares trading.
Undervalued Caribbean Flavours
June 18, 2015 by
The company seems poised to hit earnings of 65 cents per share for the June 2015 financial year, making it attractive for some short-term gains with the current price of $2.09 at a PE ratio of 3 times earnings, having earned 19 cents per share for the quarter and 43 cents for the nine months, to March 2015.
Caribbean Flavours & Fragrances enjoyed a moderate increase of 16 percent in profit for the March 2015 quarter over the similar period in 2014. The increase was helped by an improvement in gross profit margin that moved from 39.6 percent to 44 percent. Profit came in at $17.3 million for the quarter versus $15 million in the similar period in 2014. For the nine months to March, profit declined slightly from $39.7 million in 2014 to $38.9 million.
Sales were up moderately in the quarter from $62.8 million in 2014 to $67 million. For the nine months to March sales grew 11.7 percent to $210.6 million from $188.6 million but cost of sales rose faster than the growth in revenues from $111.7 million to $133.5 million in the nine months or 18.75 percent. Administrative cost increased 21 percent in the quarter, and just 2 percent for the nine months, vastly better than the high double-digit increase in the prior year. The return on average equity an attractive 33.5 percent per annum. The negative is that for its small size there is limited growth from existing operations.
The balance sheet is in a healthy state with equity of $195 million or $2.17 per share. There are no borrowed funds while current assets is $210 million versus payables of only $16 million.
The principal activity of the company is the manufacture of and distribution of flavours mainly for the beverage, baking and confectionery industries. The company also sells food colouring and fragrances.The stock is listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange junior market and is recommended as a buy by IC Insider.
J$ slips against US & Pound
June 17, 2015 by
Sale of all currencies by dealers on Wednesday was greater than the amount purchased by US$3.6 million, slightly more than on Tuesday and the Jamaican dollar lost value versus the US dollar and the Pound Sterling. Dealers bought the equivalent of US$26,333,879 compared with US$27,433,039, on Tuesday while they sold the equivalent of US$29,923,738 versus US$30,897,534 previously.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$21,903,791 compared to US$24,476,001 on Tuesday. The buying rate for the US dollar lost 9 cents at $115.71 and US$27,504,837 was sold versus US$28,846,312 on Tuesday, the selling rate rose 5 cents to $116.48. The Canadian dollar buying rate jumped 44 cents to $93.48 with dealers buying C$1,728,724 and selling C$1,585,578, at an average rate that declined 2 cents to $94.24.
The rate for buying the British Pound increased $1.29 to $179.50 for the purchase of £1,883,804, while £664,759 was sold, at an average rate that rose $1.76 to $182.13. At the end of trading, it took J$130.80 to purchase the Euro, 15 cents less than on Tuesday , according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$128.14 for 20 cents less than Tuesday’s rate. Other currencies bought, amounted to the equivalent of US$111,174, while the equivalent of US$96,581 was sold.
Highs & Lows| The highest buying rate for the US dollar fell 2 cents to $116.80, the lowest buying and the highest selling rates remained at $95.36 and $122.19 respectively and the lowest selling rate gained 36 cents to $95.36. 
The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar fell 82 cents to $94.75, the lowest buying rate inched down 8 cents to $74.95, the highest selling rate declined $2.27 to $96.73 and lowest selling rate gained 10 cents to $90.50. The highest buying rate for the British Pound, climbed $1.35 to $183.25, the lowest buying rate put on $1.21 at $146.25, with the highest selling rate climbing $1.75 to $186.71 and the lowest selling rate dived $22.72 to $152.03.
