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TTSE: T&T Cement & Neal & Massy in focus

July 10, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Wednesday, 10th July 2013 | Neal & Massy Holdings was the dominant stock in today’s trading on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock exchange as it traded 43,183 shares for $2,547,797 at the previous closing price of $59.

In the overall market activity, 12 securities traded of which 4 advanced, 1 declined and 7 traded firm. A volume of 326,831 shares crossed the floor of the main market of the Exchange valued at $3,848,323 and Clico Investment Fund traded 54,370 shares valued at $1,223,325 in the Mutual Fund Market and closed with the price at $22.50, the same as yesterday. The total amount traded in the market was priced at $5 million.

Trinidad Cement contributed 270,930 shares to the volume at a value of $284,477at $1.05 each, up 5 cents for the day, but closed with the stock being offered at $1.04 for just 500 units. West Indian Tobacco Company had 7,600 shares trading with a value of $893,096, while Sagicor Financial Corporation added 1,670 shares valued at $10,354.

Scotiabank stock gained 21 cents to end the day at $69.96 with only 78 units trading.

IC bid-offer Indicator| At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer market sentiment indicator shows that bids for 3 stocks were higher with 5 stocks having offers lower than their last selling price.

Republic onto something good in Africa

July 10, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Republic Bank of Trinidad & Tobago (RBTT) acquired 8.79 percent of HFC Bank Ghana Limited in 2012 moving them into the fourth largest shareholder spot. Earlier this year, they increased to 32.02 percent making them the largest shareholder, above the Social Security & National Insurance Trust that held 77,588,794 shares or 26.18 percent.

The holding triggered the mandatory takeover requirement and resulted in an application to the Securities and Exchange Commission in Ghana for a waiver of the Code on Take Overs and Mergers. Republic Bank was informed by letter dated 24th June, 2013, that the Commission has denied its application for a waiver and has been advised to comply with the mandatory takeover requirement and make an offer for 42.98 percent of the shareholding in HFC Bank Ghana Limited.

A release from the Trinidadian bank states “Republic Bank is currently engaged in discussions with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Ghana and the Bank of Ghana regarding the next steps. Republic Bank looks forward to deepening its relationship with HFC Bank Ghana Limited and is committed to working with its management and staff to add value to its operations.”

Shares of HFC Bank Ghana Ltd (HFC) began the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2012 at a share price of GH¢0.45 (around J$23). The share price remained steady at GH¢0.45 to the end of December 2012, closing the quarter at its opening price. Thus, with a year-open price of GH¢0.45, the year 2012 closed with HFC shares registering no gain or loss on the share price. The price is now up to GH¢0.55 as of last Friday’s trading on the Ghana Stock Exchange.

HFC closed the year 2012 trading at a forward (annualised) Price-Earnings (P/E) multiple of 10.9 times, which was above the average of its peers which stood at 7.8 times as at December 31, 2012 and a Price-Book Value of 1.04 times. HFC Bank also paid interim dividends for the 2012 financial year and currently has a dividend yield of 5 percent, which compares favourably with its industry peers averaging at a dividend yield of 5.7 percent.

The fourth quarter of 2012 also saw the bank increase its stated capital by GH¢50 million through its private placement which was fully subscribed to. Consequently, the company issued additional shares of 112.42 million, and in addition to executive share options that were exercised in December 2012, the total issued shares for HFC bank stood at 296.36 million shares and a market capitalisation of GH¢133.36 million as at December 31, 2012.

In the year 2012 under review, the Group posted Net Interest Income of GH¢45.46 million up from GH¢39.74million, while profit after tax was GH¢15.42 million in 2012, up by 42.10 percent.

The Ghanaian bank is just the about a third the size of Sagicor Investments, with total assets of GH¢ 594.90 million, an increase of 36.74 percent and customer deposits increased by 35.6 percent to GH¢312.38 million up from last year’s figure of GH¢230.30 million.

Management’s Outlook | “The Bank is positioning itself to be a leading retail and SME focused financial institution in the country. We are therefore providing our staff with training and orientation to efficiently service the financial needs of the large SME market in Ghana. The Bank will also participate in financing of the oil and gas industry, infrastructural and residential real estate projects. Cocoa remains a major contributor to Ghana’s GDP, we will therefore strengthen our presence in the Country to respond to the needs of the industry.

The equity injection and the participation of strategic investors has among others, competitively repositioned the bank in the banking industry to take advantage of enormous opportunities within Ghana. HFC is poised to grow all aspects of its Universal Banking business to deliver value to its shareholders in the year 2013 and beyond. It is expected that these will impact positively on its share price performance. It is recommended that investors hold HFC shares to benefit fully.”

Ghana’s Economy | Ghana’s population is put at 25 million with a GDP per capita on a purchasing power parity basis is US$3,200, in comparison Jamaica’s is US$9,100 with a population of 2.7 million. The bank has a lot of room to grow based on size and the fact that the economy has been on a good growth path.

Country	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Ghana	4.3	3	3	5.8	4.7	5.4	5.9	6	5.5	7.3	4.1	5.7	13.6

The Bank of Ghana Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA) grew by 6.8 percent in December 2012 compared to 14.9 percent growth in 2011. A provisional estimate of the real GDP growth, according to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), was 7.1 percent in 2012.

Inflationary pressures were subdued in 2012 as depicted by trends in consumer prices ending at 8.8 percent in December 2012. The Policy Rate was raised by 250 basis points to 15 percent in June and maintained for the rest of the year, but the benchmark 91-day Treasury Bill rate rose from 10.7 percent in December 2011 to 22.4 percent in December 2012. The average 3 month deposit rate went up to 12.5 percent in December 2012 from 7.8 percent in December 2011, while average lending rates declined marginally from 25.9 percent to 25.7 percent in the same period.

Tax revenue amounted to GH¢11.6 billion, about 3.7 percent lower than the budget target of GH¢12.1 billion, mainly on account of lower company taxes, especially from oil companies. Total expenditure was 14.7 percent higher than the budget target in 2012. The resulting developments in the fiscal operations resulted in a deficit of GH¢8.7 billion (12.1 percent of GDP) against 6.7 percent targeted.

The stock of total public debt stood at GH¢33.5 billion (46.7 percent of GDP) in 2012, compared with GH¢24.0 billion (42.6 percent of GDP) in 2011 with external debt amounting to US$8.0 billion, compared with US$7.8 billion during the corresponding periods. The overall balance of payments surplus of US$546.5 million in 2011 was reversed, recording a deficit of US$1.2 billion in 2012. Gross International Reserves (GIR) at the end of 2012 was US$5.4 billion (3 months import cover) compared to US$5.5 billion in 2011. Private inward transfers through the Banks amounted to US$18.7 billion in 2012, representing a 4.9 percent growth over 2011. During the second half of 2012, stability was restored in the foreign exchange market, following a heightened volatility in the first half of the year, with the cedi experiencing a year-to-date depreciation of 17.5 percent as at December 2012 compared with 5 percent depreciation in 2011.

Major industries | Ghana is involved mainly in mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, cocoa and other food processing and shipbuilding. The major exports are gold and other minerals, cocoa, timber, and tuna. Imports include capital equipment, petroleum, and foodstuffs. The Netherlands, Nigeria, Great Britain, the United States, and China are Ghana’s major trade partners.

Insider call | Republic Bank is an IC Insider Buy Rated stock.

Filed Under: Company News, General Business News Tagged With: Republic Bank, TTSE

JSE: Fourth time in a week

July 9, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Tuesday, 10th July 2013 | In today’s stock market activity, 30 companies, traded 5.5 million shares valued at $15.1 million on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. The advance decline ratio was even at 8 each. Only the junior market index recorded an increase as it made the fourth record high within a week. The other indices except the US equity index which moved up 1 point, declined marginally, the cross listed stock did not trade.

Main Market | Trades of note include: Cable & Wireless traded a million shares between 13 and 14 cents; the large offer at 15 cents is now down to 29.3 million units. Carreras gave up $1 to close at $54 with 4.950 units trading. Grace Kennedy put on 50 cents and closed at $60 on very little volume. National Commercial Bank traded 80,500 shares and lost 21 cents while closing at $19.04. Scotia Group was off 90 cents to $21.10 with 25.680 shares trading. Sagicor Life traded 201,000 units and closed at $9.

Junior market | 11 stocks in the junior market traded, 3 of which closed at new all-time highs while 4 traded at new all-time high during the day. Blue Power closed up at $9.92, an increase of 81 cents as 11,530 shares traded. The focus remains on the Lasco companies as all three hit all time price highs during trading. Lasco Distributors traded 914,381 units between $1.80 and $1.85 and closed at $1.80. Lasco Finance saw more than 572,500 units changing hands between $1.30 and $1.35 and closed at $1.35 up 5 cents. Lasco Manufacturing closed up 15 cents at $1.80 while trading between $1.70 and $1.86 during trading as 961,967 units traded. Caribbean Creams traded 239,580 units at $1.03 each, General Accident chipped in with 223,645 units at $2.

Proven Investment Preference shares traded 589,390 units valued at $3 million while 10,800 of the ordinary shares traded.

Market intelligence | The supply and demand for some selected stocks reported last week has remained essentially the same so investors should pay attention for timing purposes.

IC bid-offer Indicator | At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer market sentiment indicator shows that bids for 5 stocks were higher with 3 stocks having offers lower than their last selling price.

Filed Under: JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Daily Trading, JSE Company, Trading Activity

TTSE: AnsaMcAl trades heavy

July 9, 2013 by IC Insider.com

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Tuesday, 9th July 2013 | Trading activity on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock exchange took place in 11 securities of which 3 advanced, 3 declined and 5 traded firm. A volume of 878,144 shares changed hands at a value of $24 1 million of which $16,745,549 was by main market stocks and $7,373,701 for mutual funds.

ANSA McAL traded 210,375 shares at a value of $13,989,938 closing 69 cents down at $66.50. Jamaica Money Market Brokers had a volume of 165,987 shares with a value of $74,694, Trinidad Cement contributed 97,696 units with a value of $97,696, while Sagicor Financial Corporation added 27,116 shares valued at $168,119. West Indian Tobacco traded 1,500 shares and closed at $117.50 up 25 cents

Clico Investment Fund traded 327,720 shares at $22.50.

IC bid-offer Indicator | At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer market sentiment indicator shows that bids for 2 stocks were higher with 3 stocks having offers lower than their last selling price.

Filed Under: Stock Market, TTSE Market Tagged With: Daily Trading, Trading Activity, TTSE

FX: Rates mixed but US$ at $101.90

July 9, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Tuesday, 9th July 2013 | There was $30.17 million in US dollar equivalents purchased by authorised dealers on Tuesday and they sold the equivalent of US$33 million to end users. The amount of US dollar currency purchased was less than the amount sold by US$3.5 million as only US$26.11 million was purchased.

The selling rate for the US dollar climbed 18 cents on Tuesday to close at $101.90. At the same time the buying rate slipped back by 10 cents closing at $101.95, yet the highest buying rate for the US dollar climbed by 40 cents to close at 103.20 and the highest selling rate moved up by 21 cents but there were no changes to the lowest buying and selling rates.

Buying of the Canadian went up by 25 cents to $94.92 and the selling climbed 93 cents while closing at $97.15. The highest buying rate for the Canadian dollar climbed by a mere 5 cents to close at $96.45 and the highest selling rate moved up down by 22 cents and the lowest buying rate moved up by $1.

Buying of the Pound went up by $1.42 to $150.81 and the selling fell by $1.07 closing at $151.36. The highest buying rate for the British Pound fell 70 cents to close at $154 and the highest selling rate moved down by $1.27 to $158.64 and the lowest selling rates increased by 55 cents to $147.55.

Filed Under: FX Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Daily Trading, FX Market, Trading Activity

JSE IPO oversubscribed by 41%

July 9, 2013 by IC Insider.com

[Press Release] The Invitation for Subscription for 38,250,000 Shares at the Invitation price of J$2.85 Jamaica Stock Exchange Limited (the “Company”) which opened on Friday, 5th July, closed at 4 pm today, Monday, 8th July, 2013 well ahead of the projected closing of 19^th July. The Invitation for sale and subscription of the JSE shares was oversubscribed by 41% and in excess of 150 applications were received. Applicants (inclusive of Applicants for Reserved Shares) will be advised of the basis of allotment within three (3) business days in accordance with the Main Market Rules, in addition to being posted on the JSE website.

The closing of the Invitation represents a landmark event for the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) as they will now be able to use the proceeds to foster future growth for the company which will be done through new product offerings that will further diversify its business and income streams, in addition to settling outstanding debt obligations.

Lamar Harris, Manager of Investment Banking at Stocks & Securities Ltd. said “SSL has received an overwhelmingly positive response to the offer. This is extremely encouraging when one considers the vital role that the JSE plays in building Jamaica’s capital markets and that the Exchange is a National utility. The listing of the JSE is a historic event and SSL is truly proud to be the lead broker.”

The closing of the Invitation represents SSL’s fifth client IPO offering, as well as the company’s first anticipated Main Market listing.

Filed Under: Initial Public Offers, JSE Main Market, Stock Market Tagged With: JSE Company

Ansa McCal profit up but it’s a sell!

July 9, 2013 by IC Insider.com

The Ansa McCal Group has delivered top line revenues of $1,439 million compared to $1,305 million in 2012, an increase of 10% and this translated to a 6% increase in pre-tax and after tax profit and a 6% increase in EPS over the prior year thanks to lower interest cost.

The real issue is that profit fell in the quarter before charging interest on loan funding. But for this, profit would have been down as the group reported operating profit of $211 million down from $222 million in 2011 first quarter. A $24 million reduction in interest cost based on a decision of the Group to reduce their exposure to the possibility of interest rates increases and paid down the level of indebtedness by reducing long term debt of $812 million in 2011 to just $13 million at the end of 2012, helped the Group to deliver the profit of $163.5 million after tax as opposed to $153.8 million in the 2011 period before non-controlling interest in subsidiary. Profit due to the Group’s shareholders amount to $142 million versus $132 million in 2012 or 82 cents per share. All this translate to cost rising faster than income. Not a great surprise as Trinidad has suffered from above normal inflation while the economy is essentially in a recession although 2012 showed moderate growth after three years of declines.

In 2012 the Group made profits of $634 million, in 2011 the profit was $597 million but that was down from the $621 million earned in 2010. However, the Group, looks to be on track to earn around $4 per share for 2013.

A report from the company’s management indicates that “the Group has seen improved performance in Manufacturing, Trading, Distribution, Automotive, Media and Services. The growth in Manufacturing is particularly strong in the construction sector, which indicates increased activity in the economy and this sector remains a key driver of national economic growth. The Group continues to be well positioned to deliver on key strategic initiatives which have been previously announced, inclusive of the new block plant and the ERP project. Based on these factors, we are confident that we are on track to meet our full year targets.”

Cash flow | It is not difficult to see why the loans were paid down in 2012 as the company is throwing off lots of cash with cash flow of more than $411 million for the first quarter helping to swell the cash to $1.78 billion at the end of March, up from December’s $1.366 billion. In 2012 the Group spent $409 million on fixed assets and in 2011, $387 million as they continue to invest for expansion and modernisation. The amount spent in 2012 includes the Group’s acquisition of a furniture manufacturing and retail of appliances and electronic and electrical equipment that operates in Trinidad and Barbados.

Financials | Interestingly, profits have been growing since 2008 but return on equity has fallen each year as the equity to debt ratio improves with the cost of debt being less than the return on equity. Only time will tell if management did the correct thing in paying down cheap debt instead of paying investors more in dividends. This is also a sign that the company is reaching or has reached a level of maturity in the market where its know-how is honed, hence investment opportunities have become limited to utilising its own funds and that of others.

Segments & results | Manufacturing, packaging & brewing enjoyed 10 percent increase in revenues and 34 percent in pre-tax profit, the Automotive, trading & distribution recorded a 12 percent increase in revenues and 41.6 percent growth in pre-tax profit, Insurance & financial services suffered a 1.3 percent decrease in revenues and 11.5 percent fall in pre-tax profit, Media including radio, television and newspaper, services & parent company, increased by 21 percent but generated a 15 percent drop in pre-tax profit.

Buy hold sell |The Group’s finances is strong with a well-diversified portfolio of businesses that can help it weather storms. Unless the Trinidad & Tobago economy springs back to life soon there is little hope for rapid growth in profits. The PE of the stock is around 17 this year’s earnings and the dividend yield is low with a dividend of $1.10 per annum, hence the stock would not be attractive to investors looking to invest for income purposes. The growth rate frankly does not warrant a PE of such heights for the stock. Investors should consider lightening up on this stock based on the above negatives.

The stock trades on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange.

Filed Under: Company News, Company Results Tagged With: Ansa McCal, TTSE

FX: GBP, CAD mostly cheaper, USD slightly up

July 8, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Monday, 8th July 2013 | The Pound sterling and the Canadian dollar were mostly cheaper today versus the Jamaican dollar and the US dollar was moderately more expensive as a total amount of currencies traded was the equivalent of US$42.5 million buying while $38.6 million was sold.

In today’s Forex trading, the Jamaican dollar closed at a selling rate of $101.72 to the US dollar as the currency slowly drifts upwards, this time by 7 cents, and authorised dealers purchased the US dollar for 101.05, more than 15 cents than they did on Friday. The Canadian dollar closed at a selling rate of $96.22 down by $1.08 and authorised dealers purchased the Canadian dollar for $94.67 less than Friday by $1.28. The Pound sterling closed at a selling rate of J$152.43, an insignificant 9 cents more than Fridays close, while buying took place by authorised dealers at J$149.39, a significant $1.31 below Fridays close.

Highest rates traded in buying the currencies: For the US dollar $102.80 up 50 cents, Canadian $96.40 down 45 cents, Pound sterling $ 154.70 up 10 cents. The lowest buying rates were the US dollar $83.50 up 42 cents, Canadian $77.27 down 71 cents, Pound sterling $122.63 down $1.41.

Highest rates traded in selling the currencies: For the US dollar $107 no change, Canadian $100.53 no change from Friday, Pound sterling $159.91 up $1.91. The lowest selling rates were the US dollar $82.67 up 42 cents, Canadian $92 down $1.95, Pound sterling $ 147 down $1.

Filed Under: FX Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Daily Trading, FX Market, Trading Activity

Ghana Stock Exchange best African performer

July 8, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Report from www.myjoyonline.com | The Ghana Stock Exchange is the best performing market in Africa in terms of returns to investors for the first quarter of this year. That’s the conclusion of Databank’s quarterly market research, which ranks stock markets in Africa based on dollar returns to investors.
With a little over 45 percent return, the report ranked Ghana’s stock market as the best performer beating other markets like South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria.
In cedi terms, the Ghana Stock Exchange has returned nearly 53 percent to investors. This is far better than the 23 percent you would have earned if you had invested in Treasury bills or about the average 15 percent annum you would have realized on your bank deposit.
Vice President of Databank Financial Services, Reverend Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh explains to JOY-BUSINESS what must be accounting for this. “Just before the end of last year, we saw the market picking up and showing signs of beginning to have a good rally. So we expected and projected that we’re going to have a good rally this year driven especially by the financial stocks as evident in the valuation,” he said.
But what will this mean to retail investors and can the market sustain the performance?
“If the rally was not supported by the fundamentals, that’s when it would have been a source of worry because of the possible correction in the near future. If you monitor the full year 2012 results and even the Q1 results that have been released, it gives some support to the price rally seen on our markets. So if anything at all, the upward trend is likely to be sustained – maybe not at the same pace, but we still expect the market to inch up. For me, I would like to caution retail investors to know that investing in shares is a long-term play and so shouldn’t just be excited about the short term benefits but also get interested in the long term benefits.” he said.

Story by Ghana / Joy Business / Emmanuel Agyei / George Wiafe

Filed Under: Economy, Global Market, Stock Market Tagged With: Economy

JSE: Jrs march on, main market drops

July 8, 2013 by IC Insider.com

Monday, 8th July 2013 | In a moderate trading session, the junior market raced to the 4^th record high in less than a week as the Lasco Manufacturing and AMG Packaging moved up minutely in price. But the fall back in the price of Scotia Group from the impact of Friday’s rise, when it traded at $24, was felt today along with a fall in NCB and Carreras.

Main Market | The all Jamaica Index fell sharply by 2,286.97 points to close at 88,233.55 and the main market index dropped by 1,299.05 to end the day at 86,977.41. Trades of note include Carreras down to $55 off by 78 cents while trading 5,750 shares, NCB shed 75 cents to close at $19.25 with 71,600 shares trading, Sagicor Life put on 57 cents to close at $9, 180,538 shares traded, Scotia Group traded 152,000 shares valued at $3.2 million and closed back at $22, the same as the last trade on Friday. Scotia Investment traded 87,852 shares as the stock closed at $26 down 50 cents, after trading between $26 and $26.70.

Junior Market | 10 stocks traded in the junior market with Blue Power trading 45,798 shares at the price of $9.18 with no change for the day. Caribbean Producers traded 75,712 units at $2.03. Dolphin Cove closed down 15 cents at $8.20, General Accident moved 353,000 between $1.96 and $2.02, Lasco Distributors traded 381,576 units at $1.80 and had a bid for 118,000 units at $1.80 at the close. Lasco Finance saw more than 441,000 units changing hands between $1.30 and $1.32 with 73,000 units on the bid at the close at $1.33. Lasco Manufacturing closed up 2 cents at $1.65, an all-time closing high with 60,000 units. The stock traded between $1.65 and $1.80.

The three Lasco shares will be free to trade in the post-split quantities on Tuesday. With the full volume available to trade, it should be interesting to see the market’s reaction.

IC bid-offer Indicator | At the end of trading, the Investor’s Choice bid-offer market sentiment indicator shows that bids for 4 stocks were higher with 3 stocks having offers that were lower than their last selling price.