After 5.14% increase in 2012 T&T’s capital market to do better in 2013

While 2012 was a difficult year for the local capital market, with a sharp decline in the volume of shares traded, 2013 is expected to be much better, T&T Stock Exchange chief executive officer Wainwright Iton said on Monday. 

Traded volume for 2012 was 50.7 million shares. 

“When one compares those volumes with the comparable numbers from 2011—I say comparable becamuse in 2011, we had one large one-off transaction that accounted for like about 425 million units, so if we’re going to compare apples and apples, we have to extract that particular transaction—2012 volume would be down about 60 per cent,” he said. 

“On a bright note, we expect 2013 to be considerably better than 2012. Why I say that we’re going to be cautiously optimistic is that we’re going to have at least another three or four of these listing ceremonies. That’s a healthy sign because, you know, listings provide our sustainability and we’re really happy that on the second Monday in the new year, we can be engaged in this kind of listing ceremony.”

Iton was speaking at the listing ceremony of the Clico Investment Fund (CIF) in the TTSE’s boardroom on the tenth floor of the Nicholas Tower in Port-of-Spain. CIF, which was listed on the mutual fund market, fell ten cents on its first day trading.

In a written brief distributed to the media at the listing ceremony, the TTSE said: “In a difficult political economy, the market kept its head above water (barely) as the summary statistics below show.

“Traded volume for 2012 was 50.7 million shares. When 2011 volumes are adjusted for a large one-off transaction, there was a 63 per cent decrease in volume; without the adjustment the decrease is 91 per cent,” the TTSE said. 

Traded value on the TTSE for 2012 was $746.6 million, which represents a 20 per cent decrease after adjusting for the 2011 one-off transaction and a 27 per cent decrease without the adjustment, the brief said.

The total number of transactions for 2012 was 8778, which represents a 4.6 per cent decrease from 2011. The Composite Index ended the year at 1064.98 points, which represents a 5.14 per cent increase. The All T&T Index ended the year at 1694.27 points, up 15.5 per cent. The Cross Listed Index ended the year at 56.33 points, down 19.54 per cent.

While 17 securities recorded price increases during the year, the top advances in 2012 were:

• Unilever Caribbean Ltd, which closed at $47.15 per share, up by $14.62 or 44.94 per cent versus 2011

• The West Indian Tobacco Company Ltd which closed at $85, up by $23.65 or 38.55 per cent versus 2011

• One Caribbean Media Ltd which closed at $15.83, up by $4.33 or 37.65 per cent versus 2011

• Prestige Holdings Ltd which closed at $9.32, up by $2.32 or 33.14 per cent versus 2011; and 

• Scotiabank T&T Ltd, which closed the year at $65.51, up by $15.18 or 30.16 per cent versus 2011.

Top losers in 2012

While 14 securities recorded price decreases during the year, the top five losers were:

• Jamaica Money Market Brokers Ltd, which closed the year at $0.51, down by $0.33 or 39.29 per cent versus 2011

• National Commercial Bank Jamaica Ltd, which closed the year at $1.44, down by $0.72 or 33.33 per cent versus 2011

• Readymix (West Indies) Ltd, which closed the year at $22.48, down $8.87 or 28.29 per cent versus 2011

• Williams LJ, which closed the year at $0.29, down $0.11 or 27.5 per cent versus 2011; and 

• the Point Lisas Industrial Port Development Corporation (Plipdeco), which closed the year at $3.70, down $1.04 or 21.94 per cent versus 2011.

The TTSE said in its brief that the government of T&T’s secondary bond market “performed very well during 2012 and is expected to continue to do well in 2013.” 

The total number of transactions on this market was 97, up 111 per cent from 46 in 2011. There were trades in every month of 2012. The total volume of bonds traded was 1,381,533,000, which represents a 1563 per cent increase versus 2011. The total value of bonds traded was $1.653 billion, which represents a 751 per cent increase against 2011.

The corporate bonds market was inactive in 2012.

There were 12 trades in the US dollar equity market for the year, with a volume of 584,000 shares valued at US$671,600. “This is a very encouraging development,” the TTSE said in its brief.

Still, among regional stock markets, the T&T stock exchange registered the most positive increase, growing by 5.14 per cent versus 2011. The Jamaica Stock Exchange declined 3.35 per cent in 2012 versus 2011, and the Barbados Stock Exchange grew by only 0.98 per cent in 2012 versus 2011.