In Wednesday’s trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, the prices of 3 stocks rose, 4 declined as 18 securities changed hands, resulting in 4,500,373 shares trading, valued at $18,301,213.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index fell by 32.60 points to 69,948.07 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite index lost 36.46 points to close at 76,922.85.
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the main market, are Carreras with 1,348 shares and gained 30 cents to close at $33.90 followed by Ciboney with 510,000 shares to close one cent higher at 9 cents and National Commercial Bank 138,815 units gained 1 cent and closed at $18.01.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in price, are Gleaner with 3,102 units and closed at $1.10, Grace Kennedy traded 2,500 units to close at $56, Jamaica Money Market Brokers with 6,100 ordinary shares closed at $6.95, Pan Jamaican Investment had 6,030 units trading, to close at $48.02, Sagicor Group 87,408 shares closed with the price at $9 and Scotia Investments traded only 2,625 units to close at $21.10.
Preference| Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded 30,000 units to close unchanged at $2.
Declines| The number of stocks that declined in the main market, are Jamaica Broilers with only 3,101 shares and closed with a decline of 4 cents at $4.57, Proven Investments with 4,000 ordinary shares, closed with a decline of 0.0095 cent to end at 17 US cents, Sagicor Real Estate Fund closed with a decline of 25 cents, to end at $6.05 with 211,930 units changing hands and Scotia Group with 97,601 shares closed with a decline of 11 cents at $18.50.
Junior Market| The JSE Junior Market Index declined by 6.52 points to close at 663.34 as 4 stocks traded with none advancing nor declining.
Gains| No stocks gained in the junior market at the end of trading.
Firm Trades| The stocks in the junior market that traded to close at the same price as the day before, are KLE Group with 9,424 shares to close at 95 cents, Buy Rated Knutsford Express had 1,812,228 units changing hands to close at $5.17, Lasco Distributors with 1,148,711 units, closed at $1.20 and Lasco Manufacturing with 425,450 shares closed at $1.
Declines| No stocks declined in the junior market at the end of trading.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 6 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 6 stocks with offers that were lower.
JSE slips slightly on Wednesday
Carreras to consider another dividend payment
Carreras advised the stock exchange that a dividend payment will be considered at a meeting to be held on July 30, 2014 by the board. This should be the regular quarterly dividend which is usually paid in August.
Carreras last declared a special capital cash distribution of $1.34 per stock unit to be paid on July 31, 2014 to stockholders on July 18, 2014 with the Ex-dividend date July 16, 2014. The funds are out of proceeds received from the liquidation of a subsidiary, pending the granting of a transfer tax exemption pursuant to the Transfer Tax Act the company said in a release to the Jamaica Stock Exchange. The special capital cash distribution will brings the total payments the company made to shareholders since August last year to $8.89.
A special capital cash distribution of $1.18 was paid in January this year, the company also paid an interim dividend of $1.75 per stock unit on June 26, $1.62 per share. On March 13 they paid a dollar per share as well as in August and November last year.
Scotiabank set for more fall on TTSE
Scotiabank did not trade on Tuesday but seems set for a big drop when next it trades, unless someone intervenes at a higher price than the last. The stock closed with an offer to sell 280 shares at $66.99 well off the last selling price of $68.37.
The bank’s stock has been weak since they reported lower half year results, at the end of May.
Trading on the Trinidad stock market resulted in 13 securities changing hands of which 2 advanced, 3 declined and 8 traded firm, with 771,780 shares changing hands, with a value of $6,307,843.
The Composite Index rose 0.11 points to close at 1,164.86, the All T&T Index advanced by 0.48 points to close at 2,009.39 and the Cross Listed Index fell 0.03 points to 41.94.
Gains| Stocks increasing in price at the close are, First Citizens with 6,442 units and gained 8 cents to close at $35.40 and Unilever Caribbean gained 19 cents to end the day at $62.75 while trading just 25 shares, for a new 52 weeks high.
Declines| The stocks declining at the end of trading, are Clico Investment Fund with 58,100 shares valued at $1,260,075, the price fell by 1 cent to end at $21.68, Readymix (West Indies) lost 33 cents to close at $19 a new 52 weeks low, with only 50 units trading and Sagicor Financial that saw 15,299 shares changing hands, the price fell 4 cents to $6.70.
Firm Trades| Stocks closing with prices unchanged at the end of trading, are Ansa Mcal with 224 shares, closed at $66.30, Firstcaribbean International Bank contributed 24,121 shares with a value of $120,605, to close at $5, Guardian Holdings with 257,302 shares traded for $3,705,149, closed at $14.40, Massy Group traded 1,894 units to close at $69.40, National Enterprises with 15,355 units, ended at $18.24, National Flour Mills with 367,432 shares changing hands for a value of $367,432, closed at $1, followed by while Point Lisas Industrial Port Development that added 20,536 shares valued at $85,224, and closed at $4.15, Trinidad Cement traded 5,000 units to close at $1.95
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 3 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 2 stocks with offers that were lower.
Jamaican dollar gains versus US & Canadian
In Tuesday’s forex trading, buying and selling volumes were more closely matched with funds bought by dealers being slightly above the amounts sold. Dealers bought just over US$13 million in all currencies than they sold.
On Tuesday, dealers bought the equivalent of $25,710,419 versus US$47,763,088 on Monday and sold the equivalent of US$24,985,551 compared to US$34,622,132 on Monday.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$23,198,261compared to US$42,021,074 on Monday as the buying rate for the US dollar, slipped 6 cents to $112.08 and sold US$22,007,235 versus US$31,275,581 on Monday, as the rate eased 7 cents to $112.63.
The Canadian dollar buying rate rose 13 cents, to $102.93 with dealers buying C$852,194 and selling C$750,104 as the rate fell 9 cents, to $105.21.
The Pound closed at $189.29, for the purchase of £962,129 down 93 cents, while only £896,565 was sold, with the rate climbing by 40 cents, to $192.68. Other currencies bought, amounted to the equivalent of US$104,562 while selling was the equivalent of US$992,469.
Highs & Lows| All the highs and lows at the end of trading that moved declined. The highest rate for buying the US dollar, closed with a loss of 10 cents at $113.10, the lowest buying rate and the highest selling rate remained unchanged at $91.85 and $117.70 respectively, while the lowest selling rate dropped back by 16 cents cents to $91.85.
The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar declined by 30 cents, to $105.05 and the lowest buying rate and the highest selling rate and the lowest selling rate were unchanged at $83.21, $107.21 and $100.25 respectively.The highest buying rate for the British Pound, fell 30 cents to $193.30, while the lowest buying and selling rates were unchanged at $153.88 and $185.40 respectively, the highest selling rate fell $3.36 to $195.66.
Gains more than losses but indices fall on JSE
In Tuesday’s trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, the prices of 8 stocks rose, 5 declined as 23 securities changed hands, culminating in 3,304,455 shares trading, valued at $12,238,376.
Main Market| The JSE Market Index dropped by 278.54 points to 69,980.67 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite index fell 311.45points to close at 76,959.31.
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the main market, are Cable & Wireless with 331,127 units as the price closed 4 cents higher at 29 cents, Caribbean Cement with 15,180 shares, closed with a 15 cents gain at $2.40, Grace Kennedy traded just 1,140 units and gained $1 to end at $56, Jamaica Broilers had 107,554 shares changing hands with a 4 cents gain, to end at $4.61, Mayberry Investments had 9,000 units trading, with a 2 cents gain to close at $1.57, Scotia Group traded only 12,450 shares with a gain of 10 cents as the price closed at $18.61 and Supreme Ventures 8,000 units, resulted in a 2 cents rise to $1.97.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in price, are Berger Paints with 14,787 to close at $1.62, Ciboney 6,000 shares to close at 8 cents, Desnoes & Geddes 1,959,606 shares to close at $4.25, Jamaica Money Market Brokers with 2,235 ordinary shares to close at $6.95, Kingston Wharves traded 68,182 shares to close at $5, National Commercial Bank traded 15,557 shares to close at $18, Radio Jamaica with 135,998 shares closed at $1.28 and Salada Foods 30,000 shares changed hands, to close at $7.90.
Declines| The number of stocks that declined in the main market, are Gleaner with 3,696 units to close at $1.10, after shedding a cent, Pan Jamaican Investment with 18,740 shares as the price slipped 24 cents to $48.02, Sagicor Group 15,168 shares traded with a loss of 5 cents to end at $9 and Scotia Investments closed at $21.10 with a loss of 20 cents, as 3,000 shares were traded.
Preference| Proven Investments 8% preference share traded 5,000 units to close unchanged at $5.04.
Junior Market| The JSE Junior Market Index declined by 9.54 points to close at 669.86 as only 3 securities traded, with one advancing and one declining.
Gains| The only stock to gain at the end of trading in the junior market is General Accident with 440,040 units as the price closed up 5 cents to $1.50.
Firm Trades| The active stock in the junior market to close at the same price as the day before, is Dolphin Cove with 1,000 shares at $8.30.
Declines| Lasco Manufacturing was the sole stock declining in the junior market at the end of trading, as 100,995 shares changed hands at $1 for a 4 cents fall.
IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading the Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator had 5 stocks with bids higher than their last selling prices and 6 stocks with offers that were lower.
Allan Lewis new chairman – Jamaica Stock Exchnage
Alan Lewis – Chairman JSE
Ian McNaughton, Managing Director, Barita Investments was elected Deputy Chairman. Donovan Perkins, the former Chairman had previously indicated to the shareholders that he was stepping down as the Chairman of the Company, due his appointment as the CEO of the newly acquired RBC Bank by Sagicor Group Jamaica.
Ian McNaughton
US$13M more bought than sold as J$ improves
In Monday’s forex trading, dealers bought just over US$13 million in all currencies than they sold. The amount of the US currency purchased, exceeded the amount sold by nearly $11 million as the Jamaican currency improved in value by the end of trading.
On Monday, dealers bought the equivalent of $47,763,088 versus US$31,703,986 on Friday and sold the equivalent of US$34,622,132 compared to US$30,989,839 on Friday.
In US dollar trading, dealers bought US$42,021,074 compared to US$26,056,055 on Friday as the buying rate for the US dollar, rose 5 cents to $112.14 and sold US$31,275,581 versus US$24,483,036 on Friday, as the rate eased 2 cents to $112.70.
The Canadian dollar buying rate fell $1.60, to $102.80 with dealers buying C$1,640,272 and selling C$1,119,962 as the rate fell 77 cents, to $105.30.
The Pound closed at $190.22, for the purchase of £2,001,074, down 16 cents, while only £896,565 was sold, with the rate shedding by 25 cents, to $192.28. Other currencies bought, amounted to the equivalent of US$843,908 while selling was the equivalent of US$770,527.
Highs & Lows| The highest rate for buying the US dollar, the lowest buying rate and the highest selling rate remained unchanged at $113.20, $91.85 and $117.70 respectively, while the lowest selling rate dropped back by $17.99 cents to $92.01.
The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar declined by 15 cents, to $105.35 and the lowest buying rate was up 4 cents to $83.21, the highest selling rate was unchanged at $107.21 and the lowest was up 5 cents to $100.25. The highest buying rate for the British Pound, climbed 40 cents to $193.60, while the lowest buying rate fell by 50 cents to $153.88 and the highest selling rate rose $3.04 to $199.02, the lowest selling rate was down by 60 cents to $185.40.
Grace acquires US$80M US food company
Jamaica’s Grace Kennedy continues its overseas expansion in what it says is a continuation of its strategy of becoming a Global Consumer Group. The company through one of its subsidiaries entered into an agreement to purchase the operating assets and business of La Fe Foods Inc., including its brand.
Grace Kennedy accounted for 82% of Monday’s volume.
La Fe is said to be the top Hispanic Brand in the frozen food category in Northeast USA. The company was established in 1968 and currently has revenues of approximately US$80 million. Grace expects the acquired business will be the platform for the growth of Grace Kennedy’s North American business going forward. The purchase price is US$26 million.
This acquisition is a major step in achieving our vision of being a Global Consumer Group,” said Grace Kennedy Group CEO, Don Wehby. “La Fe was attractive to us for several reasons, including its distribution channels across the East Coast USA and its strong relationships with blue-chip retailers across the US. The company has operations in Moonachie, New Jersey; Miami, Florida and Raleigh, North Carolina, with brand and distribution presence in the New York/Tri-state area, Florida, Georgia and the East Coast. Our international business started with the Jamaican diaspora. We have served them proudly for a very long time, and we will now be able to serve them even better while catering to a new market for Grace Kennedy as well. We are very excited about this acquisition, which we anticipate will be a serious game-changer for our Food Distribution Network,” he said.
Grace Kennedy products
The La Fe transaction is the second major acquisition for Grace Kennedy outside of Jamaica for the Foods Division with the first being the acquisition of WT Foods (now Grace Foods UK) in the UK in 2007. Grace Foods UK has shown improved profits and revenue since the 2007 acquisition.
The acquisition comes on the heels of Grace finalising the divestment of a part of its financial arm, to Proven Investments for US$18.6 million or J$2.05 billion for
.
Lousy Monday trading on JSE
Monday’s trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange was very moderate, as the prices of 3 stocks rose, 6 declined and 18 securities changed hands, resulting in 1,001,293 shares trading valued at a mere $4,627,847.
Main Market| By the close of trading the JSE Market Index inched up by 71.70 points to 70,259.21 and the JSE All Jamaican Composite index moved up 80.17 points to close at 77,270.76.
Gains| Stocks recording gains at the end of trading in the main market, are Grace Kennedy with 7,725 units as the price gained 99 cents to $55, Pan Jamaican Investment traded only 1,558 shares but gained 25 cents, to land at $48.26 and Scotia Group with 94,278 units changing hands, gained a cent to close at $18.51.
Firm| The stocks in the main market to close without a change in price, are Carreras with 10,224 shares closing at $33.60. Mayberry Investments traded 3,943 units and closed at $1.55, Seprod traded 5,000 units and ended at $10.50 and Supreme Ventures traded 11,500 units to close at $1.95.
Preference| Jamaica Money Market Brokers 7.50% preference share traded 2,000 units at $2.
Declines| The number of stocks declining in the main market, are Cable & Wireless with 502,916 shares, while losing 2 cents to end at 25 cents, Jamaica Broilers with 76,626 shares, lost 3 cents to close at $4.57, National Commercial Bank with 8,475 units, closed with a 2 cents loss at $18, Sagicor Group in trading 115,510 shares lost 5 cents to close at $9.05 and Sagicor Real Estate Fund, exchanged 4,500 units for 10 cents lower at $6.30.
Junior Market| The JSE Junior Market Index declined by 8.99 points to close at 679.40 as 5 securities traded, with none advancing and one declining.
Firm Trades| Stocks in the junior market that traded to close at the same price as the day before, are Caribbean Cream with 38,240 shares to close at 70 cents, Jamaican Teas with only 698 units at $3.25, Lasco Financial Services with 29,100 shares to close at $1 and Medical Disposables & Supplies with 86,000 shares at $2.
Declines| The only stocks declining in the junior market at the end of trading is Lasco Distributors with 3,000 units to close down 10 cents at $1.20.
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 4 stocks with offers that were lower.
Is the real estate price right?
In the heady days when Olint, the forex trading company was around, and many clients of that entity were reaping 10 percent per month, persons were paying almost as much for used residential units as new ones.
Apartment complex at East Oakridge in Kingston 8
How can an investor get a good idea if the price is about right? Be like a valuator, do comparison pricing. A good place to start getting information on selling price per square foot are ads selling properties, especially new ones. Houses are of different sizes and make up, but by and large they have one thing in common, that is square footage. If the square footage is known, the value per square foot should be computed for all units, then prices can compared, because there is a common measuring rod. Without reducing values to a common measure, it becomes difficult to determine if one property is appropriately priced or not.
Interior of Model unit at East Oakridge apartment complex
Some advertisements and a news item in the newspapers, provide some useful information as to where values are in the local market currently. Location of course is an important element of pricing, this is not factored in here. The information gleaned have values per square foot, ranging form a low of $10,000 for lower income units to a high of $25,000 per square foot for a Montego Bay waterfront property. The typical upper income units seem to be price around $22,000 per square foot for units of 600-700 square feet to $16,000 to $20,000 on the upper end for larger units. Older units would normally be valued based on be discount from the current selling prices of new units for their age, at around 2 percent per annum.
According to a Sunday Gleaner publication on July 20, 2014 Real-estate developer Matalon Homes is investing in a residential project called Welwyn. Construction of the luxury townhouses and apartments at Millsborough in St Andrew is to last a year. The units are priced at US$210,000 for the apartments of 1,100 square feet and US$420,000 for the townhouses comprising 2,100 square feet or approximately $23.6 million and $47.3 million respectively. The selling price works at $21,570 and $22,250 per square foot respectively.
Apartment unit at Montego Freeport, priced at $25,000 per sq. Ft.
In East Oakridge, Kingston 8 area, there are 1 and 2 bedroom apartments of 986 and 1,486 square foot, priced at $19 to 24 million or $19,250 and $16,150 per square foot respectively.Over in Montego Bay, The Landings at the Spring Gardens, have studios of 872 square foot going for US$131,000 to US$137,000 or J$17,000 per square foot and 2 bedrooms of 1,575 square foot, going at US$219,000 t0 $229,000 or $15,700 per square foot. There is the requirement for 35 percent deposit in two tranches. Over at Montego Freeport, there are also units selling at $25,000 per square foot. While, properties in the main cities are going at the above prices for new units, out in rural Jamaica, smaller units of 800 square feet are priced around $10,000 per square foot. Many of these tend to be built on cheaper lands than say in Kingston, they are also benefit from the fact that the developers are building hundreds of them in one community thus enjoying economies of scale.
