• For the year ended December 31, 2019, GraceKennedy Limited reported an uptick in audited net profit of $5.64Bn (EPS: $5.05), which represented an 18.2% increase on the $4.77Bn (EPS: $4.14) reported for the corresponding period of 2018.

• The performance over the period was supported by a 6% increase in overall revenue. There was also an improvement in the company’s profit before tax margin which improved 153bps from 5.6% to 7.13% over the period.

• GraceKennedy’s stock price has fallen by 3.34% since the start of the calendar year. The stock closed yesterday’s trading at $61.38 and currently trades at a P/E of 12.15x earnings which is below the Main Market Distribution & Manufacturing sector average of 18.22x earnings.

(Source: GraceKennedy Limited Financials)

• For the nine months ended January 31, 2019, Blue Power Group Limited reported a net profit of $136Mn (EPS: $0.21), which represented a 51% increase on the $90Mn (EPS: $0.14) reported for the corresponding period of 2018.

• The performance over the period was supported by a 10% increase in revenue. There was also significant appreciation in the JMD/USD exchange rate during the last quarter of 2018, which contributed to a decrease in the company’s input costs. This was reflected in the company’s gross margin which improved 127bps from 21.99% to 23.26% over the period.

• Blue Power’s stock price has fallen by 2.18% since the start of the calendar year. The stock closed the trading day at $4.93 and currently trades at a P/E of 19.64x earnings which is above the Junior Market Manufacturing sector average of 19.44x earnings.

(Source: Blue Power Group Limited Financials)

• According to Fitch, in 2019, Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis will continue to push forward economic liberalization policies aimed at boosting investment.

• A strong Free National Movement (FNM) majority in the legislature will support Minnis's pro-business policy agenda which includes infrastructure development, boosting the tourism sector and energy sector reform.

• Potential social backlash to fiscal consolidation and the volatility of political support will present the primary political risks heading towards the 2022 vote. 

(Source: Fitch)

• Political uncertainty will cloud Guyana's short-term fiscal outlook and Fitch forecasts the country will run wide fiscal deficits

• In the long term, significant windfalls from the energy sector will lead to a substantial narrowing of the deficit.

• Fitch Solutions has revised its fiscal deficit forecast for 2019 and 2020 to 5.1% and 4.2% of GDP, from 5.5% and 4.6% previously.

(Source: Fitch Latin America Monitor- Caribbean)

• OPEC’s crude production slumped again last month as the cartel implemented planned cutbacks in full and some members were hit by U.S. sanctions.

• Although the group has now fully implemented the curbs announced last year, almost half of the output drop was caused by unplanned losses in Venezuela and Iran, which are under trade restrictions imposed by President Donald Trump.

• The plunge shows that, despite Trump’s guidance this week that OPEC should “relax” instead of restraining supply, the group’s production is highly influenced by the president’s foreign policy.

• At about $66 and $57 (Brent and WTI, respectively) per barrel, crude prices remain below the levels required by the kingdom, and most other OPEC members, in order to cover government spending.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• U.S officials are preparing a final trade deal that President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping could sign in weeks, even as debate continues in Washington over whether to push Beijing for more concessions.

• The U.S. is eyeing a summit between the two presidents as soon as mid-March.

• At a summit in Vietnam this week with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the U.S. president showed he’s willing to walk away if he doesn’t like the terms on the table, including with China.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC) Co-Chair, Keith Duncan, believes Jamaica is and will be in good stead to manage its affairs after the borrowing relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concludes later this year. He was addressing journalists during EPOC’s media briefing New Kingston on Tuesday, February 26.

• Duncan noted that Jamaica will have sufficient net international reserves, debt levels will be down, tax revenues are buoyant, and the country will continue to run primary surpluses, so that debt to gross domestic product [GDP] ratio can be reduced to 60 percent in fiscal year 2025/26.

• Jamaica’s fiscal performance remains positive and the economic programme is poised for success, based on the outcomes of select quantitative performance criteria and indicative targets under the IMF Precautionary Stand-By Arrangement (PSBA) for the first nine months of the 2018/19 fiscal year.

(Source: Jamaica Information Service)

• For the nine-month period ending December 31, 2018, Lasco Financial Services Limited reported an unaudited net profit of $267.7Mn (EPS: $0.21), representing a 20.9% increase relative to the $221.6Mn profit (EPS: $0.18) reported in the corresponding period of 2017. These results reflect the progress of the business one year after the acquisition of Scotia Jamaica Microfinance Limited now renamed LASCO Microfinance Limited.

• The year to date income from core activity increased by 50% from $1,088Mn to $1,629Mn whereas other income grew by 248% to $190Mn. This resulted in an overall increase in income of $618.4Mn. All business lines continue to contribute positively to the increase in revenues.

• Operating expenses for the nine-month period grew by 55% from $819Mn to $1,271Mn when compared with the previous financial year. This is mainly due to the expenses from the subsidiary and general growth in business which would not have been reflected in the previous year.

• Lasco Financials stock price is up approximately 2.89% since the start of the calendar year, closing yesterday’s trading session at $4.63. At this price the stock is trading at a P/E of 19.50x which is below the Junior Market Financial Sector average of 20.79x.

(Source: Lasco Financial Services Limited Financials)

• Moody’s is urging further “restraint” in The Bahamas’ public spending while predicting that the government will miss the 1.8% deficit target set by the Fiscal Responsibility Act for 2018-2019.

• The credit rating agency, in an update that accompanied its upgrading of The Bahamas’ outlook from “negative” to “stable”, warned that the government’s $237Mn deficit objective was still “attainable” but would likely require further spending curbs between now and end-June to hit the target

• Moody’s also gave more conservative economic growth projections for The Bahamas than the International Monetary Fund (IMF), forecasting that gross domestic product (GDP) will expand by 1.9% in 2019 following 2%growth last year. The IMF had projected 2.1% and 2.3%, respectively.

(Source: Tribune 242)

• Minister of Labour Colin Jordan gave the indication that Barbados may need more skilled individuals in light of projected investments and job creation, stopping short of saying whether Barbados would need to import new talent to meet the anticipated demand.

• “As we execute the growth and transformation aspects of our Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation plan, we will have to make sure in the public sector, in the private sector, and in the third sector – civil society – we have the requisite workers and skills to drive our economy,” he said.

(Source: Barbados Today)