• Despite a 3.4% contraction in revenue, Paramount reported a 5.4% increase (or $2.03Mn) in net profit to $39.54Mn (EPS: $0.026) for the first half of its financial year ending November 2019.
• The result was driven by a 9.1% (or $19.72Mn) reduction in operating expenses, which management credits to its cost containment programs.  The bottom line was also supported by a 268.7% (or $16.6Mn) surge in other operating income which was mainly due to foreign exchange gains.
• The company’s stock price has declined by 23.2% since the beginning of the year to end Wednesday’s trading session at $1.72. the stock currently trades at a P/E of 41.0x earnings which is above the junior market distribution sector of 23.1x earnings.

(Source: Paramount Financials)

• For the six-months ended November 2019, Express Catering reported a 7.9% (or US1.42Mn) increase in its bottom line to US$1.53Mn (EPS: US$0.094).
• This favourable movement was primarily driven by an 8.8% (US$634.14K) improvement in revenues. Additionally, the company reduced finance costs 5.8% (US$9.77K).
• The stock has declined 8.9% since the start of the year, and closed trading at $6.06 on Wednesday. At this price Express currently trades at a P/E of 19.5x earnings which is below the Junior Market average of 24.5x.

(Express Catering Financials)

• Puerto Rico will be allowed access to $8.2 billion in delayed disaster-aid funding by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the island’s non-voting member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
• The approval of the funds for the U.S. territory’s recovery from Hurricanes Maria and Irma in 2017, which killed about 3,000 people, comes at an opportune time, as hundreds of earthquakes and aftershocks have rattled the island since Dec. 28. The quakes have damaged thousands of buildings and homes.
• Access to the funds should come as a relief for Puerto Rico after ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service said on Tuesday the earthquakes posed a setback in terms of the island’s economic recovery and ability to retain residents and businesses.

(Source:  Reuters)

• Fitch forecast Chile’s real GDP growth of 1.1% y-o-y in 2020, as economic disruptions due to widespread protests and reduced investment resulting from heightened political uncertainty weigh on economic activity.
• The forecast is markedly below the Bloomberg consensus estimate of 2.1%.
• Consensus has moved downward in recent weeks and will likely continue to do so as higher frequency data prints begin to reveal the extent of the contraction caused by the social upheaval that started in October 2019.

(Source: Fitch)

• American equity futures climbed on Thursday and European shares fluctuated in the wake of the signing of the U.S.-China trade deal, an event that helped drive global stocks to record highs. Bonds were mixed and the dollar was steady.
• Contracts for all three main American gauges pointed to more gains after Wall Street hit records a day earlier. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 did slightly better after tech bellwether
• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. projected quarterly revenue well above analysts’ estimates. Morgan Stanley climbed in early trading after results beat expectations. Bank of New York Mellon slipped after matching estimates.
• The formal signing of a phase one deal between the world’s two biggest economies has put the trade war on hold as far as many investors are concerned. Assuming the detente lasts, traders will be seeking fresh catalysts, most likely in economic data and the ramp-up of earnings season.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• Inflation shocks across eastern Europe have put local central-bank policy front and center for bond and currency traders, even as officials play down the uptick in price growth.
• The Czech koruna is the biggest climber among its near neighbors this year and hit a seven-year high on Wednesday as the prospect of a ninth rate hike in little more than two years lured investors. At the other extreme, the Hungarian forint is the worst performer in the period as policy makers cling to a no-change stance. Bond yields have climbed across the region.
• Higher-than-forecast inflation prints from Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania in the past week have rattled markets and served up a reminder that risks from a tight labor market haven’t abated. It’s a predicament that contrasts with the euro area, where the European Central Bank is struggling to rekindle price growth.
• Given eastern Europe’s trade links with the euro region, some policy makers are looking past spikes in inflation and maintaining loose monetary policy. Investors aren’t fully on board, however.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• For the first half of its financial year ending November 30, 2019, Knutsford Express (KEX) reported net profit of $79.08Mn, which represents a 36.2% contraction when compared to $124.00Mn earned during the same period one year prior.
• The outturn was due to a 24.8% (or $104.44Mn) increase in administrative and general expenses that outpaced the 9.4% (or $52.08Mn) growth in revenue.
• Management attributed the increase in expenses for the second quarter to its new advertising campaign, additional staffing and toll costs associated with new routes.
• The stock has declined by 5.5% since the beginning of the year and currently trades at a P/E of 40.0x earnings which is above the Junior Market average of 24.8x earnings.

(Source: KEX Financials)

• Net profit dipped 9.8% for the first three months ended November 2019 ending the period at $14.82Mn (EPS: $0.03), $1.57Mn lower than the corresponding period in 2018.
• A decline of 10.4% (or $22.32Mn) in revenue coupled with a $10.5% (or $3.14Mn) increase in expenses were the primary drivers of the dip in the net profit. In particular, administrative (up 14.2% or $2.86) and financial (+72.1% or $985.46K) were the main forces behind the upward movement in total expenses.
• The stock has declined 1.4% since the start of the year, and closed trading at $2.08 on Tuesday. The stock currently trades at a P/E of 17.3x earnings which is below the Junior Market Manufacturing average of 21.4x earnings.

(Source: AMG Financials)

• Strong remittance-fueled private consumption and muscular investment growth will drive real GDP growth in Guatemala over the coming quarters.
• However, heightened political risks, including popular resistance to Guatemala’s asylum agreement with the US and a violent backlash to President Alejandro Giammattei’s anti-crime crackdown, pose downside risks to economic activity.
• Fitch has revised up its real GDP growth forecast for 2020 from 3.3% y-o-y to 3.8%, due to the strong trend in remittance inflows and investment activity in recent months. This compares to estimate of 3.7% growth in 2019.

(Source: Fitch)

• The expectation is that Ecuador’s current account deficit will expand to 1.6% and 1.8% of GDP in 2020 and 2021, as a rebound in private consumption drives import growth.
• Net investment outflows will continue to put pressure on Ecuador’s foreign reserves.
• Ecuador will remain dependent on the IMF to finance its current account and trade deficits, though we expect a renegotiation of the terms of the programme.

(Source: Fitch)