For the final day of the week, activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, resulted in the prices of only 2 stocks rising and 7 declining as just 14 securities changed hands, culminating in 2,431,851 units trading, valued at $5,193,407, in all market segments.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 7 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 6 stocks with offers that were lower.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index gained 49.61 points to 72,232.91 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite index rose 55.47 points to close at79,477.72.
Gains| Stocks gaining with last traded prices, at the end of trading in the main market are, Cable & Wireless with 1,362,300 ordinary shares trading one cent higher at 29 cents and Scotia Group with 30,534 rose 4 cents rise to $19.07.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in the last traded prices are, Jamaica Broilers with 1,950 units, closed at $4, Sagicor Real Estate Fund with 10,000 shares closed at $6.60 and Scotia Investments traded 27,028 units at $21.40.
Declines| The last traded prices of stocks with losses at the end of trading in the main market are, Carreras with 11,388 shares, lost 10 cents to end at $34.90, Grace Kennedy traded just 8,960 units, with a loss of $1 to end at $58, National Commercial Bank closed with 25 cents decline to $17.75 as 1,682 shares traded and Sagicor Group with 42,800 gave up 17 cents to $9.40.
Preference| Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share traded 339,669 units at $2.99 and Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded 568,400 units at $2.
Only 2 stocks rose & 7 fell on JSE
Only 3 junior market securities trade
The Junior Market closed trading, with a mere 27,140 units valued at $54,491. The JSE Junior Market Index fell 4.50 points to close at 659.36 as only 3 securities traded with all 3 declining.
At the close of the market, there were 5 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 stocks with offers that were lower. The junior market continues to exhibit weakness with 11 stocks closing with no bids to buy. On the other hand there were 7 stocks that closed without offers to dell.
In market activity, Caribbean Producers with 20,000 units, closed 7 cents lower at $2.38, Consolidated Bakeries traded 6,640 units trading with a cent fall, to end at 80 cents and Lasco Financial with 500 shares, closed with a loss of 12 cents, at 85 cents.
Scotia sinks again more coming – TTSE
Friday’s trading on the Trinidad Stock Exchange was negatively affected by a drop in the price to $58.50. The stock which has fallen from a high of $72 seems set to decline further, based on the closing bid which is weak, with only 100 shares on the bid at $57.50 and 4,982 units on the offer to sell at $58.50.
In overall trading, there were 10 securities changing hands, of which 3 advanced, 3 declined and 4 traded firm, with 255,055 units being dealt in, valued at $4,441,512.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index lost 1.73 points to close at 1,148.31, the All T&T Index declined by 3.38 points to close at 1,966.34 and the Cross Listed Index remained at 43.29.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, Angostura Holdings trading 90 shares to close with a gain of 1 cent to end at $12.51, First Citizens Bank with a volume of 3,054 shares traded for $112,142 to close at $36.72 with a gain of 2 cents and West Indian Tobacco contributing 2,264 shares with a value of $267,673 and gained a cent, at $118.23.
Declines| Stocks declining at the end of trading are, Grace Kennedy with 500 shares, fell a cent to $3.75, One Caribbean Media with 106,757 shares changing hands for a value of $2,682,529, lost 2 cents to end at $25.20 and Scotiabank traded 200 shares and lost 98 cents to close at $58.50.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, Clico Investment Fund with 21,400 shares valued at $472,032, closed at $22.05, National Flour Mills 414 shares ended at $1.18, Sagicor Financial Corporation 6.5% US$ preference share, traded 120,000 units at US$1.13 and Unilever Caribbean with 376 units closed at $64.11.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 5 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 3 stocks with offers that were lower.
Paramount on a role profit jumps 79%
Sika one of the brands Paramount handles
The improved results for the latest quarter, came from a 19 percent climb in revenues over the similar period in 2013, with revenues of $207 million versus $173 million in 2013. The latest quarter’s revenues are the highest the company has had, since listing in 2013. Gross profit margin was maintained at 46 percent the same as in the 2013 August quarter but slightly down on the full 2014 fiscal year’s 48 percent. Of import, is a new line of lubricants launched during the quarter but sales are in their infancy. According to a company executive, the increased sales is mostly from new customers added as well as increased sales of a product to an existing customer, who was not supplied with that product last year.
Administrative, selling and distribution cost, fell from $32 million last year to $31 million in this year’s August quarter. Profit is projected to by IC Insider to come in around $152 million in 2014/15 year or around $1.15 per share. At the current price of $2.50 the stock would be priced at a PE of only 2.2 making it a very good buy, bearing in mind that that many junior listings have been valued around 8 times earnings in the recent past, and around 6 times now.
Financials| The profit for the August quarter provided a strong 39 percent annualized return on the equity, based on $345 million at the end of May. Borrowed funds amounted to only $40 million, compared to the level of equity. Cash is up from $56 million at May to $90 million, while receivables climbed to $178 million from $172 million at May, this year. But the figures include more than just trade receivables, with the latter being under $150 million. Still high but one of the company’s executive stated that they are actively managing this area and have put in place measures to mitigate losses. Inventory at $203 million is flat with the amount at the end of May, this year, but payables moved up to $137 million from $128 million at May. With a new level of stability in the value for the Jamaican dollar, inventory levels may be reduced going forward as there would be little need to hedge against the devaluation of the local dollar.
The performance of the company during the quarter, and for the 2014 year would normally elevate the stock to BUY RATED status but the high level of receivables of more than two months, is a concern, especially in an economy, as tight and difficult as the Jamaican one at this time.
Jamaican$ gains on Thursday
The volume of foreign exchange traded by dealers on Thursday, was much less than on Wednesday, but the Jamaican dollar was stable, against the US dollar and gained versus the British Pound and the Canadian dollar.
Authorized dealers purchased the equivalent of US$27,425,390 versus US$35,555,039, on Wednesday. The equivalent of US$26,636,124was sold, compared with US$31,228,226 on Wednesday.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$24,447,336 compared to US$29,154,363 on Wednesday. The buying rate for the US dollar slipped 1 cent to $112.15 and US$23,969,529 was sold versus US$27,180,996 on Wednesday, the selling rate remained at $112.62. The Canadian dollar buying rate, fell 6 cents to $98.39 with dealers buying C$1,819,686 and selling C$1,759,068, at an average selling rate that dropped 18 cents, to $99.49. The rate for buying the British Pound dropped $1.66 to $177.04, for the purchase of £768,058, while £582,736 was sold, at $179.73, down 20 cents. Other currencies bought, amounted to the equivalent of US$169,221, while selling was for the equivalent of US$182,648.
Highs & Lows| The highest buying rate for the US dollar, closed down $1.15, at $112.80, the lowest buying, the highest and the lowest selling rates, were unchanged at $91.85, $117.70 and $91.85 respectively. The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar climbed 72 cents to $101, the lowest buying rate declined 33 cents to $79.18 and highest selling rate fell $1.49 to $102.51. The lowest selling rate closed up 30 cents to $95.40. The highest buying rate for the British Pound, rose 22 cents to $180.55, the lowest buying rate is down $2.32 to $144.21, the highest selling rate jumped $2.69 to $185.91 and the lowest selling rate rose 75 cents to $173.75.
8 stocks up 8 down on JSE
Thursday’s activity on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, resulted in the prices of 8 stocks rising and 8 declining as 23 securities changed hands, culminating in 4,981,371 units trading, valued at $38,684,054, in all market segments.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, in the main and junior markets, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 5 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 5 stocks with offers that were lower.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index lost 369.76 points to 72,183.30 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite index declined 413.45 points to close at 79,422.25.
Gains| Stocks gaining with last traded prices, at the end of trading in the main market are, Carreras with 29,815, gained 35 cents rise to $35, Desnoes & Geddes 503,359 shares changed hands, 1 cent higher at $4.80, Jamaica Money Market Brokers with 2,100 ordinary shares traded with a gain of 50 cents to $7.50, Proven Investments with 1,083,333 shares traded with a gain of 0.01 cent to 17.01 US cents and Sagicor Group put through 100,219 units, 2 cents higher to $9.57
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in the last traded prices are, Cable & Wireless had 31,764 shares changing hands 28 cents, Grace Kennedy had just 1,150 units trading at $59 and Radio Jamaica with 1000 shares ended at $1.15.
Declines| The last traded prices of stocks with losses at the end of trading in the main market are, Jamaica Broilers with 22,400 shares closed 1 cents lower at $4, Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 15,000 shares lost 4 cents to end at $6.60, Scotia Group with 10,700 units, gave up 2 cents to end at $19.03 and Scotia Investments with 21,772 shares, lost 60 cents to close at $21.40.
Preference| There was trading in 745,000 Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share at $2, Jamaica Public Service 9.5% preference share traded at 8138 units at $1,006.10 and was down $44.04 from the price it was listed at in 2012 and Proven Investments 8% preference share, traded 100 units at $5.
Dehring now Caribbean Cement chair
Christopher Dehring has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of Caribbean Cement (CCC) Company and its subsidiaries, effective October 14, 2014, a release from the company stated.
The appointment is in line with IC Insiders report, that he seems slated for the post following the shake-up of the board of CCC’s parent company, Trinidad Cement. The company also reports that Messers Parris Lyew-Ayee and Dehring have also been appointed members of the Board Audit Committee.
After a long running battle between a group of disgruntled shareholders and the former board of Trinidad Cement, the way was cleared for an extraordinary general meeting to be held in August which ousted a number of directors from that board, as well as the CEO Rollin Bertrand. This led three members of the CCC board to hand in their resignations, including its former chairman, Brain Young.
Knutsford Express at new high
Trading picked up on the junior Market as 8 securities traded, the highest number for some time. At the close of the market, trading activity led to 2,405,521 units valued at $2,877,589 changing hands.
The JSE Junior Market Index increased 0.32 points to close at 663.86 as 3 stocks advanced and 3 declined with Knutsford Express closing at a new all time high.
At the end of trading, there were 3 stocks with their bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 stocks with offers that were lower. Although the number of securities trading picked up, the junior market still continues to show signs of weakness with 9 stocks closing with no bids to buy. On the other hand there were 7 securities that had no stocks being offered for sale.
At the close, Access Financial Services traded 2,295 shares to end with a decline of 2 cents at $10.48, Dolphin Cove with 3000 units trading closed at $8, Knutsford Express with 7,726 shares closed at $5.50 to gain 50 cents, the highest price since listing in January, Lasco Distributors put in 1,000,000 units at $1.15, Lasco Financial Services traded 919,500 at 97 cents, with a 3 cents decline, Lasco Manufacturing lost 6 cents while trading 220,647 units to close at 98 cents, Medical Disposables had 245,000 units changing hands at $2, up 10 cents and Paramount Trading gained 20 cents in trading 7,353 units at $2.70.
Firstcaribbean jumps 50c pushes TTSE
Firstcaribbean jumped 50 cents on the Trinidad Stock Exchange on Thursday helping to ush the main index and the cross listed index, but with only a small volume. At the close the bid to buy was ta $4.75 with the offer at $5.50.
Elsewhere, Scotiabank that has tumbled from over $70, seems set to fall further, as there is an offer to sell 1,500 units at $59 compared to the last price of $59.48. The bid is to buy 200 units at $58. In overall trading activity, 11 securities changed hands of which 4 advanced, 4 declined and 3 traded firm, with dealing in only 48,851 units valued at $2,020,168.
At the close of the market, the Composite Index rose 8.33 points to close at 1,150.04, thanks mostly to the 50 cents jump in the price of Firstcaribbean International share. The All T&T Index gained 0.18 points to close at 1,969.72 and the Cross Listed Index increased by 2.20 points to end at 43.29.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, Firstcaribbean International Bank, gained 50 cents to end the day at $5.50, while trading only 225 shares, First Citizens Bank contributed 4,200 shares with a value of $154,010 in gaining 10 cents, to $36.70, Unilever, traded 1,157 units to gain 2 cents, in closing at a new 52 weeks’ high of $64.11 and West Indian Tobacco closed at $118.22, up a cent with 285 shares.
Declines| Stocks declining at the end of trading are, Massy Holdings with 23,242 shares changing hands for a value of $1,593,501 to close at $68.56, down 4 cents, One Caribbean Media had 600 units trading at $25.22, for an 11 cents fall, while Republic Bank traded 12 units and suffered a loss, of 6 cents to close at $121.50, Sagicor Financial Corporation added 4,000 shares valued at $24,760 in losing 6 cents, to end at a 52 weeks’ low of $6.19.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are, Angostura Holdings with 150 shares at $12.50, Clico Investment Fund with 4,580 shares valued at $100,989 remaining at $22.05 and Trinidad Cement with 10,400 shares traded at the close at $1.86.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 4 stocks with the bid higher than their last selling prices and 5 stocks with offers that were lower.
Sagicor Group dividend back to 2012 level but
Shareholders of Sagicor Group will be paid an interim dividend of 28 cents per share on November 7, to shareholders on record as at October 27. The payment while greater than the final one made in 2013 is only back to the last payment that was made in 2012. The stock will trade ex-dividend on October 23, 2014.
The latest dividend, will bring the total dividend payment in 2014, to 63 cents per share, with the interim dividend of 35 cents per share, paid on March 31, this year.
The company paid a dividend of 21 cents per share on October 31, 2013, for a total dividend payment in 2013, of 40 cents per share with the 19 cents per share paid on March 28, 2013. In 2012 the company paid two dividends of 28 cents each.
