Lm79 million equity turnover to September 30

Last Friday marked the end of the week, the month and the third quarter of 2006. In terms of equity turnover by value, the week was the fourth lowest of the year, the month, at Lm2.2 million, was the lowest (compared to February, which at Lm17.35 million was the year's best), while the quarter was, resoundingly, the lowest at Lm9.4 million, as compared to Lm43.7 million in the first quarter, and Lm25.7 million in the second.

The best performing shares over the first nine months are GlobalCapital plc (GCL) whose shares increased by 42.9%, closely followed by Santumas Share-holdings (STUM) with a gain of 39.6%. The bronze goes to Middlesea Insurance plc (MSI) whose split-adjusted gain results in a 32% increase.

The three local banks had a somewhat pedestrian performance over the first nine months with Lombard Bank plc (LOM) gaining 5.3%, HSBC Bank Malta plc (HSB) 4% and Bank of Valletta plc (BOV) 3.8%. Fimbank plc (FIM)'s share price gained 12.6% although here one should allow for US Dollar fluctuation. The dampest squib was Simonds Farsons Cisk plc (SFC) with a drop of 22.2% followed by Malta International Airport plc (MIA) with a drop of 9.7%.

On Friday the MSE index closed at 5,141.011, a healthy 1.93% gain for the week. However this is a drop of 3.37% on the end of August, and 5.3% for the last quarter. To close this overview on a positive note, the MSE index is still up 3.2% over the first nine months of 2006.

Back to last week's trading:

BOV started the week on a positive note, climbing from a Lm3.67 open to a Lm3.75 close. On Tuesday it advanced to Lm3.80 early on, but fell back to Lm3.75 to close unchanged. Wednesday was by far the quietest session of the week with only two deals struck; nonetheless the price progressed to Lm3.79. Thursday's late start - the first deal was struck one hour nine minutes into trade - proved beneficial as the price continued to pick up speed.

BOV traded in a constantly upward range from Lm3.839 to close at Lm3.86. Friday's trades were all carried out at Lm3.85 to end the week with a turnover of 29,201 shares and sporting a sprightly gain of 5.4%, as BOV marked the end of its financial year-end yesterday. At the close of trade best bids totalled 500 shares at Lm3.84, while supply for 5,550 shares started at Lm3.85.

HSB started out the week a few mils up at Lm2.056 but settled to Lm2.05 within a few seconds of the opening bell. It stayed at this level throughout the whole session, rising to Lm2.08 in the final deal - matched two minutes from the end.

Practically all of Tuesday's light trade was carried out at Lm2.079, barring the final two deals at Lm2.08. This was the price that the bulk of Wednesday's equally thin trade was carried out at. Thursday saw HSB slide from a Lm2.079 open to an intra-day low of Lm2.048 within just over 30 minutes of trading. It continued to trade at Lm2.05 and Lm2.049 before some last minute buying activity propped the price back up to Lm2.08.

Friday saw a near replay: HSB opened at Lm2.07, skidded to Lm2.05 but scrambled to a Lm2.08 close in the final minute of trade, ending the week 1.5% higher on a turnover of 94,454 shares. At the end of trading, the best bid was for 2,000 shares at Lm2.041, while the best offer for 4,662 shares stood at Lm2.08.

Maltacom plc (MLC) had a tough week both on and off market. Off market, the company had to contend with a fine slapped on by the Malta Communications Authority for Lm10,000 together with a daily penalty of Lm200 for failing to conclude an interconnection agreement with Melita Cable. Maltacom announced on Wednesday that it will be appealing this decision.

On the market, MLC opened the week at Lm1.69, rose to Lm1.70 and closed at Lm1.699. On Tuesday it fell to Lm1.65 but recovered to Lm1.68 in the final minutes of trade. The negative mood persisted with the price retreating to Lm1.63 on Wednesday and slumping to Lm1.59 by Thursday - both a 2006, and an 11-month low.

The equity finally snapped its nine-day losing streak on Friday; it traded at Lm 1.60 for most of the time, but in the final three deals advanced to Lm1.64, Lm1.68 and Lm1.70, a near 7% comeback for the day even if it ended the week 0.6% lower on a turnover of 50,669 shares. At the end of the week, the best bid was for 1,060 shares at Lm1.60 and the best offers for 4,640 shares at Lm1.70.

MIA only traded twice this week, remaining unchanged at Lm1.35 on Monday and on Tuesday's open, before advancing to Lm1.37 and Lm1.40. This price marked a five-week high for MIA, up 3.7% on the week. At the end of the week, best bids were for 6,500 shares at Lm1.35, while offers for 2,000 shares started at Lm1.38.

Small cap stocks shared the spoils, as three advanced and three declined:

MSI, as expected, suffered a blow following the release of their interim results for the six months ended June 30, 2006, which showed a 42.2% drop in pre-tax profits and fall in EPS from 6c4 to 6c2. On Monday, MSI fell from Lm2.48 to Lm2.40, stumbling to Lm2.35 during Tuesday's session. However it regained some ground, recovering to Lm2.38 to close the day and the week at this level, nursing a loss of 4.6%.

SFC was again under pressure as a series of sale orders - totalling 32,500 shares for the week - sent the price crashing to the recently touched year's low of 70c. FIM traded after a week's break to close 1.6% lower at $1.81.

International Hotel Investments plc (IHI) had an erratic week - it did not trade till Thursday, falling to €0.93 at the open and hitting €0.90 by 11 a.m. However two purchase orders reversed the losses, first taking the price back to €0.93 and then to €0.95 to close the day unchanged. The upswing continued on Friday with IHI climbing to €0.97 for a week-on-week gain of 2.1% on a turnover of 30,398 shares.

LOM continued to advance, trading at Lm4.68 and at Lm4.701 on Wednesday and inching forward to Lm4.71 on Friday, to close the week 0.6% higher on turnover of 7412 shares. Plaza Centres plc (PZC) had a positive week, advancing 0.75% to 67c, the price at which all the week's deals were negotiated. PZC was comparatively active with turnover of 26,700 shares for a market value of Lm17,889.

GCL did not trade. In a company announcement issued on Tuesday, GCL announced that Kevin Vella has been appointed a member of the company's executive committee and Kenneth Spiteri has resigned as chief sales officer. This position is now occupied by Oliver Said.

In the Alternative Companies List, Datatrak was stable at 26c. In a company announcement released on Friday, the board announced that it will meet on October 17 to consider and approve the interim financial statements for the period ending June 30.

The bond markets were much quieter this week. In Government bonds turnover by value reached Lm233,088 spread over 44 deals. In the corporate bond market, there were only 28 deals for just over Lm46,000.

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Report by Financial Planning Services Ltd., tel: 2134-4244, fax 2134-1202, e-mail matthew@bonellofinancial.com, elaine@bonellofinancial.com