Hardware & Lumber could not carry over the good results in the March quarter into their second quarter with revenue of $1.72 billion for the latest quarter to June, 1.4 percent lower than the same period last year, while gross margin fell to 22.7 percent from 26.2 percent, principally as a result of product mix the company reported.
Total revenue for the six months was $3.53 billion, an increase of 7.2 percent ahead of $3.29 billion achieved in the same period last year.
Continued improvements in other income, operating expenses and finance costs resulted in $28.5 million net profit for the quarter or $0.35 per stock unit, compared to last year’s $43 million or $0.54 per stock unit. Profit after tax for the six months was $69 million, or 29.6 percent more than the $53 million for the same period in 2013. Earnings per stock unit for the six months is $0.85, up from $0.66 for the comparative period in 2013.
“Total gross profit for the six-month period was $802 million compared to $866 million for the comparative period last year. The combined effect of variations in sales mix and higher product costs resulted in average gross margins of 22.7 percent, representing a 3.6 percent decline compared to the same period in the prior year. Profit from operations increased by 8.9 percent to $108 million, supported by an increase in other income,” Management stated.
Operating cost for the quarter was down to $377 million from $398 million in 2013 and for the six months, cost fell to $753 million from $398 million in 2013.
Borrowings fell from $453 million in June 2013 to $279 million, helping to reduce finance cost from $25 million down to $16 million for the six months. For the latest quarter finance cost was slashed from $12 million down to $7 million.
The results for the June quarter places a cloud over the prospects for the balance of the year with what could be tight economic conditions. It is quite possible that the robust performance in the March quarter may have taken sales from the second quarter.
Hardware & Lumber falters in Q2
J$ value improves against all 3
In Wednesday’s forex trading, funds bought by dealers, were US$2 million less than the amount they sold as dealers bought the equivalent of US$26,608,863 versus US$32,008,221 on Tuesday, and sold the equivalent of US$28,847,941 compared to US$34,764,399 on Tuesday.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$22,632,506 compared to US$27,561,242 on Tuesday. The buying rate for the US dollar rose 2 cents to $112.18 and US$26,598,009 was sold versus US$29,391,378 on Tuesday, as the rate declined by 4 cent to $112.79. The Canadian dollar buying rate fell 42 cents, to $101.77 with dealers buying C$1,036,102 and selling C$783,328, as the rate fell $1.01 to $104.45.
The Pound closed at $189.19, for the purchase of £1,676,798, as the rate dropped 1 cent while £507,735 was sold, as the rate shed 22 cents, to $190.92. Other currencies bought, amounted to the equivalent of US$208,442 while selling was the equivalent of US$665,056.
Highs & Lows| The highest rate for buying the US dollar, closed with a 10 cents rise to $113.30, the lowest buying, the highest selling and the lowest selling rates remained unchanged, for the fourth consecutive day, at $91.85, $117.70 and $91.85 respectively. The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar climbed 44 cents to $105.94 and the lowest buying rate lost 4 cents to $82.59. The highest selling rate was down 2 cents to $106.50 and the lowest selling rate was down 5 cents to $99.50. The highest buying rate for the British Pound fell 50 cents to $191.50, the lowest buying rate declined by 41 cents to $152.89, the highest selling rate fell $3.03 to $194.60 and lowest selling rate was up $1.40 to $186.10.
J$ gains versus all 3 majors
The Jamaican dollar made moderate gains against all three main currencies it trades against in Wednesday trading with US$26.6 million being sold at an average an J$112.79 to US$1 as the rate declined by 2 cents, the Canadian lost 4 cents Jamaica to end at J$104.45 and the Pound sterling closed 22 cents lower at J$190.92.
Pan-Jamaican Investment Trust refinances
The first tranche payment of J$600 million due on a $2.5 billion secured notes obtained by Pan-Jamaican Investment Trust in 2012, became payable on maturity on July 22, 2014.
Pan Jamaican indicates in a release to the Jamaica Stock Exchange, that arrangements have been made to refinance the amount with effect from July 23, 2014 for a further two years.
The proceed from the notes was obtained when the company acquired additional shares in Sagicor Life Jamaica (now Sagicor Group) in 2012 for a consideration of $3,055,100,542. The original funds were obtained from a private placement with maturities ranging from 2 years to 5 years.
Jamaica Money Market Brokers raise US$20M
Jamaica Money Market Brokers raised US$20,000,000 through the issue and private placement of unsecured extendible notes denominated in United States dollars. The offer was only available to Jamaican residents.
The private placement offer closed on July 18, 2014 and will mature on July 18, 2016. Note holders have an option to either redeem their notes on the Maturity Date or extend the maturity of their notes to July 18, 2019. The interest rate on the original note is 6.75% fixed for two years and 7.75% on the Extended Notes.
JMMB made profit due to the group’s shareholders of $2.83 billion for the year ending March 2014 and had total equity of $18.3 billion.
JSE Market stronger than fall in indices suggest
In Wednesday’s trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, the prices of 8 stocks rose and 5 declined as 24 securities changed hands, resulting in 4,501,713 shares trading, valued at $25,395,300.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index fell by 318.39 points to 71,629.96 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite index lost 356.02 points to close at 78,803.50.
Gains| Stocks with gains, volume and last traded prices at the end of trading in the main market, are Desnoes & Geddes trading of 1,000 shares to gain 55 cents to $4.55, Jamaica Broilers with 623,700 units changing hands to close with a 2 cents gain at $4.63, Jamaica Money Market Brokers with 33,753 shares gained 10 cents to $7.05, Pan Jamaican Investment gained 2 cents, to close with 68,600 shares at $48.03, Sagicor Group with 4,800 shares ended with an increase of 4 cents at $9.15 and Scotia Group 70,458 units enjoyed a 1 cent gain to $19.01.
Firm| The stocks with volume and last traded prices in the main market to close without a change in price, are Gleaner with 2,020 shares at $1.12, Grace Kennedy 9,624 units at $56.50, Hardware & Lumber 10,000 shares a $9, Jamaica Producers 30,714 shares at $17.50, Radio Jamaica with 5,592 units at $1.22, Scotia Investments 12,600 shares to close at $21, Seprod with 2,215 shares, ended at $10.50 and Supreme Ventures with 25,602units closed at $1.95.
Preference| Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share traded 2,035,823 units at $3.
Declines| The stocks with losses, volume and last traded prices at the end of trading in the main market, are Carreras with 143,726 shares to close with a decline of 29 cents at $33.71, National Commercial Bank with 183,680 shares and closed with a decline 7 cents to $18.93 and Proven Investments ordinary share traded 15,609 units with the price dropping by 2 US cent 16 US cents.
Junior Market| The JSE Junior Market Index declined by 1.00 point to close at 609.88 as 6 stocks traded, with 2 advancing and 2 declining.
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the junior market, are KLE Group 14,460 shares to gain 5 cents at $1 and Lasco Distributors exchanging 815,867 shares as the price recovered 4 cents from the decline on Tuesday, to end at $1.
Firm Trades| Stocks in the junior market that traded to close at the same price as the day before are General Accident with 64,246 units and closed at $1.37 and Jamaican Teas with 39,636 shares closed at $3.25.
Declines| Stocks declining in the junior market at the end of trading, are Lasco Financial with 9,400 shares and declined 10 cents to 90 cents and Lasco Manufacturing with 278,588 shares, closed with a decline of 5 cents to reach a new 52 weeks low of 80 cents.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 12 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 7 stocks with offers that were lower.
First Citizens Jump $1.48 on TTSE
First Citizens Jumped $1.48 in trading on the on the Trinidad Stock Exchange on Wednesday the day after the market was closed for trading. Overall market activity was moderate, with only 10 securities changing hands, of which 3 advanced, 3 declined and 4 traded firm with 168,713 stocks changing hands, with a value of $1,888,988. 
The Composite Index rose 2.65 points to close at 1,164.74, the All T&T Index gained 5.99 points to close at 2,012.38 and the Cross Listed Index fell by a mere 0.09 points to end at 41.51.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close, are Clico Investment Fund with 20,421 units valued at $442,143, the price gained 3 cents to $21.68, First Citizens Bank traded 18,790 shares valued at $688,926, and the price jumped $1.48 to end the day at $37 and Prestige Holding gained a cent to close at $9.41 with 14,000 shares changing hands.
Declines| The stocks declining at the end of trading are Massy Group with 801 units traded to close down a cent at $69.40, Sagicor Financial Corporation traded 400 units to close at $6.67, down 1 cent and Scotia Investments contributed 29,757 shares with a value of $41,719.80, while declining by 10 cents to close at $1.40.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading are Angostura Holdings with a volume of 29,900 shares for $381,225 to close at $12.75, Guardian Holdings traded 3,672 shares at $14.30, National Commercial Bank with 50,639 shares changing hands for a value of $53,171, closed at $1.05 and West Indian Tobacco traded 333 shares to close at $118.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 4 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 3 stocks with offers that were lower.
Not much change to J$ value
In Tuesday’s forex trading, funds bought by dealers, were US$2.8 million less than the amount they sold as dealers bought the equivalent of US$32,008,221 versus US$45,308,423 on Monday, and sold the equivalent of US$34,764,399 compared to US$41,002,071 on Monday.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$27,561,242 compared to US$40,239,776 on Monday. The buying rate for the US dollar fell 13 cents to $112.16 and US$29,391,378 was sold versus US$38,791,195 on Monday, as the rate inched up by 1 cent to $112.83. The Canadian dollar buying rate fell 10 cents, to $102.19 with dealers buying C$1,082,634 and selling C$3,030,833, as the rate increased by 77 cents to $105.45. The Pound closed at $189.19, for the purchase of £1,624,669, as the rate dropped 27 cents while £1,007,267 was sold, as the rate shed 27 cents, to $191.14. Other currencies bought, amounted to the equivalent of US$719,920 while selling was the equivalent of US$833,936.
Highs & Lows| The highest rate for buying the US dollar, closed with a 5 cents fall to $113.20, the lowest buying, the highest selling and the lowest selling rates remained unchanged, for the third day running, at $91.85, $117.70 and $91.85 respectively. The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar remained unchanged at $105.50 and the lowest buying rate lost 41 cents to $82.63. The highest selling rate was down 80 cents to $106.52 and the lowest selling rate was down 50 cents to $99.55. The highest buying rate for the British Pound was unchanged at $192, the lowest buying rate rose 16 cents to $153.30, the highest selling rate rose 21 cents to $197.63 and lowest selling rate was up 20 cents to $184.70.
Junior Market stocks hit pretty hard
Junior Market stocks hit pretty hard with the Lasco companies being some of the main stocks to fall. The junior market index in closing with a fall at the end of trading today was back to last year April 17 level. On July 6 last year, the index peaked at 840.18 for 27 percent decline.
In Tuesday’s trading the prices of 6 stocks rose and 10 declined as 25 securities changed hands, resulting in 13,677,017 shares trading, valued at $33,776,828.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index inched up by 38.79 points to 71,948.35 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite index gained 43.37 points to close at 79,159.52.
Gains| Stocks trading with gains, the volume and last traded prices in the main market, are Grace Kennedy 7,300 shares and gained $1.50 to close at $56.50, Kingston Wharves with 5,525 units, gained 25 cents to $5.25, Sagicor Group 520,305 units changing hands, gained 15 cents to $9.11 and Sagicor Real Estate Fund traded 44,000 units to gain 24 cents to $6.60.
Firm| The stocks with volume and last traded prices in the main market to close without a change in price, are Cable & Wireless with 1,288,478 shares in closing at 30 cents, Desnoes & Geddes with 42,180 units closed at $4, Margaritaville traded 1,700 shares at 11 US cents, Mayberry Investments 24,716 units at $1.55, National Commercial Bank with 69,861 shares closed at $19, Proven Investments 1,560 ordinary shares at 18 US cents, Radio Jamaica 1,400 shares closed at $1.22 and Seprod 4,000 shares at $10.50.
Preference| There was no trading in the preference section.
Declines| The stocks with losses, volume and last traded prices at the end of trading in the main market, are Caribbean Cement with 5,000 shares while losing 10 cents to end at $2.40, Carreras 12,000 shares down 90 cents, to end at $34, Jamaica Money Market Brokers 14,388 ordinary share with a 5 cents fall to $6.95, Jamaica Producers 8,575 shares shed a cent at $17.50, Pan Jamaican Investment with 89,299 shares, lost 9 cents at $48.01 and Scotia Group 560,000 units closed at $19, with a fall of $1.01.
Junior Market| The JSE Junior Market Index declined by 21.13 points to close at 610.88 as 7 stocks traded with 3 advancing and 4 declining.
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the junior market, are Lasco Financial with 758,010 units with an 8 cents rise to $1 and Paramount Trading 8,939 units at $2.70, after rising by 2 cents.
Firm Trades| Jamaican Teas with 27,800 shares closed at $3.25 and was the only stock in the junior market that traded at the same price as the day before.
Declines| Stocks declining in the junior market at the end of trading, are Caribbean Cream 551,940 units at 61 cents down 9 cents to a new 52 weeks and all-time low, followed by General Accident with 219,176 units as the price slipped 9 cents to $1.37, Lasco Distributors had a large volume of 6,933,333 shares and lost 14 cents to 96 cents a new 52 weeks low and Lasco Manufacturing with 2,477,532 shares also closed at a new 52 weeks low of 85 cents as the stock closed with a 5 cents loss.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 10 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 5 stocks with offers that were lower.
Quiet start to trading week
In Monday’s trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, the prices of 5 stocks rose and 4 declined as 24 securities changed hands resulting in a moderate volume of 1,236,101 shares trading, valued at only $6,501,176.
During the early hours of trading, more than 5 million shares of Scotia Group traded but 5 million units were cancelled, due to what the stock exchange said was an error on the buying brokers behalf resulting more stocks being traded than was the official order.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index rose by 197.76 points to 71,909.56 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite index moved up 221.14 points to close at 79,116.15.
Gains| Stocks recording gains, the volume traded and last traded prices, at the close in the main market, are Carreras with 4,113 shares to close with a gain of 90 cents at $34.90, Gleaner with 10,670 units changing hands, gained a cent to close at $1.12, National Commercial Bank 63,229 units with a gain of 94 cents to $19, Proven Investments 52,500 US dollar ordinary shares with an increase of 0.0100 US cents at 18 cents US and Scotia Group with 1,700 shares to end up a cent higher at $20.01.
Firm| The volume and last traded prices of stock trading in the main market to close without a change in price, are Berger Paints with 2,000 shares closing at $1.62, Cable & Wireless 152,455 units at 30 cents, Caribbean Cement with 3,000 shares changing hands at $2.50, Desnoes & Geddes with 645 units at $4, Kingston Wharves 34,221 shares at $5, Mayberry Investments 3,040 units at $1.55, Radio Jamaica 33,556 shares at $1.22, Sagicor Real Estate Fund 18,000 shares at $6.36, Scotia Investments 2,255 units at $21 and Supreme Ventures 17,400 shares at $1.95.
Declines| The only stock end of trading in the main market with a price decline is Sagicor Group with 247,000 shares, down 4 cents to end at $8.96.
Preference| Jamaica Money Market Brokers 8.75% preference share, traded 341,022 units at $3 and Proven Investments 8% preference share 3,500 units at $5.05.
Junior Market| The JSE Junior Market Index increased 4.73 points to close at 632.01 as 6 stocks traded with none advancing and 3 declining.
Gains| There were stocks recording gains in the junior market at the close.
Firm Trades| The active stocks in the junior market to close at the same price as the day before, are Caribbean Cream with 48,060 units at 70 cents, Caribbean Producers 65,000 shares at $2.45 and Consolidated Bakeries with 55,000 units at 80 cents.
Declines| Stocks declining in the junior market at the end of trading, are AMG Packaging that had 7,145 units trading, with a 21 cents fall to $2.89, Caribbean Flavours 3,400 shares closed with a 6 cents loss at $2.45 and Lasco Manufacturing with 67,190 units as the price fell 10 cents to 90 cents.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 14 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 5 stocks with offers that were lower.
