The share index shed a further 0.1 per cent to 3,421.315 points largely due to the third consecutive decline in the share price of HSBC following last Monday’s results publication which revealed a 42 per cent decline in pre-tax profits to €52 million due to lower income, higher expenses as well as a steep rise in impairment charges.

As a result, the total gross dividend in respect of the 2014 financial year also dropped by 48.1 per cent to 7c1 per share. The directors also recommended a one for nine bonus issue to all shareholders as at the close of trading on April 27. HSBC’s equity closed 1.6 per cent lower at the €1.87 level after only partially recovering from an intra-day low of €1.85 on lower volumes of 17,855 shares.

On the other hand, this morning Malta International Airport published record results for the financial year ended December 31.

The airport operator registered a 15 per cent growth in pre-tax profits to a new record of €26.1 million. The directors recommended a final gross dividend of 12c31 per share representing a 77.8 per cent increase over last year’s final dividend.

The total dividend declared in respect of the 2014 financial year amounts to a record 16c93 per share (net: 11c), an increase of 46.6 per cent compared to the dividend distribution in respect of 2013.

Shareholders as at the close of trading on April 16 will be eligible to receive the final dividend. The reaction on the secondary market was marginal due to the lack of supply. Nonetheless, the share price moved 1.2 per cent higher to a fresh record of €2.68,1 on a single trade of just 690 shares.

Elsewhere on the secondary market, the share price of Lombard Bank Malta  recovered yesterday’s decline with an equivalent 7c5 increase in its share price to regain the €1.90 level on a deal of 1,500 shares.

The equity of International Hotel Investments also closed in positive territory today with a marginal increase to the 63c1 level on shallow volumes of 6,387 shares.

On the other hand, RS2 Software plc eased 0.7 per cent lower back to the €2.95 level across 8,500 shares.

Meanwhile, Bank of Valletta maintained the €2.12 level across 16 trades totalling 29,104 shares. Likewise, GO held on to the 70c level on volumes of just over 7,800 shares.

In the property sector, Tigné Mall jumped 4.3 per cent higher to a fresh all-time high of 70c albeit on just 700 shares while Malita Investments traded unchanged at its all-time high of 77c across a single trade of 36,300 shares ahead of the company’s full-year results publication tomorrow.

Plaza Centres also held on to its multi-year high of 85c on weak activity of 1,000 shares.

Middlesea Insurance also closed the day unchanged at the €1.02 level ahead of the group’s full-year results publication on March 11.

On the bond market, the Rizzo Farrugia MGS Index edged another 0.1 per cent higher to a fresh all-time high of 1,129.944 points as 10-year Eurozone benchmark yields slipped back to 0.35 per cent in anticipation of the start of the European Central Bank’s quantitative easing programme next month.

On Monday evening, the Treasury announced that the new issue of Malta Government Stocks was oversubscribed and the offering closed early. The Treasury is now expected to publish the issue statistics and allocation policy in the coming days.

www.rizzofarrugia.com

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.