Aug 2011 Financial News

Pension fund buys up GK shares

Aug 24, 2011

NCB Insurance has snapped up close to 17 million shares in GraceKennedy Limited on behalf of a client who, in three months, has emerged as the single largest shareholder in the food and financial services conglomerate.

The purchaser aggressively acquired this position in GraceKennedy during the June quarter alone, based on comparisons with earlier Jamaica Stock Exchange shareholder data

NCB Insurance A/C WT109 now holds 16.75 million shares, or five per cent of issued GK shares, worth J$926 million at current market prices. It means that the purchaser has 1.7 million shares more shares than Grace, Kennedy & Company Pension Scheme, the former top shareholder at 15 million units.

"This transaction was on behalf of a pension fund," said Dennis Cohen, deputy group managing director of National Commercial Bank, NCB Insurance's ultimate parent.

GraceKennedy, one of the Caribbean's largest conglomerates, made J$2.2 billion in annual profit from J$55 billion in revenues in 2010. Its stock last traded at J$55.29 per share, placing its stock market value at J$18.35 billion.

The company which started in Jamaica in 1922 as a small trading establishment today, operates over 60 subsidiaries and associated companies across the Caribbean, North and Central America and the United Kingdom.

Concurrent with the pension fund purchase of shares, two other top 10 GK shareholders vacillated their holdings in the June quarter, including a client of FirstCaribbean International Bank which added 5.8 million more shares, growing its holdings to 14.4 million units, while local conglomerate Jamaica Producers Group shed its shareholding from 23 million to only six million.

The FCIB client was not listed in the top 10 shareholders in December 2010, indicating another rapid acquisition.

Jamaica Producers last week disclosed gains of J$1 billion over six months from disposal of investments, which includes the GK shares. The gain sent its half-year net profit rocketing to J$1.12 billion at July 3, 2011, or about five times the HY2010 profit of J$204 million.

New top 10 GK shareholders

NCB Insurance A/C WT109 - 16.75m or 5.04%
Grace, Kennedy Pension Scheme - 15.06m or 4.53%
Luli Limited - 14.87m or 4.48%
FCIB (Barbados) - 14.4m or 4.34%
J.K. Investments Ltd - 11.6m or 3.50%
LOJ PIF Equity Fund - 12.28m or 3.70%
National Insurance Fund - 12.9m or 3.91%
Jamaica Producers Group - 6.1m or 1.84%
Celia Kennedy - 6.0m or 1.82%
Douglas Orane - 5.7m or 1.74%


Source:
steven.jackson@gleanerjm.com
Jamaica Gleaner
Wednesday August 24, 2011

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