UT bank dominates overall trade volumes again - GSE

Ghana Stock Exchange Update - Market benchmark consolidated its recent gains with a 4.41 point rise in the GSE CI to 1,195.57 points which corresponds to a 23.38% year-to-date spread.

Turnover also improved relative to the last session as 0.59 million shares changed hands on the GSE for a sum of GHS0.51 million. UT Bank once again dominated the market in terms of volume with a 48.44% share of the overall market volume. . .

The advancers outperformed the laggards as four counters increased in value while two others reduced in value.  - CBL.

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How to save as a young professional and still live comfortably

The mind is willing but the pocket is weak. Saving is one thing most people especially young professionals desire to practice but just can’t. Is it too hard to save? May be it is, especially when you have a meager income. Some people don’t have meager incomes, but they still can’t save, not that they don’t want to. They just can’t. They always finish their incomes before the next incomes arrive.  In this post, we would review some widely known ways to save or build a saving culture then I would share my experience and what works for me with.

First of all you should know that there’s more to saving than spending less money. Some people starve themselves to save whiles they can save and still live comfortably.

Ghana Stock Exchange Composite Index increased for the second successive session.

GSE Composite Index increased for the second successive session as it went up by 0.21 points to 1,141.14 points which is equivalent to 17.76% year-to-date return.

A minimal 0.03 million shares traded on the GSE today and the transactions amounted to GHS0.11 million. SPL was lead equity for the day in terms of volume as its volume accounted for 39.71% of the overall market volume while SCB came top in terms of value traded with 86.47% of the total market value.

Only SCB experienced a price change as it went up by GHS0.01 to end the session at GHS9.01.

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Mastering the Balanced Fund (B-Fund): The new focus on a 'Mutual Monday'

It's another Mutual Monday and the focus is now on the Databank Balanced Fund also known as the B-Fund. Before we look at this mutual fund, lets recap all we did on the journey to Mastering Mutual Funds in Ghana. I wrote on the following;
1. Mutual Monday: Investment Funds (Mutual funds & Unit Trusts) in Ghana.
2. Mutual Monday: What you must know about EPACK, the 'Praise-the-Lord' fund.
3. How to master mutual funds; focus on the iFUND mutual fund


In the above posts, I stated the various types of mutual funds and unit trusts in Ghana and went further to focus on EPACK and iFUND showing clearly what they invest your funds in.

How to master mutual funds; focus on the iFUND mutual fund

As we planned to master mutual funds and unit trusts, let us find out what the iFUND is and how best we can benefit from it and understand how it is managed. In my previous post, we look at EPACK (What you should know about EPACK), now our focus is on iFUND from EDC, a member of the Ecobank group.

The iFUND is mutual fund from Ecobank Capital (formerly, Ecobank Development Corporation, EDC) and it is structured to invest in both fixed income securities (Treasury bills, bonds, etc) and equities (stocks). The portfolio structure of iFUND reveals that,

Mutual Monday: What you must know about EPACK, the 'Praise-the-Lord' fund.

It's another Mutual Monday and welcome to journey to mastering mutual funds and unit trusts. With reference to my previous post, (Mutual Monday: Investment Funds (mutual funds & Unit trusts) in Ghana), let's take the funds one by one and know more about them. Let start with EPACK.
EPACK is a mutual fund, established and managed by Databank Financial Services since 1996. It is a long term (from 3yrs) investment fund that pools money in different amounts from different people for investment  primarily in Shares listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange.

How two equities managed to hold off losses in four on the Ghana Stock Exchange

Gains in two equities managed to hold off losses in four, helping the stock market to an eleventh straight win. The year-to-date return on the stock market rose to 19.26%, as the GSE-Composite Index gained 6.80 points to close trading at 1,155.65 points. The financial stock benchmark also went up by 8.58 points to 993.79 points, as positive returns on ETI cancelled out losses in three financial stocks.

A total of 1.50 million shares valued at GHS0.64 million were traded. Compared with the previous session, trade volume declined by 51.32% and the turnover was down 45.69%. SIC trades represented 86.93% and 73.38% of the volume and value traded respectively.

Fan Milk Ltd (FML) and ETI recorded gains while BOPP, EBG, SCB and SIC declined in value.

Courtesy: CBL

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Mutual Monday: Investment Funds (Mutual funds & Unit Trusts) in Ghana.

Today is another Mutual Monday and welcome to my blog. In today’s post I would outline the various types of investment funds we have in Ghana and the fund managers of each. Mutual funds and Unit trusts are referred to as investment funds. Mutual Fund is an investment vehicle that is made up of a pool of funds collected from many investors for the purpose of investing in securities such as bonds, stocks, money instruments and similar assets. Each shareholder or unit holder participates proportionally in the gain or loss of the fund. In my next posts, I would go into details and explain how it is managed or priced.

Mutual Monday: Ghana's Mutual funds' Update on Mondays

I would on every Monday post analysis on mutual funds and unit trusts in Ghana and how best individuals can take advantage of them. I would look at their financial statements, management, directors and fund managers and I would also from time to time make comparative analysis between two mutual funds and educate investors. 

The Choices of Warren Buffett on the Ghanaian stock market

I have been thinking of what stocks or companies Warren Buffett would pick or invest in. What I mean about this is that, if he’s to invest on the Ghanaian stock market, what would be his choice knowing what he stands for and his style of investing.

Warren Buffett is popularly referred to as the greatest investor and his investment strategy or philosophy is highly and widely seen as superior. Buffett’s investment philosophy comes from Benjamin Graham school of value investing. An article published by Investopedia reveals that, value investors look for securities with prices that are unjustifiably low based on their intrinsic worth.

Ghana Stock Exchange recorded a 3rd straight win as new year-highs ended mid-week trading

Let us see what happened on the Ghanaian stock market so far in this week. Having gone three successive sessions without a positive return, the Ghana Stock Exchange-Composite Index picked up 7.74 points, to close trading at 1,042.37 points. The change brought the year-to-date return to 7.74% as at Monday. Gains in Ecobank Transnational Inc,(ETI) and UT Bank (UTB) ended a five-day losing streak as the GSE-Financial Index climbed 10.76 points clear of Friday's closing at 872.12 points.
A total of 0.20 million shares

Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) to issue bonus shares of no par value

Following the approval by shareholders of  Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited (SCB) at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the National Theatre on April 25, 2012, the Company has announced a Bonus Issue of 96,256,070 ordinary shares of no par value (the Issue) on the Ghana Stock Exchange.

Ghana Stock Exchange records the third successive loss to end the week in red

The local bourse recorded its third successive loss, the fourth in the last five sessions, closing 3.65 points lower than Thursday's closing, at 1,034.63 points. The year-to-date return on financial stocks fell beneath the zero mark at -0.20%, as the index lost 4.82 points to close at 861.36 points.

Banking stocks pulled the market down as all indexes recorded significant loss

CBL - The GSE-Composite Index declined by 1.25 points, as the stock market recorded its third successive loss. The index closed at 1,043.18 points from 1,044.43 points. With three out of the four losers being banking stocks, the GSE-Financial Stock Index fell 1.58 points to close at 874.75 points.

NEWS RELEASE: AngloGold Ashanti Update on Unprotected Strike at South Africa mines

NEWS RELEASE: (Johannesburg)  –  AngloGold  Ashanti (AGA)  confirms that  its  mines  in  South  Africa remain  at  a standstill  amid the unprotected  strike  which  began  on 20 September  2012 at the Kopanang operation  and spread to the  remaining  five  operations  on  25  September  2012. Our priority remains to protect the safety of our employees and the communities in which we operate and we continue to work with the authorities to that end. AngloGold Ashanti has

Details of Ghana's New Ratings by Fitch

A statement issued by Fitch Ratings reveals Ghana’s new rating of B+ with an outlook signifying stability. Four Local Currency government bonds with maturities in 2014 and 2017 have long term rating as B+. The statement stressed that Ghana’s ability to maintain its rating at

Trouble hits the Ghana Stock Exchange as major indexes record second successive loss

The stock market ended the last trading session of the week in red as major indices went down again. The GSE-Composite Index recorded back-to-back losses following negative changes in CAL and TOTAL. The index dropped 0.51 points to close the week at 1,039.94 points, bring the year-to-date return to 7.32%. The financial stock benchmark dropped more points and recorded a second successive loss, down 1.43 points from 873.22 points to 871.79 points.

Week in Focus: How stocks performed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE)

New week, new gains, new losses, the GSE did not show any clear direction. On Monday the Ghana Stock Exchange gained some ground as gains in CAL Bank and Mechanical Lloyd Company (MLC) offset losses in two other equities. The GSE-Composite Index closed at 1,036.48 points, from 1,035.97 points and the GSE-Financial Stock Index closed at 872.44 points, up 0.64 points from 871.80 points. A total of 0.35 million shares traded, a 51.39% decline from the 0.72 million shares traded at the previous session. The corresponding trade value was GHS0.10 million, 43.76% less than the previous session.

Mechanical Lloyd Company dominates trading for the 2nd successive session on the Ghana Stock Exchange

New Week, New Year high on the Ghana Stock Exchange as performance benchmarks on the local bourse gained some ground. CAL Bank and Mechanical Lloyd Company (MLC) offset losses in two other equities. 

The GSE-Composite Index closed the session at 1,036.48 points, from 1,035.97 points in the previous session. The GSE-Financial Stock Index closed at 872.44 points, up 0.64 points from 871.80 points. The corresponding year-to-date change is 6.96% as at the close of the market.

AngloGold Ashanti Depository shares and Fan Milk closed at year-highs as Gold Fund ETF increased on GSE.

CBL - The stock market returned 0.29% today, as gains in three equities pushed the GSE-Composite Index up 2.93 points, to close at 1,028.83 points. The year-to-date return went beyond the 6% mark at 6.17%. The financial stock index also gained some ground; up 0.43 points to close at 861.80 points.
The trade value increased by more than twenty-fold, and the volume, by

Mechanical Lloyd, MLC, the BMW distributor dominated trade volume by 79.61% on GSE

CBL . - Losses in two equities forced the GSE-Composite Index 7.16 points lower, closing at 1,025.18 points, from 1,032.34 points. The year-to-date return on financial stocks fell to -0.17%, as the the GSE-Financial Stock Index shed 9.11 points to close trading at 861.66 points.
The trade volume and corresponding trade value declined by

Ghana Stock Exchange begins week with five gainers as trade volume hits record high for the year

This week has begun on the Ghana Stock Exchange with smiles on the faces of some investors as equities from different sectors of the economy gained some cedis. There were five gainers namely AngloGold Ashanti, AGA (Mining), Enterprise Group Ltd, EGL (Insurance), Ecobank Transnational Inc. ETI, (Banking), Ghana Oil, GOIL (Oil) and

The Reason Why Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) is a Good Stock on the Ghana Stock Exchange

I am writing this to first of all restore confidence in the market and reveal some golden opportunities that some type of investors overlook in the market. I would use Cocoa Processing Company(CPC) as an example and let investors know what they miss when they look at only one side of issues.

Price movement of CPC from March to August.

Over some time now, there have been so many complaints from fellow investors, friends and some stakeholders of the market over the low trading price of CPC on the Ghana Stock Exchange. In actual fact, CPC is the lowest priced stock on the exchange and currently 0.02p.

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, ETI pulls down the Ghana Stock Exchange

In the first day of trading this week, ETI, one of the most capitalized stocks on the stock market did not spare any major index but pulled them down. The major indices recorded negative return today, following a decline in ETI stock price. The GSE-Composite Index shed 7.05 points to close trading at 1,023.45. The financial stock index lost by -1.14%, to close at a year-low of 857.79 points.

GSE- Financial Stock Index picked up as SG-SSB dominated in trade volume.

Today's market update revealed that the local bourse failed to maintain its momentum, as losses in two equities brought the 3-day winning streak to an end. The GSE-Composite Index declined by a marginal 0.01% from 1,03058 points to 1,030.47 points.

Fan Milk and GOIL closed at year-highs again as Ghana Stock Exchange had no losers.

Trading results on Tuesday 7th, August 2012, as I captured in my post: 'GOIL and FML closed at Year Highs,' revealed the trend of these two stocks. This trend continues as they reach new year-highs after 6 days. Yesterday, on the back of upward price changes in five equities, the GSE-Composite Index returned 0.16% today, bringing the market's three-day losing streak to a halt.

GOIL and Fan Milk closed at year-highs as ETI dominated trading on the Ghana Stock Exchange.

The week started on the Ghana Stock Exchange on a very good note for some stocks, as gains in five equities  helped the GSE-Composite Index to its sixth successive win, up 1.28 points from 1,036.23 points, to close at 1,037.51 points. The year-to-date return went beyond 7% at 7.07%. A 3.03% rise in SIC's stock price pushed the GSE-Financial Stock Index 0.51 points clear of its previous closing of 874.28 points to 874.79 points.

Earnings Season on the Ghana Stock Exchange: Half Year Reports

We are in the first half Earnings Season on the Ghana Stock Exchange and in my earlier post about Benso Oil Palm Plantation (BOPP), i.e. Half Year Performance of BOPP, I looked at how BOPP performed on the exchange and for the first half. Below are the various performances for some of the companies listed on GSE.

UT Bank

UT Bank Ltd (UTB), an indigenous bank, have reported an 89.23% surge in profit after tax, from GHS 4.69m in 2011 half year results to GHS8.87m for the same period in 2012.

Half Year Performance of Benso Oil Palm Plantation (BOPP)

The first half financial results for 2012 are coming in from the various companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. Let's look at them one by one, starting from Benso Oil Palm Plantation.

An unaudited financial result released by Benso Oil Palm Plantation (BOPP) dated 30^th June 2012 reveals that, the company’s profit before tax was up 122% against same period last year.

BOPP is currently priced at GHC 1.57 on the Ghana Stock Exchange and has recorded some impressive figures.

Transactions Review: Half Year 2012 on Ghana Stock Exchange (CBL Research)

CBL Research: - Half Year 2012 trading results of the Ghana Stock Exchange indicate that a total of 72.54 million shares changed hands on the market representing a 12.04% decline from the 82.47 million shares that were traded on the market for the first half of 2011. Out of the 72.54 million shares traded on the GSE for HYR 2012, a total of 40.07 million shares (representing 55.24%) were financial stocks thus maintaining the sector as the lead sector of the market in terms of volume. The FMCGs and Pharmaceuticals sector had a 23.18% share of the total market volume for the period. This was largely due to a block trade in AYRTN that was executed in March 2012.

Sector by Sector Market Capitalization for 1st Half, 2012 on Ghana Stock Exchange

Courtesy: CBL Research

By the end of the first half of 2012, the most capitalized sector on GSE is the Mining and Oil Sector. This sector had a market capitalization of GHS 48,874.46 million, making 88.81%. This sector can boast of a mining giant,

Overview of the First Half of 2012 on the Ghana Stock Exchange: Half Year Review.

With a market capitalization of about GHS 55,015.14 million ( USD 31,612.04 million ), the Ghana Stock Exchange closed the first half of the year on a good note and has began the second half with great prospects.

The market’s major index which includes all listed stocks, The GSE Composite Index (GSE CI) opened the year below the base index (1000) with 969.03 points. As at the last trading session in the first half, the GSE CI recorded 1045.48 point with a percentage change of 7.89% as compared to 18.89% gain in the same period last year.

Price Movement of the Best Performing Stock on GSE for the 1st Half of 2012. [ GOIL ]

Ghana Oil Company Limited, popularly known as GOIL records a 1 -Year -Return of 58.06% with current Price per Earnings ratio of 12.95% (trailing 12 months). Earning Per share trailing twelve months is 0.0378p and the current share price is 0.49p with market capitalization of GHS 102.99 million.  (Bloomberg). 

GOIL markets and distributes Petroleum products in Ghana. The company markets, gasoline, oils and lubricants. It recently changed it's logo and positioned itself as an energy company.

Performance On Ghana Stock Exchange (Jan-Jul. 2012) below:

Guinness Ghana Brewery Ltd. (GGBL) dominated trading with 43.05% of the trade volume to close the week on GSE

Trading began on Tuesday this week because of the holiday. The stock market's five-day winning streak for last week was halted as losses in two equities forced the GSE-Composite Index 7.08 points lower at 1,038.40 points. The GSE-Financial Stock Index recorded a 1.01% decline

Ecobank Ghana (EBG) held lion's share of trade value - Market records worst performance

CBL:- The Stock Market recorded its worst day-on-day performance today, as the major indices (GSE Composite Index & GSE Financial Stock Index) fell, following losses in three equities. The GSE-Composite Index returned -0.96% as it fell 10.04 points from 1,040.70 points to 1,030.66 points. The GSE-Financial Stock Index closed at 883.00 points, from 893.32 points.

CAL BANK was dominant in terms of volume traded, accounting for

Annual General Meetings Scheduled for July by Companies on Ghana Stock Exchange

The beginning of the second quarter was a busy time for most companies as various directors prepared to meet their shareholders. Some companies on the Ghana Stock Exchange had their Annual General Meetings in April. Others like Golden Stars Resources Ltd (GSR), Cocoa Processing Company (CPC), Enterprise Group Ltd (EGL) and CAL Bank (CAL) had theirs in May.

Ecobank Transnational Inc.(ETI) ensured the Stock Market maintained it's good performance in the week.

The week on the Ghana Stock Exchange commenced on a good note. On Monday, (25th June), marginal gains in two equities helped the market benchmark up 0.16 points, to close at 1,032.99 points, bringing the year-to-date change to 6.60%. The GSE-Financial Stock Index remained unchanged at 890.25 points, as financial stocks stayed flat. GOIL dominated trading. 

On Tuesday, (26th June), price appreciation in three equities pushed the GSE-Composite Index up 0.27 points, despite to losses in four, to close at

Charting the Progress on the Stock Market: UT Bank and CAL Bank

This post is the 3rd and final part on the Banking Sector of the Ghana Stock Exchange. In my first article on the Banking Sector of the GSE, [ Focusing on the Banking sector of the Ghana Stock Exchange (Part I)], I looked at Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) and HFC Bank (HFC). The second part [ Charting the Banking Sector of the Ghana Stock Exchange ] focused on Ecobank Ghana (EBG) and Standard Chartered Bank (SCB). 

Using price movement charts, lets see how UT bank (UTB)  and CAL bank (CAL) stocks performed on the exchange six months into the year. 

Ghana Stock Exchange: Market Update (20.06.12) - CAL Bank led the market.

Today on the exchange, losses in two equities were cancelled out by upward price movement in four equities, ensuring that the stock market closed with a positive return of 0.17%. The major indices responded kindly. The GSE-Composite Index

Dollarization of the Ghanaian Economy: MD writes.

By Guest Blogger: David Mawutor Avor ( M. D. Avor );

Not too long ago, I used to watch the News on television without giving a hoot about business news. In fact, I would rather switch my channel to a different station than watch all those “meaningless” figures about the “dollar is trading at…” and so forth. How times change! Now that I have started

Is Ezwich stealing from the Cashless Society? Greed vs Pain

The ezwich system which is supposed to make life easier for us is causing more pain by ‘draining’ our accounts more than necessary. Ezwich is the brand name for the National Switch and Smart-card payment system and this system offers Deposit taking financial institutions (universal banks, rural banks and Saving & Loans) a platform that enables them to interoperate, obviously at the expense of the customers or users of the ezwich. The National Service Personnel

Ghana Stock Exchange: Market Update [ 31.05.12 ]

CAL Brokers (CBL): 

Further decline in the major indices on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), means performance in the month of May has been the worst this year, with 13 losses in 21 sessions.  The GSE-Composite Index returned -0.05%, following losses in two equities, to close trading at 1,022.95 points, down 0.54 points. The change represents a year-to-date return of 5.56%.

The Financial Stock benchmark closed 0.67 points lower at

UT Bank is the 2nd to win the Bank of the Year award on the Ghana Stock Exchange

After a short time of operating as a commercial bank in Ghana, UT Bank breaks Ecobank Ghana’s monopoly and becomes the second bank listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) to win the Bank of the Year category at the Ghana Banking Awards since 2001.
The Bank of the Year is an award
category that goes to the bank with the highest weighted scores for the customer survey, corporate social responsibility and financial performance. The race to the top in the
Banking industry has

Charting the Banking Sector of the Ghana Stock Exchange

This is the second part of my previous post, 'Focusing on the Banking sector of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) (Part I)'. After looking at the current standings of the two banks, HFC Bank and Ghana Commercial Bank on the GSE, let's now focus on Ecobank Ghana (EBG) and Standard Chartered Bank (SCB). 

I would like us to go strictly by charts of the various price movements on the exchange and some key statistics from January 2012 to date.

Tues. 22.05.12: Ghana Stock Exchange: Market Update

Courtesy: CAL Brokers.

In today’s trading, the GSE-Composite Index rose 1.36 points to close at 1,039.28 points. This change brings the year-to-date return to 7.25%. The Financial Stock Index also gained 0.66 points closing at 898.65 points from 897.99 points in the previous session.

Focusing on the Banking sector of the Ghana Stock Exchange (Part I)

The financial sector on the Ghana Stock Exchange includes banking and non-banking stocks. There are seven (7) banks on the exchange, six of which operate in the country and one in Gambia, (Trust Bank ltd, TBL). The banks operating in Ghana include CAL Bank (CAL), Ecobank Ghana (EBG), Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB), HFC Bank (HFC), Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), and UT Bank (UTB).

Let us now look at the various facts & figures behind these banks and how they performed since January 2012 on the Stock market.
I would be concentrating on GCB & HFC in this post.

Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB);

GCB - Bloomberg Chart: Price movement from Dec 2011 to May 2012. 

With market capitalization of about GHS 506.15 million, GCB began the

Fri.18.05.12: Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) Market Update.

Friday, GSE Market Update;

CAL Brokers: 

Courtesy: CAL Brokers

In the market today, the major indices, the GSE-Composite Index and the GSE-Financial Stock Index, gained some ground following price appreciation in two equities.

The GSE-Composite Index closed at 1,046.94 points from 1,041.30 points and the financial stock benchmark closed 6.99 points higher at 910.75 points. The year-to-date return on the market rose to 8.04%. 

Market Participants: List of Stock Brokerage Firms in Ghana

Most people have been asking me about who to contact if they want to start an investment. I have realized that most people in Ghana do not know who to contact or where to go in order to buy shares of companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. I must admit that, some brokers in Ghana do not approach people to talk to them about investments or contact potential investors.
Moreover, people are very ignorant about the various investment instruments that exist in these brokerage firms. It is bad for the growth of the market.
So, I have decided to list the various broker/dealers in the Ghanaian financial market and their websites or locations. I believe this would help some potential or young investors to know where to go, or who to talk to.

As listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange's website, these are some market participants (Licensed Dealing Members );

CAL BROKERS LIMITED

CDH SECURITIES LTD

DATABANK BROKERAGE LIMITED

EDC STOCKBROKERS LIMITED

FIRST ATLANTIC BROKERS LTD

GOLD COAST SECURITIES LIMITED

HFC BROKERAGE SERVICES LTD

IC SECURITIES (GHANA) LIMITED

MERBAN STOCKBROKERS LIMITED

NEW WORLD RENAISSANCE SECURITIES

NTHC SECURITIES LIMITED

PRUDENTIAL SECURITIES LTD.

SDC BROKERAGE SERVICES LTD.

SIC-FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD.

STRATEGIC AFRICAN SECURITIES LTD.

WORLDWIDE SECURITIES LIMITED

AFRICAN ALLIANCE SECURITIES GHANA LIMITED

LIBERTY CAPITAL GHANA LIMITED 

FIRSTBANC BROKERAGE SERVICES LTD.

STANBIC INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES LIMITED

Please follow the links above to find more about these Market participants or Brokerage firms. There are other market participants like Custodians, Registrars and Government Securities Dealers. The link to the Ghana Stock Exchange website would help you find out more.
Don't forget to come back to this blog. eStock Analysis Blog would always get you the information you need to be a better investor.
You can always ask questions or leave a comment, I'll gladly answer or help you find the answer.

Keep investing..

Tues. 15.05.12: Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) Market Update.

Tuesday GSE Market Update:

The second day of trading on the Ghana Stock Exchange this week has ended with some equities trading shares.

A 3.26% price gain in Tullow Oil (TLW) pushed the GSE-Composite index up, despite losses in two equities, to close the day at 1,048.50 points from 1,048.38 points. The change brings the year-to-date return to 8.20% as reported by CAL Brokers.

Courtesy: CAL Broker Ltd. (15.05.2012)

The Financial Stock Index however, declined by 0.69 points to close at 908.83 points.

A total of 0.99 million shares valued at GHS 0.50 million were traded. The trade volume and value, compared to the previous session, increased by more than five and six times respectively.

CAL Bank (CAL) dominated trading in terms of volume, accounting for 78.57% of the total trade volume while Unilever Ghana (UNIL) led in terms of value with 47.39%.

TLW was the only gainer.  Benso Oil Palm Plantation (BOPP) and Enterprise Group ltd (EGL) recorded losses.


Courtesy: Ghana Stock Exchange & CAL Brokers

Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE): Market update for Friday, 11.05.12

Friday GSE Market Update:


Let's look at what happened in the market today. The market closed on a bad note recording losses in four equities. The GSE-Composite Index closed the week at 1,050.34 points from 1,053.65 points. 

GOIL dominated trading for the third time in five successive sessions, the sixth in ten sessions, with 67.79% of the 0.4million shares traded and 58.86% of the GHS0.20million realized.

The corresponding year-to-date change for the exchange is 8.39%. The GSE financial stock benchmark fell 0.99 points to close trading for the week at 908.34 points.

Trade volume and value increased by 51.75% and 93.65% respectively, when compared with the previous session as reported by CAL Brokers.

Aluworks Ltd (ALW), Guinness Ghana Brewery Ltd (GGBL) and Ghana Oil Company Ltd (GOIL) gained a pesewa each to close at GHS0.07, GHS1.76 and GHS0.41 respectively. 

Meanwhile losses were recorded in four equities, PZ Cussons Ghana Ltd (PZC), Tullow Oil (TLW), Total Petroleum (TOTAL) and HFC Bank (HFC).

Analysts predict similar trend in stock prices for next week.

CAL Brokers still recommends Benso Oil Palm Plantation (BOPP) and Enterprise Group Ltd (EGL) for the fourth successive week.

Courtesy: Ghana Stock Exchange & CAL Brokers

Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE): Market Update: 08.05.12

In today's trading on the Ghana Stock Exchange, the GSE Composite Index went up by 7.13 point to close at 1,059.64 points. A gain in the share price of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) held off the losses in two other equities to push the Index.
Since ETI is a financial stock, the GSE Financial Stock Index also closed at 921.40 points from a previous of 910.92 points. This Index is still trading below the base index of 1000 points. As reported by CAL Brokers (CBL), the overall market return climbed to 9.35%.
The volume of shares traded increased by 57.81% amounting to a 12.93% increase in value, compared to the previous session. About 0.28 million shares valued at GHS 0.11 million were traded.
Out of the total volume traded, GOIL out-performed all other equities by trading 83.45 % of volume and this is about 77.09% of the traded value.
ETI was the only gainer and although it closed at GHS 0.14 from GHS 0.13 (1 pesewa gained), it had the capacity to move the market index up by some points despite the loses recorded by Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) [ -0.1%] and TOTAL [-0.15%] to close at GHS 51.30 and GHS 26.14 respectively.

Courtesy: Ghana Stock Exchange & CAL Brokers Ltd (CBL)

Only 38 West African companies made it to the list of Africa's Top 250 companies

Over thousands of companies are registered in West Africa. Most of which are registered in Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d' Ivoire. But despite the numbers, only thirty eight of  West African companies made it to the list of Africa's Top 250 Companies.

Africa's Top 250 Companies list is compiled annually by the African Business team and in the April issue of the AFRICAN BUSINESS magazine, financial data from Dr. Ayo Salami, (co-founder of African Business Research Ltd) as at 31st December 2011 indicated that

How fast does information reflect in the prices of shares on the Ghana Stock Exchange?

The question about efficiency of the capital market always comes up in my mind. And now I am asking how fast information released by stakeholders of the market affects or reflect on prices on the exchange.

Shareholders make investment decisions based on the information they get from stakeholders of the market. Such information include new tax measures announced by the government, announcement of new products by the company, release of annual reports and announcement of higher or lower dividends. In the advanced markets, for instance on Wall Street, information released by companies or the government rapidly reflects on the prices of shares within minutes. Information release at non-trading hours affects the market in the next trading session.

In the Ghanaian market on the other hand, one can hardly tell the relationship between information and their effect on the prices in the market. Moreover, the speed of reflection on the market varies from time to time.
In the immediate past, CAL Bank share price saw a decrease when there was a problem in the company with respect to share transfer between two parties. How direct and certain can one be to link the cause of decrease in share price to that particular information? Other stocks in the market have shown similar trend. By my observations in the earnings season, share prices respond to the performance of companies as reported by their financial. Even at this time, the speed of reflection is an issue to be concerned about.

 I can’t wait for the capital market to reach the point where information takes minutes to reflect on the market. This would make the market active and inform investors in making good decisions moreover, aiding accurate speculations.

Taking a closer look at Unilever Ghana Limited (UNIL)

Today, I want us to focus on Unilever Ghana Limited (UNIL) and it's performance in 2011 and in the year so far. In my earlier post about the 1st Quarter of the Manufacturing sector, I wrote on the current standing of the company on the exchange. 

UNIL: 1st Quarter Chart on GSE: (courtesy; Bloomberg & GSE) 

We would look at more figures and how investors are reacting. UNIL as we know, manufactures and markets consumer goods throughout Ghana some of which includes toilet soaps, personal products, detergents, and consumable food products.

This year, UNIL began trading at GHS 6.64 (03.01.12) per share on the exchange. UNIL has issued about 62.50 million ordinary shares on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) with market capitalization of GHS 509.38 million. As released by the exchange, UNIL records a dividend yield (%) of 5.89. It was also recorded a price per book value from the most recent quarter as reported by Bloomberg as 8.6373. 

Investors reaction to the stock on the exchange has not changed so much. The shares are trading from time to time and most of the time as odd lots. As at today, the price remains at it's year high of GHS 8.15.

UNIL reported in March 2012 that it has made a revenue of GHS 239,005 for the 2011 financial year. In a press release to the Ghana Stock Exchange, it reports a profit after tax for the year as GHS 30,115, an increased of the one for 2010 which was GHS 17,947. Shareholders equity increase from GHS 41,340 to GHS 48,893.(NB: all figures are expressed in thousands of GH cedis unless otherwise stated)

UNIL would be having its Annual General Meeting on 27th April 2012 at the National Theatre. Shareholders are advised to go and contribute to the discussions and also vote on issues. Moreover, the company has proposed a dividend per share of 0.4800 pesewas which has a qualifying date as 25th April, 2012.

We hope to keep our eyes on UNIL and it's affairs in the household & consumer products sector.

Dividend Payments released for some companies on the Ghana Stock Exchange

The time has come again when shareholders look up to their various companies hoping dividends would be paid. Dividend investors are also looking for dividend stocks on the Ghana Stock Exchange whiles other type of investors hope the profits would be plough back for the growth of the companies.  This is the time where preference shareholders get paid first before the ordinary shareholders.

Some companies on the exchange are planning for their Annual General Meetings (AGM) and hoping to pay dividend for the financial year. Let’s take a closer look at what directors of those companies have decided to pay.

Companies	Dividend per share(GH cedis)	Payment Date
Standard Chartered Bank (SCB)	3.05	May 31, 2012
Ecobank Ghana (EBG)	0.24	May 18, 2012
Benso Oil Palm Plantation (BOPP)	0.0690	June 29, 2012
SG-SSB	0.04	April 30, 2012
HFC Bank (HFC)	0.022	May 14, 2012
Trust Bank Limited (The Gambia) (TBL)	20 butus	April 12, 2012
PBC Ltd (PBC)	0.0173	April 30, 2012
SCB-PREF	0.0324	March 30, 2012

For most of these stocks, the qualifying dates for their dividend payment are in March and April 2012. This simply means every potential investor who wants to enjoy the above dividend payments must buy the shares of those companies and be registered in their books before March or April. SCB, EBG and HFC for instance, have their qualifying dates on April 20^th, 19^th and 18^th, 2012 respectively, therefore investors must note these else would have to wait for another financial year to enjoy dividend payments.

AGMs

Ecobank Ghana ltd, HFC Bank Gh ltd and Ayton Drugs Manufacturing Company ltd planned to go for their Annual General meetings on April 27^th, 26^th and 5^th respectively. SG-SSB limited to have theirs on March 30^th whiles Benso Oil Palm Plantation Ltd planned for May 3rd, 2012.

Shareholders must do well to attend these meetings in order to get a better knowledge of the company and its plans for the future.

Keep investing, especially in the Ghanaian financial market.