Jamaica is enjoying a respite in upward price movements since October last year with the price of oil on the world market having collapsed from US$100 per barrel to hover around US$50. The country had a 0.1 percent inflation in October, but declined in each of the following months, with the latest data showing February 2015 with a 0.7 percent decline in the All Jamaica ‘All Divisions’ Consumer Price Index. This followed the fall of 0.5 percent in January. Year-to-date inflation to February 2015, is -1.1 percent and since November last year the decline is 2 percent.
The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (Statin) indicated that the “main contributor to the decline, was a 3.6 percent decrease in the index for the division ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ resulting from lower rates for electricity and water. The reduction was tempered by an upward movement in the wages for carpenters, masons, plumbers, painters and electricians during the month. Also contributing to the decline was a 0.6 percent fall in ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’, the heaviest weighted division. All other divisions recorded movements of below 0.5 percent.”
Increase were experienced by certain categories with ‘Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco’ increasing by 0.3 percent, ‘Clothing and Footwear’ 0.2 percent, ‘Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance’ 0.3 percent ‘Health’ 0.4 percent, ‘Transport’ 0.1 percent, ‘Recreation and Culture’ 0.3 percent and ‘Miscellaneous Goods and Services’ 0.2 percent. ‘Communication’, ‘Education’ and ‘Restaurants and Accommodation Services’ recorded negligible movement for the period under review, Statin stated.
5 months of deflation for Jamaica
5 stocks gained 4 fell Monday
Monday’s activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, resulted in the prices of 5 stocks rising, 4 declining as 21 securities changed hands, ending in 5,319,885 units trading, valued at $40,699,456, in all market segments.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index lost 182.24 points to 81,699.09, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index fell 203.75 points to close at 90,061.68 and the JSE combined index declined by 197.89 points to close at 83,533.22.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 9 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 5 stocks with offers that were lower.
Gains| Stocks gaining with last traded prices at the end of trading in the main market are, Caribbean Cement closing with 400 shares and gaining 5 cents to $2.30, Mayberry Investments concluded trading with 301,020 shares with a gain of 3 cents to $2.40. National Commercial Bank finishing with 26,530 shares changing hands at $1 higher to $24.50 and Scotia Group closing with 600,000 shares with the price rising 2 cents to $20.84.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in the last traded prices are, Berger Paints in trading 14,269 shares close at $1.55, Cable & Wireless finishing trading with 70,706 shares at 51 cents, Gleaner had dealing in 16,130 units at 90 cents. Grace Kennedy contributed 100 shares at $61, Jamaica Broilers ending trading with 88,364 shares at $4.02, Jamaica Money Market Brokers exchanged 37,551 shares at $7.10, Kingston Wharves had dealing in 783 shares at $6.40, Proven Investments saw trading in 1,449 units at 18 US cents, Sagicor Group ended with 1,661,414 shares changing hands at $10.50.
Declines| The last traded prices of stocks with losses at the end of trading in the main market are, Carreras finishing with 78,434 units to close lower by $2 to $38 and Desnoes & Geddes closing with 150 units, as the price slipped 10 cents to $5.40.
Preference| Proven Investments 8% preference share traded 725,800 units at $5.05.
Lasco Manufacturing has 99% of trades
Lasco Manufacturing traded the most shares in the junior market on Monday
At the close of the market, there were 3 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 stocks with offers that were lower. The junior market ended with 3 securities closing with no bids to buy and there were 8 securities that had no stocks being offered for sale.Stocks trading in the junior market are, Lasco Manufacturing finished trading with 1,675,200 shares changing hands to close higher by 10 cents to $1.25, Lasco Distributors contributing 3,800 shares at $1.55. Medical Disposables closed with 10,000 shares changing hands at $1.75, General Accident finishing trading with 3,185 units, to close lower by 6 cents to $1.60 and Lasco Financial concluding trading with 4,600 units as the price slipped 1 cent to $1.15.
NCB back at $24.50
Monday’s activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange was again moderate with only 21 securities be active, resulting in the prices of 5 stocks rising, 4 declining, 5 of the stocks traded are from the junior market. A total of 5,319,885 units changed hands, valued at $40,699,456, in all market segments.
The JSE Market Index lost 182.24 points to 81,699.09, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index fell 203.75 points to close at 90,061.68 and the JSE combined index dropped by 197.89 points to close at 83,533.22. National Commercial Bank closed at $24.50 after putting on $1 on the closing price on Friday. Sagicor Group had the largest volume of shares trading with 1,661,414.
Only 1 stock trade at 10:15
The Jamaican stock market continues to suffer from slow trading in the early morning session. So far, only Lasco Manufacturing has traded, with a small volume passing through the market with the price having gained 4 cents to $1.20.
Profit up at Guardian Holdings
Profit climbed for Guardian Holdings for 2014, resulting in a profit after tax attributable to shareholders of $401 million, an increase from only $20 million in 2013.
Based on the improved results the company announced an increase in its dividend. The 2013 profit was negatively affected by a write down of $457 million in the assets of Pointe Simon development. Consequently, earnings per share for 2014 are $1.73 as compared to 20 cents in 2013. Profit before the 2013 write down of Pointe Simon asset, increased by 14 percent to $481 million. Net income before operating expenses was flat at $1.469 billion. Operating cost fell slightly to $905 million and finance cost rose moderately to $130 million. Net Income from Insurance Underwriting Activities fell from $581 million in 2013 to $546 million in 2014.
For the December quarter, profit before tax rose 49 percent from lower underwriting profit, higher investment and other income and a 13 percent reduction in operating cost.
“The drop in net Income from Insurance Underwriting Activities is as a result of adverse claims experience in our health and general insurance business as well as actuarial strengthening of reserves in some lines. It should be noted that neither of these factors is structural and we expect that they would have no material impact on performance going forward as they resulted from normal statistical volatility in our business the group’s” management said in a statement accompanying the results.
Our portfolio of financial service companies diversified across lines of insurance and geographies together with our diversified investment portfolio has withstood operating volatility and provided strong overall performance, generating a Return on Equity of 13.7 percent.
Looking forward, investment income should benefit from interest rates that are on the increase in Trinidad and should be up in the USA before long. Operating cost should decline for the year based on the out turn for the December quarter that should carry over into 2015. The company states that it has moved away from investment type insurance to the traditional type cover and that the shift will generate higher margins for them.
“Confident in the fact that our negative legacy issues which have plagued us over recent years have been resolved, and given our solid business franchises and significant market positions throughout the region, your board of directors, after many years of flat dividend payment, has decided to increase the total dividend per share by 9.6 percent to fifty-seven (57) cents. Consequently, further to the interim dividend of seventeen (17) cents, the final dividend will be forty (40) cents and will be paid to shareholders on record on March 25, 2015” Management concluded.
The stock at $13.50 on the Trinidad Stock exchange is undervalued and ought to be priced higher. IC Insider’s Buy Rating remains in place with earnings likely to reach $2.50 per share in 2015.
Carreras price hit by cigarette tax
Peter Phillips raised SCT on cigarette by 11.4% to rake in $500m. Carreras announced a 15-20% price increase.
The day’s activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, resulted in the prices of 9 stocks rising, 11 declining as 27 securities changed hands, ending in 4,388,191 units trading, valued at $41,075,686, in all market segments.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index lost 637.18 points to 81,881.33, the JSE All Jamaican Composite index fell 712.40 points to 90,265.43 and the JSE combined index dropped 558.65 points to close at 83,731.11.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows 7 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 5 stocks with offers that were lower, an indication of fluidity in price movements for a while.
Gains| Stocks gaining at the last traded prices in the main market are, Grace Kennedy closing with 5,694 shares rising 20 cents to $61, Jamaica Broilers finishing trading with 38,636 shares, while gaining 2 cents to $4.02. Mayberry Investments in trading 85,000 shares, closed with a gain of 1 cent at $2.37, Sagicor Group had dealing in 2,062,222 shares and rose 8 cents to $10.50 and Scotia Group contributed 271,347 shares while gaining 2 cents to $20.82.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in the last traded prices are, Desnoes & Geddes contributing 2,500 shares to trading to close at $5.50. Jamaica Money Market Brokers closed with 2,597 ordinary shares changing hands, at $7.10, Kingston Wharves saw trading in 8,301 shares, to close at $6.40 and Supreme Ventures closed with 1,550 shares at $2.30.
Declines| The last traded prices of stocks with losses at the end of trading in the main market are, Barita Investments finishing with 1,500 units, closed lower by 5 cents at $2.20. Cable & Wireless closing with 25,000 units as the price slipped 2 cents to 51 cents, Caribbean Cement finishing trading with 19,723 units, closing lower by 5 cents to $2.25. Carreras stock price was hit by the added tax announced by the government of Jamaica and in trading with 207,543 units slipped $3 to $40, but it traded as low as $38.01 before the close. Gleaner in trading 10,000 shares ended lower by 20 cents to 90 cents, Hardware & Lumber finishing trading in 900 shares, closed 35 cents lower to $7.05. Jamaica Producers had dealing in 1,381 units with a decline of 5 cents to $16.95, National Commercial Bank while exchanging 8,674 share, traded 50 cents down to $23.50 and Scotia Investments dealt in 10,000 shares with at $2 fall to $22.Preference| Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share, traded 250,000 units at $2 and Proven Investments 8% preference had 274,200 shares changing hands at 5 cents to 5.05.
Revaluation continues on Friday
The Jamaican dollar had another day of moderate appreciation on Friday, against the major currencies it normally trades with. Purchases of all currencies by dealers ended at US$31,930,849 equivalent, compared with US$32,018,857, on Thursday and selling of the equivalent of US$28,769,520 versus US$55,570,947 on the previous trading day.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$29,615,584 compared to US$27,951,764 on Thursday. The buying rate for the US dollar fell 2 cents to $114.90 and US$27,744,558 was sold versus US$54,257,038 on Thursday, the selling rate slipped 7 cents to end at $115.40. The Canadian dollar buying rate fell 71 cents to $88.93 with dealers buying C$1,123,731 and selling C$607,734, at an average rate that dropped 65 cents to $90.48 The rate for buying the British Pound dived $4.73 to $168.67 for the purchase of £839,337, while £315,756 was sold, at an average rate of $171.06, for a fall of $1.61. At the end of trading it took J$122.59 to purchase the Euro, 47 cents more than on Thursday, according to data from Bank of Jamaica, while dealers purchased the European common currency at J$120.18 for a rise of 40 cents from Thursday. Other currencies bought, amounted to the equivalent of US$213,510 while the equivalent of US$80,461, was sold.
Highs & Lows| The highest buying rate for the US dollar, lost 15 cents to end at 115.50, the lowest buying and the highest selling rates remained at $$94.36 and $120.91 respectively. The lowest selling rate rose by $1.86, to end at $96.22. The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar rose 30 cents to $92, the lowest buying rate was up 21 cents to $72.13. The highest selling rate gained 50 cents to $94 and the lowest selling rate rose 25 cents to $86.90 The highest buying rate for the British Pound, climbed 97 cents to $177. The lowest buying rate dropped 53 cents to $138.20, the highest selling rate rose 45 cents to $179.30 and the lowest selling rate fell $1.15 to $166.
8 TTSE stocks gained only 1 fell
NCB in good demand in Trinidad & seems poised to gain next week
At the close of the market, the Composite Index rose 1.79 points to close at 1,151.49, the All T&T Index gained 2.92 points to close at 1,974.35 and the Cross Listed Index increased by a mere 0.08 points to end at 43.06.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, ANSA Mcal gaining 2 cents, while trading 4,886 units, to end at $66.90, First Citizens Bank trading 1,263 shares, gained 22 cents to close at $35.22, Guardian Holdings contributing 30,515 shares with a value of $413,479, put on 49 cents to end at $13.59. Massy Holdings gained 1 cent while trading 12,981 shares at $63.37. Point Lisas Industrial Port Development while exchanging 199 shares, gained 2 cents to end at $5.16, Sagicor Financial Corporation with 48,950 shares changing hands for a value of $252,582, closed with a 6 cents gain at $5.16. Scotia Investments added 13,500 shares and closed 4 cents higher at $1.49, Trinidad Cement traded 39,419 shares to end at $2.50 after putting on 19 cents and West Indian Tobacco gained 1 cent while trading 4,800 units to end at a new 52 weeks’ high of $125.05.
Declines| Scotiabank was the stock declining at the end of trading having lost 15 cents to close at $62.01 while trading 2,280 shares.Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, Ansa Merchant Bank trading 4,280 units, to close at $38.91, Clico Investment Fund trading 17,027 shares valued at $383,108 and closing at $22.50. National Flour with 819 shares changing hands, closed at $1.55, One Caribbean Media with 315 shares, traded at $23.96, Prestige Holdings with 1,000 shares changing hands, closed at $9.91 and Republic Bank traded 790 shares to close at $118.21.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows just 1 stock with the bid higher than their last selling price and 1 stock with a lower offer.
Cargo Handlers jumps to $20
Activity on the Junior Market closed with 7 securities traded ending with 1,101,423 units changing hands valued at $2,383,123. The JSE Junior Market Index rose 4.38 points to 721.03, with the price of 4 stocks advancing and 2 declining.
At the close of the market, there were 3 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 stocks with offers that were lower. The junior market ended with 3 securities closing with no bids to buy and there were 7 that had no stocks being offered for sale.
Stocks trading in the junior market are, Access Financial finishing with 7,000 shares changing hands, to gain 11 cents at $9.71. Cargo Handlers concluding trading with 51,200 shares with a gain of $1.20 to an all-time high of $20, General Accident finishing with 58,723 shares changing hands, and ended up 5 cents more at $1.66, Lasco Financial concluding trading with 100,000 units to close with a 1 cent gain at $1.16, Lasco Distributors ending with 120,000 shares changing hands at $1.55, Lasco Manufacturing contributed 760,500 and lost 3 cents to $1.15 and Medical Disposables ending trading with 4,000 shares with a loss of 5 cents to $1.75.
