Grace, Kennedy performs well on Carib stock exchanges

Wehby

GRACE, Kennedy's stocks are performing well on the three Caribbean stock exchanges on which it is listed, according to the company's Finance Director, Don Wehby.

He reported that on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange, the Grace stock which was trading at TT$2.92 in January 2001 appreciated by 13.01 per cent, trading at TT$3.30 in July 2001.

In Barbados, the Company's stock increased by 30.21 per cent moving from Bd 0.96 in January 2001 to Bd 1.25 at the end of trading on Tuesday, July 17, 2001. The stock ranked number one on that exchange in terms of capital appreciation.

The stock also performed well on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE),moving from j$17.95 in January 2001 to J$28.00 in July 2001, A 55.9 per cent increase.

"This can be attributed to our good first quarter performance where the company's profit attributable to stockholders increased by 35.6 per cent," Mr. Wehby said.

He added that the variance in percentage movements on the three stock exchanges, signals the importance of one stock exchange for the region, a development which should take place as soon as possible.

Mr. Wehby commented that he believed that the introduction of a corporate governance programme at Grace, Kennedy has begun to have a positive effect on its stock. He pointed out that the current studies have shown that the vast majority of investors internationally will pay a premium for well governed companies.

"As we continue to strengthen and raise our standards of corporate governance in our company, we expect that the impact on our stocks will continue to be positive", he said.

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