Sustained demand for GO plc shares on the MSE helped the equity of the quad-play telecoms operator to inch a further 0.7% higher to a yet another new 18-month high of €1.36 across eight trades totalling 19,110 shares. GO’s share price has climbed by more than 14% since the start of 2013 as the Group is expected to announce a profit for 2012 for the first time in five years.
Similarly, expectations of improved profitability at MaltaPost plc, following the approval of higher postal tariffs, helped the equity garner an increase of more than 20% since the start of the New Year. Today, the postal operator’s equity hit a fresh 19-month high of €1.025 on a single deal of 2,590 shares.
Malta International Airport plc’s equity edged 0.3% higher to regain the €1.80 level on low volumes of 3,000 shares. This afternoon, MIA published the traffic results for the month of January showing an 8% increase in passenger movements over the January 2012 figures to 179,243 passenger movements mainly due to a 1.1 percentage point increase in the seat load factor to 66.3% and a 6.2% growth in seat capacity to 270,400 seats. The airport operator is scheduled to publish its full-year results on 20 March.
Meanwhile, the share price of Bank of Valletta plc reversed most of the previous three weeks’ gains with a 2.1% plunge back to the €2.23 level across twenty nine trades totalling just over 66,700 shares. Likewise, Lombard Bank Malta plc’s share price eased 2.1% back to the €1.86 level across five trades totalling 18,850 shares.
No changes were registered in the share prices of HSBC Bank Malta plc and FIMBank plc. HSBC shares held on to the €2.72 level on volumes of 24,530 shares and the US Dollar denominated equity of FIMBank maintained the US$1.00 level across 10,960 shares.
RS2 Software plc remained supported at the €0.86 level on volumes of 27,434 shares whilst 14,600 Malita Investments plc shares traded unchanged at the €0.525 level.
On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index edged minimally higher to 1,007.557 points as Eurozone yields remained close to their 4-month highs of 1.7%. Nonetheless, by this afternoon, renewed demand for safe-haven assets led the benchmark 10-year German Bund yield back down to below the 1.65% level reflecting the rising political uncertainty in Spain and Italy. Spain’s Prime Minister is facing intense pressures to resign amidst a corruption scandal whilst in Italy uncertainty is escalating with the rising popularity of the former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in the run up to the February elections. In turn, Spanish 10-year yields jumped to their highest levels in the last 6-weeks at 5.4% and Italy’s borrowing costs reached a new 1-month high at the 4.44% level.
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