Eric Solis Marketing following a successful Initial Public Offer, was listed on the SME market on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange on Monday with no trading activity but closed with buying interest for 103 units at $4 and selling of 2,500 shares at $4.60. Elsewhere the trading plunged, with the volume of stocks traded declining 74 percent with a 44 percent lower value than on Friday and ending with trading in 19 securities compared with 20 on Friday resulting in prices of five stocks rising, eight declining and six ending firm.
The market closed with trading of 123,765 shares valued at $1,510,113 compared with 469,652 stock units at $2,680,153 on Friday.
An average of 6,514 shares were traded at $79,480 compared to 23,483 units at $134,008 on Friday. Trading for the month to date averages 15,330 shares at $190,372 down from 17,324 units at $215,454 on the previous day and an average for August of 21,741 shares at $142,770.
The Composite Index gained 1.87 points to wrap up trading at 1,066.13, the All T&T Index climbed 9.90 points to cease trading at 1,606.66, the SME Index remained unchanged at 87.78 and the Cross-Listed Index shed 0.94 points to conclude trading at 68.26.
Investor’s Choice bid-offer indicator shows six stocks ended with bids higher than their last selling prices and two with lower offers.
At the close of the market, Agostini’s ended at $65 with an exchange of 3 stocks, Angostura Holdings declined 25 cents to $17.50 with 69 units changing hands, Ansa McAl sank 20 cents to end at $62.80 with investors swapping 1,010 shares. Ansa Merchant Bank remained at $41.50 in an exchange of 1,542 stock units, Calypso Macro Investment Fund climbed 62 cents and ended at $24.22 with traders dealing in 14 shares, First Citizens Group increased 50 cents to finish at $43.50 after an exchange of 5,627 stock units. FirstCaribbean International Bank ended at $6.90 with a transfer of 950 units, Guardian Holdings popped 50 cents to finish at $14 after an exchange of 10,032 stocks, JMMB Group lost 4 cents and ended at a new 52 weeks’ low of $1.01 with investors trading 1,701 shares. Massy Holdings skidded 8 cents to end at $3.50 with 16,662 stock units crossing the market, National Enterprises slipped 2 cents in closing at $3.05 after a transfer of 2,881 units, National Flour Mills shed 1 cent to close at $1.79 with 2,986 stocks crossing the market. 
NCB Financial dipped 10 cents to $2.60 as investors exchanged 9,467 units, One Caribbean Media edged 1 cent higher to finish at $3.01 and closed, with an exchange of 10,000 stock units, Prestige Holdings remained at $11.50 with 22 shares crossing the exchange. Republic Financial ended at $112 with investors dealing in 3,809 stock units, Scotiabank fell $1.45 in closing at $53.55 in an exchange of 2,813 shares, Trinidad & Tobago NGL remained at $5 with investors trading 51,121 units and West Indian Tobacco rose $1.04 to $8.04 after 3,056 stocks passed through the market.
Prices of securities trading are those for the last transaction of each stock unless otherwise stated.
Eric Solis lists on Trinidad Exchange
RA Williams share plunges on listing
Shares of the latest public offer to the market by RA Williams Distributors limited, distributors of pharmaceutical products in Jamaica, commenced trading on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Wednesday, with the price falling sharply below the offer of $1, after hitting a low of 75 cents in the early morning session before rebounding to 84 cents but since then traded at 80 cents as investors head for the exit.
Just over one million shares were traded in the morning session of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, up to 11 o’clock. The stock continues to be under selling pressure, with more than one million shares lined up for sale below the IPO price. There are limited bids up to 78 cents, suggesting that the price is likely to fall further before settling.
The attached listing shows the outstanding orders minutes before 11 o’clock today.
The stock IPO price was in line with the average market value, leaving no room for growth in the short run. Some investors clearly saw that hence the lukewarm level of over subscription. Management now has work to do the repair the breach. The first think is to get earnings growing attractively to encourage increased buying and less selling.
RA Williams set for a torrid listing
Initial Public Offer (IPO) was all the rage a few short years ago but that seems to have changed, at least for the time being, with prices of the five of the last IPO underwater, Regency Petroleum is the exception with the stock trading consistently above the $1 IPO price.
R.A. Williams Distributors’ issue of 400 million shares to the public at $1 each in July, seems set to follow the fortunes of recent offers that enjoyed minimal oversubscription. The company reports that all reserve applicants will get the full amounts offered and the public will get the first 5 million units and 56.01 percent of any excess. While the issue successfully raised the amount needed by the company it is not a resounding success in terms of following.
The company will have to improve considerably on the financial results to April to have a sustainable bounce in price.
Eric Solis Marketing IPO nicely priced
Eric Solis Marketing, a Trinidad and Tobago based small enterprise offered 2.75 million ordinary shares to the public of T&T in an initial public offer at TT$4 each. The issue represents 33% of the issued ordinary shares and is offered as an IPO. A successful issue will result in the parent company remaining as the majority shareholder.
The offer opened on the 16th of July and is scheduled to close at the end of last week, at the discretion of the Company, but no later than one year and twenty days from the effective date of the distribution statement. The shares will be listed and registered on the small & medium enterprise (SME) market (the ‘SME Market’) on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange. The issue is underwritten by NCB Merchant Bank TT, with the company receiving the proceeds.
The proceeds will be used to procure equipment and consumables for sale or rent to its customers. Acquire new lines of business and help avoid substantial interest charges from key suppliers.
According to the prospectus, SOLIS is a notable supplier of multifunction printers (MFPs) and managed print solutions, years ago. The Office Authority, the Ultimate Parent acquired it to strengthen its servicing portfolio. This strategic acquisition was driven by the understanding that SOLIS’ offerings would complement the suite of services provided by parent company at that time.
The core operations involve sales, rental, and servicing of multifunction printers (MFPs), photocopiers, and other business equipment for companies predominantly located in Trinidad and Tobago. The industry encompasses a structure in which the manufacturers, primarily based in Japan or the USA, appoint authorised dealers on a country or regional basis to manage their respective territories. “As an authorised dealer, SOLIS has established itself as a reputable representative for seven renowned international brands, including Konica Minolta, Lexmark, HP, Risograph, Brother, Papercut, and Fellowes. The company has installed, serviced and maintained thousands of machines across several governments.”
At the date of the Prospectus, the total issued share capital was 5,583,333 ordinary shares. Shareholders’ equity ended at the close of April at $17 million, the company’s Management accounts show. Current assets stood at $21 million with Current Liabilities at $6.7 million.
The company reported a profit of $2.7 million for the year to April 2024 after the provision of tax of $1.27 million from a profit of $1.83 million after tax of $900,000 in 2023 and just $193,568 in 2022. Revenues fell from $28 million in 2023 to $27.55 million in 2024 and declined in 2022 to $20.46 million from $26.36 million in 2021.
Profit in 2024 was helped by a sizable fall in Administrative expenses to $3.85 million from $5 million in 2023 and is well down from $7 million in 2021. The change is due mainly to an adjustment made to management fees charged by the parent company from $3.3 million to $1.5 million in 2024, which the company states will be the amount chargeable in the future.
The company projects revenues of $25 million for fiscal year 2025 and a profit of $7.3 million excluding taxation with a gross profit of $13 million. Net asset value is $3.07 based on the management accounts to April 30, 2024.
RA Williams comes to market with error filled prospectus
The initial offering of 400 million shares in RA Williams opens today at 9 in the morning at $1 each and is scheduled to close on the 31st of July but is expected to close much earlier.
Unfortunately, the prospectus has errors relating to data on profitability in 2024, resulting in uncertainty as to what years some of the information relates with both captioned with 2024 as the financial years and error in the interim statement of financial position to January.
The company currently has 1.16 billion shares outstanding and will have 2 billion units issued at the end of what is expected to be a successful offer. The shares are to be listed on the Junior Market, bringing the total listing back to 48. A total of 190 million of the shares being offered are reserved, with just 210 million available for the general public.
Profit before tax amounts to $133 million at April this year, for EPS of 83 and resulting in a PE of 12 times earnings just below the market average PE close to 14, there is not much room for short-term growth other than the hype of initial investment in the IPO and the limited number of shares on offer.
R.A. Williams, a primarily pharmacist-owned and operated pharmaceutical distribution company, that started operations in Spanish Town, St. Catherine in 2012.
In commenting on the issue, the Chief Executive Officer, R A Williams states, “We have recently concluded negotiations with Fourrts (India) Laboratories Pvt Ltd and Mankind Pharma Limited, which will see us introducing new treatment options in areas that require treatment with anti-infectives and dermatological options. From this expanded product offering, we expect a boost in the company’s revenues.”
Willaims went on to state, “The Company is in a new cycle of its growth which will be underpinned by the utilisation of a higher proportion of equity to fund its future expansion. As a result, the proceeds from this Invitation will be mainly used to repay the Company’s debts. This debt reduction will have the immediate effect of reducing the Company’s financing costs, thereby increasing the Company’s profitability and the expected returns to shareholders.
They currently distribute over 130 products, serving more than 700 customers across the island.
Growth in Revenues has been strong since 2020, with an increase of 41.6 percent For the year ended April 2023, to $1.4 billion, above sales of $994 million in 2023, which increased by a sharp 54 percent from $647 million in 2021 and was up 29 percent over the $502 million in 2020 with 2020 seeing an increase of 19 percent.
While revenue growth has been impressive, the annual improvement in the bottom line is even more impressive up to 2023. In 2020 while revenues climbed attractively, profit declined 51 percent from $36 million in 2019 to $18 million but grew 133 percent to $42 million in 2021 and by 26 percent to $52 in 2022 and 88 percent in 2023 to $98 million.
Margins on sales have been impressive at 42 percent over the past two years and an average of 43.4 percent since 2019.
Revenues grew by just 6.3 percent for the year to April 2024 to $1.5 billion with profit falling before tax to $133 million from $161 million in 2023.
Shareholders equity stood at $386 million at the end of April this year. In January 2024, short term loan which is erroneously grouped under a caption headed current assets, amounts to $215 million and related party loans of $107 million.
Sagicor Investments are brokers for the issue.
Omni loses altitude early
Trading in the shares of this week’s newly listed Omni Industries is frozen after 5,000 shares were traded at $1.05 at 12:44 PM after over 4.29 million shares were traded as high as a dollar $1.30.
The stock is scheduled to resume trading just before 1.45 PM. Bids on the stock have thinned out with 21 bids to purchase shares with the highest being 45,000 shares at $1.02 while the lowest offers are at $1.24 for 201,765 shares with 148 offers currently up to a high of $6 and 69 with offers at $1.41 and below. Bids and offers could change markedly when trading resumes, but the quick fall back in price since Tuesday is not a good sign for investors trying to get out with a decent profit in the short term.
The Junior Market Index slipped to 3,693.66 points from Wednesday’s close of 3,712.88 while the JSE Index rose from 318,607.35 to 320,281.27.
Omni Industries list and jumps 30%
Omni Industries Limited, the latest listing on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange following an offer of 500 million ordinary shares to the public in May at $1 each, traded 3,138,093 shares up $1.30 for a rise of 30 percent on the public offer that was oversubscribed.
The stock opened trading at $1.25, triggering the market circuit breaker before trading up to $1.30 up to 11.44 AM. The stock has several bids and offers with the highest bid of 995,429 shares at $1.30 with one offer at $1.35 then at $1.40.
As a result of the oversubscription, 20 million shares allocated for Employees were allotted 97.8 percent of the amount applied for. Key Partners’ pool of 234 million shares was allocated 87.2 percent of the applications. Lead Broker Reserve Pool received all of the 125,068,617 shares that were allotted. The general public was allotted the first 10,000 ordinary shares applied for and 25.5 percent of the balance.
Omni Industries latest IPO
Omni Industries Limited and existing shareholders will offer up to 500 million ordinary shares to the public with the offer opening Friday May 17, with Friday, May 31 being the scheduled closing.
Half of the total issue or 250 million shares are new with an equal number to be sold by existing shareholders, bringing the total issued shares to 2.5 billion units and the shareholders’ equity capital to over $900 million.
Profit before tax was $180 million for 2023, up from $174 million in 2022 and $121 million in 2021. The first quarter interim results to March this year, show flat revenues and slightly lower profits at $103 million pretax versus $123 million in 2023. The earnings come out at 8 cents per share based on 2023 figures, putting the PE at just over 12, a shade below the junior Market average of 12 3 and an indication of minimal upside in the short run.
At least 120,931,383 participating ordinary shares are available for subscription by the public and up to 379,068,617 shares are for Reserve Share Applicants.
The company is based in Spanish Town the principal activities are the manufacturing and sale of PVC pipes, conduits, horses, fittings and plastic warehouse items.
The stock is slated for the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange and if listed will partially restore the total listings on that market but only to 47, after three companies migrated to the main Market this year.
NCB Capital Markets is the brokers for the issue.
NCB Financial stock offer a long term investment
NCB Financial will be offering 78.5 million Ordinary Shares to the public to purchase at $65 per each of which 785,000 are Reserved Shares for staff at $58.
NCB Financial
The issue opens on May 6 at 9 AM and is slated to close on May 27, 2024 subject to the right of the Company to close it at any time after the opening date once the Invitation is fully subscribed.
The issue may be upsized to a maximum of 117.75 million shares. The issue is expected to raise between $5 billion if only the initial offer is subscribed to and up to $7.6 billion if the issue is upsized to the maximum.
The number of shares being initially offered will raise the issued share capital from 2.545 billion units to 2.624 billion and if the amount is upsized fully, to 2.663 billion.
The financial group states that they “intend to use the net proceeds from this Invitation to support a part of our deliberate plan to reallocate capital with a focus on reducing debt and bolstering the capital in the NCB Financial Group. This APO is one of multiple strategies that the NCB.”
Equity attributable to stockholders of the parent totalled $159.7 billion, an increase of $27.1 billion or 20 percent over the prior year. The growth in equity was mainly attributable to increased retained earnings and a reduction in unrealised fair value losses.
An APO brings an additional supply of shares to the market and will satisfy the demand for a large pool of investors for several months if not years, as such the issue is likely to keep the price of the stock subdued for some time unless there is a big jump in profitability to make them more attractive as an investment and thus encourage increased buying to move the stock price up appreciably.
Recent issues of APO, except for those issued by Barita Investments send a cautionary note for investors looking for early capital gains. While the APO is priced at $65, the stock is trading closer to $63 on the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
NCBFG and its subsidiaries operate in 21 territories across the Caribbean, with the main operating territories being Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Dutch Antilles, and Bermuda. The Group’s business, results of operations and financial condition are materially affected by the economic, social and political conditions of these countries.
Fosrich heading back to market
Junior Market listed FosRich is considering another Public Offer of shares to the market, a release from the company to the Jamaica Stock Exchange indicates and if approved would represent the second public offering of shares in less than a year.
The company offered 55,729,647 shares to the public in July 2023 at $2.50 each which was fully taken up.
According to the Stock Exchange release, the directors will meet on February 6 to consider a recommendation to shareholders at an extraordinary meeting, the issue of the additional ordinary shares, at a time to be determined.
The company’s nine-month results, show revenues of $2.86 billion, up 11 percent from $2.58 billion in 2022 resulting in a profit plunging to just $135 million from $388 million in the prior year with earnings per share of 3 cents compared to 8 cents in 2022 in the prior period. The company reported a loss of $27 million in the third quarter compared to a profit of $90 million in the similar 2022 quarter
Fisrich shares traded 3.2 million shares with a gain of 17 cents yesterday to close at $2.47.
