Shane Ingram, Guest Writer
It was possibly a case of saving the best for last, but Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica (BNSJ) was among the last listed companies to submit its earnings card for the current earning season. BNSJ enjoyed another record performance for the year ended October 2006 as profits strengthened 16 per cent for both the quarter and the year. Some 1.2 million units of BNSJ traded in the week pushing the stock to an even $25.00 on the close of business on Friday.
The results were commendable, but certainly within expectation, and so one surmises that the market is posturing from positive news on its bid for Dehring Bunting & Golding. I guess we will know this week, but in the interim, the movement in BNSJ helped to bring about modest increases in the All Jamaican and JSE Select.
Positive Investor Sentiments
Industry-counterpart and arch-rival, National Commercial Bank also benefited from positive investor sentiments as the stock pulled closer to $21.00 at the end of the business week. Volumes remained robust at 1.1 million units, but buying was heavily dependent on institutional demand.
However, the fact that the stock price did not retreat after the record date (November 23) on the last dividend suggests that the demand is fairly authentic and long-term. Life of Jamaica was also in the money this week, pushing to $8.16 on the back of positive media presence and general favourable outlook for the last quarter in which the company is expected to book sizeable profits from its Winchester Development.
The movement in these heavy weights supported the All Jamaican and the JSE Select Index in the week, but, unfortunately, their impact was outweighed by declines in FirstCaribbean, Jamaica Producers Group (JPG) and Lascelles. FirstCaribbean is the largest and most profitable bank in the region, but these facts appear to be lost in the Jamaican market. Consequently, the stock trades in a most erratic fashion and is generally below investors' radar.
Shane Ingram is a stockbroker with Dehring Bunting & Golding Limited. Email: singram@mydbg.com.
