Trading plunged on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Friday, with an 81 percent drop in the volume of stocks traded, with a 77 percent lower value than Thursday following trading in 44 securities as was the case on Thursday, with prices of 19 rising, 12 declining and 13 closing unchanged.
Trading closed with an exchange of 1,594,451 shares for $3,409,014 down sharply from 8,355,224 stock units at $15,074,942 on Thursday.
Trading averaged 36,238 shares at $77,478, compared with 189,891 units at $342,612 on Thursday with the month to date, averaging 217,407 units at $486,040 compared to 231,540 stock units at $517,914 on the previous day and March with an average of 221,659 units at $464,382.
Spur Tree Spices led trading with 344,879 shares for 21.6 percent of total volume followed by ONE on ONE Educational with 334,089 units for 21 percent of the day’s trade and Future Energy with 208,553 units for 13.1 percent market share.
At the close of trading, the Junior Market Index jumped 35.75 points, ending at 3,794.14.
The Junior Market ended trading with an average PE Ratio of 12.6, based on last traded prices in conjunction with earnings projected by ICInsider.com for the financial years ending around August 2025.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows none ended with a bid higher than the last selling price and two with lower offers.
At the close, Access Financial popped 12 cents to end at $21.12 after a transfer of 2,053 shares, AMG Packaging gained 18 cents to close at $3.59 with 199 units crossing the market, Cargo Handlers rose 98 cents in closing at $13.83 in an exchange of 103 stocks. Caribbean Flavours rallied 9 cents and ended at $1.68 with investors swapping 10,055 stock units, Dolphin Cove dropped 26 cents to close at $19.50 with a transfer of 6,983 shares, Everything Fresh fell 18 cents to finish at $1.56 with investors trading 1,016 stock units. Honey Bun shed 10 cents to end at $8 after an exchange of 1,344 units, Image Plus popped 6 cents to end at $1.93 with 4,867 stock units clearing the market, Jamaican Teas rose 6 cents to $2.50 in trading 3 shares. Jetcon Corporation increased 10 cents to end at 95 cents and closed after an exchange of 309 stocks, Knutsford Express sank 9 cents in closing at $11.41 after an exchange of 324 units. Lumber Depot popped 9 cents higher and ended at $2.65 with investors trading 45,776 stocks, Main Event dipped 9 cents to finish at $13.90 after an exchange of 5,640 shares. Spur Tree Spices advanced 8 cents to close at $2.50 in trading 344,879 stock units, Tropical Battery increased 5 cents to end at $2.20 with investors transferring 53,344 stocks and tTech shed 6 cents to close at $2.20 after trading 20 units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
More TTSE stocks rose than fell
Rising stocks beat out those declining on Friday, with one closing at a 52 weeks’ high but trading ended on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange on Friday, with the primary indices declining after 17 securities were traded compared with 18 on Thursday and ending with prices of eight rising, five declining, with four unchanged as investors traded 181 percent more stocks than on Thursday as the value surged 169 percent.
The market closed with an exchange of 888,399 shares for $7,274,583 up from 315,653 stocks at $2,709,242 on Thursday.
An average of 52,259 shares were traded at $427,917 up from 17,536 units at $150,513 on Thursday, with trading month to date averaging 15,774 shares at $168,973 compared to 13,135 stock units at $150,250 on the previous day and an average for March of 28,236 shares at $236,496.
The Composite Index fell 3.53 points to 1,201.56, the All T&T Index dropped 3.87 points to end at 1,807.29, the SME Index remained at 77.71 and the Cross-Listed Index shed 0.44 points to settle at 77.45.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows seven stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and seven with lower offers.
At the close, investors traded 36,363 shares of Agostini’s to end at $69, Endeavour Holdings jumped $1.25 to finish trading at a 52 weeks’ high of $16.25 after an exchange of just 3 units, First Citizens Group gained 5 cents to end at $48.15 after investors traded 1,834 shares. FirstCaribbean International Bank ended at $7.04 after 14,609 stocks were traded, GraceKennedy popped 5 cents to close at $3.95 after a transfer of 6,000 shares, JMMB Group rallied just 1 cent to finish at $1.49 with investors trading 16,725 stocks. L.J. Williams B share ended at $1.99 in switching ownership of one unit, Massy Holdings increased 6 cents to $4.36 with 782,440 stock units changing hands, National Flour Mills rallied 5 cents in closing at $2.25 with investors dealing in 1,313 shares. One Caribbean Media shed 8 cents to finish at $3.72, with 400 stocks crossing the market, Prestige Holdings slipped 1 cent to $13.99 after an exchange of 138 units, Republic Financial dropped 70 cents to close at $118.25 and closed with 5,588 stock units being traded. Scotiabank advanced 40 cents to $69.95 in an exchange of 3,056 shares, Trinidad & Tobago NGL popped 48 cents in closing at $8.98, with 151 stock units crossing the market, Trinidad Cement remained at $2.97 in an exchange of 60 units. Unilever Caribbean sank 40 cents to close at $11.16 with 18,825 stocks passing through the market and West Indian Tobacco dropped $1.93 to finish at $11.07 with an exchange of 893 units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Trading spreads on JSE USD Market
Investors participated in a wide selection of stocks in trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange US dollar market on Thursday, resulting in trading in 11 securities, compared to 10 on Wednesday with prices of three rising, four declining and four ending unchanged, with the volume of stocks traded declining 93 percent with an 89 percent lower value than on Wednesday.
The market closed with an exchange of 66,053 shares for US$5,574 compared to 1,005,394 units at US$50,711 on Wednesday.
Trading averaged 6,005 units at US$507 versus 100,539 shares at US$5,071 on Wednesday, with a month to date average of 33,620 shares at US$2,132 compared with 36,785 units at US$2,318 on the previous day and March that ended with an average of 49,394 units for US$3,593.
The US Denominated Equities Index popped 1.69 points to culminate at 240.75.
The PE Ratio, a measure used in computing appropriate stock values, averages 9.3. The PE ratio is computed based on the last traded price divided by projected earnings done by ICInsider.com for companies with their financial year ending and or around August 2024.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows six stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and none with a lower offer.
At the close, AS Bryden lost 0.51 of one cent to 22.49 US cents after a transfer of 1,800 shares, First Rock Real Estate USD share gained 0.01 of a cent to close at 4.03 US cents in trading 9,001 units, Margaritaville remained at 10 US cents in switching ownership of 850 shares. Proven Investments rose 0.98 of one cent in closing at 14 US cents with investors trading 2,023 stock units, Sterling Investments dipped 0.19 of a cent to end at 1.51 US cents with 13,127 shares clearing the market, Sygnus Credit Investments rallied 0.04 cent to finish at 7.99 US cents after an exchange of 6,396 stock units. Sygnus Real Estate Finance USD share ended at 9 US cents after 221 stocks crossed the market and Transjamaican Highway fell 0.01 of a cent to end at 2.18 US cents as investors exchanged 30,867 units.
In the preference segment, JMMB Group US8.5% preference share ended at US$1.19 with 1,663 stocks crossing the market. JMMB Group 5.75% skidded 10 cents to US$2 with investors swapping 9 shares and Sygnus Credit Investments E8.5% ended at US$10.70 as 96 units passed through the market.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Grace up stakes in Spur Tree Spices
The GraceKennedy a wholly owned subsidiary – GK Investments Limited, purchased 60,000,000 units of shares in Spur Tree Spices thereby increasing its ownership to 20.18 percent. this was the objective Grace had before the company went public.
On Wednesday Spur Tree reported that two directors sold 30 million units each, which seems to have met the demand from Grace, but it may not be the last of the big trades for the company whose products have strong appeal internationally.
The company has been struggling to grow its profit since listing on the Junior Market in 2022. Profit of $116 million fell to $88 million in 2023, with earnings per share of 5 cents last year and 7 cents in 2022.
Spur Three stock traded at $2.42, up 2 cents on the junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Thursday.
Light trading on Trinidad Exchange
Trading remained soft on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange on Thursday, with the volume of stocks traded rising 129 percent but was valued 13 percent less than the prior day and resulting in 18 securities changing hands compared with 20 on Wednesday and ending with prices of three stocks rising, five declining and 10 remaining unchanged.
The market closed with an exchange of 315,653 shares for $2,709,242 compared to 138,141 stock units at $3,123,131 on Wednesday.
An average of 17,536 shares were traded at $150,513 compared with 6,907 stock units at $156,157 on Wednesday, with trading month to date averaging 13,135 shares at $150,250 compared with 12,770 units at $150,226 on the previous day and an average for March of 28,236 shares at $236,496.
The Composite Index slipped 1.73 points in ending trading at 1,205.09, the All T&T Index declined 5.09 points to settle at 1,811.16, the SME Index was unchanged at 77.71 and the Cross-Listed Index popped 0.26 points to wrap-up trading at 77.89.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows four stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and four with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Agostini’s ended at $69, with an exchange of 1,391 shares, Angostura Holdings remained at $22.74 trading 113 units, Ansa McAl ended at $55 and closed with an exchange of 12,576 shares. Calypso Macro Investment Fund ended at $22.60 after investors traded 892 stock units, First Citizens Group ended at $48.10 in swapping 4,411 shares, FirstCaribbean International Bank rallied 3 cents to $7.04 with an exchange of 110 units. GraceKennedy ended at $3.90 with 10,000 stocks changing hands, JMMB Group popped 3 cents to $1.48 with investors transferring 140,813 stock units, Massy Holdings ended at $4.30 in an exchange of 103,257 shares. National Flour Mills remained at $2.20 with investors trading 2,740 units, One Caribbean Media fell 2 cents and ended at $3.80 with 1,295 stocks clearing the market, Prestige Holdings ended at $14 as investors exchanged 130 stock units. Republic Financial skidded 5 cents in closing at $118.95 with 3,939 shares crossing the market, Scotiabank sank 43 cents to $69.55 with traders dealing in 1,834 stocks, Trinidad & Tobago NGL ended at $8.50 in switching ownership of 481 stocks. Trinidad Cement popped 12 cents to end at $2.97 after 260 stock units passed through the market, Unilever Caribbean dropped $1.09 to end at $11.56 with a transfer of 99 stocks and West Indian Tobacco lost 1 cent to close at $13 with investors dealing in 31,312 units.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Profit bolts 79% at AMG
Profit continued to surge at AMG Packaging in the February quarter, up 79 percent to $32 million from $18 million in 2023, the performance is better than the 72 percent rise in the first quarter. For the six months to February, profit was also up 79 percent to $84 million from $47 million in 2023.
Sale revenues rose by just one percent for the quarter, to $250 million from $247 million and popped 4 percent for the year to date, to $522 million from $501 million in 2023.
Two main features are at play resulting in improved performance. The company installed new multi-coloured machinery in early 2023 that measures and determine the cut for boxes which has helped in cutting operating costs as it is far more efficient than the original ones. Secondly, the price of paper declined in 2023 from 2022 and has carried over into the current year, the result is that raw material costs declined to 41 percent of revenues in the second quarter from 53 percent in 2023.
Historically, profit was stuck for years between $37 million and $62 million from 2017 to 2021 . In 2022 profit jumped to $105 million following a revenues surge of 41 percent over 2021 but fell back to $89 million in 2023 with some one-off cost, helping in pushing the profit down, otherwise it would have exceeded that of 2022. ICInsider.com projects profit to come in around $225 million for this fiscal year ending in August.
Manufacturing costs declined by 12 percent in the February quarter to $154 million from $175 million and by 9 percent year to date, to $325 million from $356 million. Gross profit margin rose a significant 36 percent in the quarter to $96 million from $72 million and climbed even more for the half year to 39 percent to $197 million from $145 million in 2024.
Administrative expenses rose 18 percent to $33 million in the quarter and increased 19 percent in the six months to $66 million. Depreciation charges increased by 26 percent to $13.5 million in the quarter, and the half year to $26 million. Finance cost declined in the quarter, to $1.8 million from $2 million in 2024 and from $4.2 million to $3.6 million for the six months.
The operations generated $130 million in Gross cash flow, after paying dividends of $51 million and increased working capital needs, net flows were negative and pulled down the cash on hand from of $297 million in 2023 to $252 million.
Current assets ended the period at $651 million and include trade and other receivables of $143 million, up from $123 million in 2023, and cash and bank balances of $252 million, representing an increase over $144 million in 2023. Inventories rose a bit from $240 million to $255 million. Current liabilities at the half way marker amount to $152 million. Net current assets ended the period at $500 million.
At the end of February, shareholders’ equity amounts to $1.29 billion with long term borrowings of just at $66 million and short term at $19 million.
Earnings per share for the quarter amounts to 6 cents and 14 cents for the half year. IC Insider.com computation projects earnings around 45 cents per share for the current fiscal year, with a PE of 8 times the current year’s earnings based on the price of $3.59 the stock traded at on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market. Net asset value ended the period at $2.53 with the stock selling at a premium of 41 percent to book value.