Over the past week, the Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) index retreated by 0.36 per cent to close at 3,338.554 points. This follows the previous week’s 0.71 per cent advance. The two primary laggards were Bank of Valletta plc (BOV) and HSBC Bank Malta plc – the two largest listed equities by market value on the MSE. Trading in the opposite direction was telecommunications company Go plc, whose share price appreciation mitigated the index’s negative performance.
Six other equities were negotiated, whereby two rose in value, one edged lower, while three closed unchanged. Turnover in the equity market shrank by 41 per cent to €685,000, two-thirds of which involved shares of BOV, HSBC and Go.
Go plc opened the week marginally lower, but went on to register a 3.5 per cent gain after 47,254 shares were traded in Friday’s session. Go shares accounted for the highest turnover for the week, worth €173,000, to lock a weekly gain of 3.1 per cent – a fresh six-year high.
In the banking sector, HSBC headed the list of fallers, as it extended the previous week’s 0.5 per cent decline by 1.5 per cent, to close at its one-month low of €1.96. There were 28 transactions involving 68,288 shares of the bank.
Its peer, BOV, erased 1.3 per cent of its share price, following its 2.7 per cent jump in price the previous week. The equity experienced the second highest turnover for the week, as 67,112 shares changed hands in 28 deals.
In the same line of business, both Lombard Bank plc and Fimbank plc traded flat at €1.699 and $0.66, respectively. There were six deals of 25,000 shares in the former, whereas 6,000 Fimbank shares changed hands in a single transaction.
Following 12 weeks of inactivity, Island Hotels Group Holdings plc shares were traded in three deals of 8,000 shares, which pushed the equity’s price 3.7 per cent higher.
One other gainer for the week was Medserv plc, which settled at a two-month high of €1.30, following a two per cent advance last Friday. There were nine transactions worth €105,000 in the oil and gas logistics services company’s shares.
On Tuesday, Malta International Airport plc published its monthly traffic figures for September, which showed yet another increase over the same period last year. A 2.4 per cent growth was recorded, to reach a total of 463,000 passengers being hosted during the month. This follows a record half a million passengers being hosted in August.
By the end of the week, three deals of 8,750 shares were negotiated, which led to 0.4 per cent fall in price, to close €0.02 shy of its record high of €2.36.
The other non-mover was Malita Investments plc, which maintained its record high price of €0.56 after three deals of 85,500 shares.
In the corporate bond market, turnover value rose by 46 per cent to €1.67 million, with the 5.6 per cent Global Capital plc euro 2014/16 being active over a volume of 1,038,500 nominal. The company announced that during September, the company repurchased 140,000 nominal, which were cancelled accordingly.
In total, 26 issues were traded, of which 14 strengthened, seven fell out of favour, while five closed unchanged. The Global Capital bond was the week’s top performer, as a 7.3 per cent rise resulted in the bond settling at par.
Hal Mann Vella Group plc announced that it is offering to the public a €30 million secured bond with a five per cent coupon maturing on November 6, 2024. The net proceeds of the bond will principally be used to refinance bank borrowings, to fund the complete modernisation of the Hal Mann Vella factory, to fund investments in new plant and machinery and to cover costs of construction and development of a mixed use commercial property in Pantar Street, Lija, consisting of a three-floor building above street level occupying a footprint of circa 3,600 square metres.
Any remaining balance will be used for general corporate funding purposes and further reducing the group’s corporate indebtedness. All relevant documentation including application forms are available from authorised intermediaries and potential investors should read this documentation and seek professional advice before investing.
United Finance plc has obtained approval for the issue €8.5 million worth of new bonds maturing in 2023 with an interest coupon of 5.3 per cent while redeeming the 6.75 per cent bonds 2014-2016. The company will be giving holders of maturing bonds preference to subscribe to the new bond issue. The net proceeds from the bond issue are expected to amount to approximately €8,100,000 and will be used by the issuer to part finance the redemption of the outstanding amount of the 6.75 per cent maturing bonds.
The issuer will allocate the bonds first to existing bondholders up to the extent of their holdings of the maturing bonds, subject to a minimum holding of €2,000; any remaining bonds will be allocated to existing bondholders having applied for bonds in excess of their respective holding in the maturing bonds; and if there remain unallocated bonds, the issuer will offer the remaining bonds to authorised financial intermediaries through an intermediaries’ offer. Potential investors should read the prospectus and seek professional advice before considering any investment.
In the sovereign debt market, total turnover stood at €8.5 million – a 32 per cent drop over the previous week – spread over 26 issues. Long-dated government stocks continued to register gains, as yields dropped. This reflects both the lower global growth prospect as outlined by the International Monetary Fund earlier last week, as well as the plunge in German industrial production – all of which suggest a prolonged period of low interest rate environment. Nevertheless, the euro marginally recovered against its major peers, the US dollar and Sterling.
This article, which was compiled by Jesmond Mizzi, managing director of Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors Ltd, does not intend to give investment advice and the contents therein should not be construed as such. The company is licensed to conduct investment services by the MFSA and a member of the Malta Stock Exchange and a member of the Atlas Group. The directors or related parties, including the company, and their clients are likely to have an interest in securities mentioned in this article. For further information contact Jesmond Mizzi at 67, Level 3, South Street, Valletta, or on Tel: 2122 4410 or e-mail jesmond.mizzi@jesmondmizzi.com.