The Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) index last week extended its losses by 0.45 per cent, to close at 3,749.376 points. The main laggards were once again Bank of Valletta plc (BOV) and HSBC Bank Malta plc, followed by shares of Go plc, and to a lesser extent, Malita Investments plc. Losses among these shares more than offset strong returns registered in the shares of Midi plc, RS2 Software plc and 6PM Holdings plc – all of which closed the week at multi-period highs.
Turnover in the equity market fell by 6.2 per cent, from €2.2 million to €2.06 million, as 14 equities were negotiated, of which seven rose in value, four declined and three closed unchanged.
In the banking sector, BOV shares headed the list of fallers, after being negotiated in the week’s highest turnover, worth €511,000. The banking equity touched an intra-week low of €2.20, but then recovered some ground towards the end of the week to close at €2.24, resulting in a week-on-week loss of 2.6 per cent.
Its peer, HSBC, fell by a further 0.4 per cent, following a 2.9 per cent loss the previous week. Activity was spread over a total of 63,768 shares, with deals executed in the €2 to €2.06 price band.
There was no change in the share price of Lombard Bank Malta plc, as eight deals of 16,758 shares were struck.
In the IT services sector, both RS2 and 6PM ended the week at record highs of €3.059 and £0.76 respectively. RS2 was negotiated in the week’s second highest turnover, worth €401,000, whereas 6PM shares were active in eight deals of 96,340 shares.
On Thursday, 6PM announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2014. The group registered a pre-tax profit of £939,000, compared to £638,000 in 2014. Revenue for the period amounted to £9.68 million, a rise of 17.3 per cent from 2013. Earning per share increased to £0.041.
The group’s board of directors resolved to recommend a net final dividend of £0.02 per share and a bonus share issue of one share for every 50 held. The dividend, if approved at the AGM, will be paid to registered shareholders as at May 26.
Two other equities that also closed the week at record high closing prices were Medserv plc and Maltapost plc. The postal services company locked-in a two per cent gain as 29,878 shares changed hands in 11 deals, to close at a record high of €1.45. Meanwhile, the share price of the oil and gas logistics services company strengthened by one per cent after eight transactions of 52,800 shares.
Shares of Malta International Airport plc (MIA) failed to sustain an all-time high of €3.535 reached in intra-day trading, to end the week at the €3.51. Nevertheless, this is still a weekly gain of 0.3 per cent, and this notwithstanding the fact that the equity traded ex-dividend last Friday. Activity in the equity was spread over 24 deals as 79,078 shares changed hands.
Midi plc headed the list of gainers, as five deals of 274,000 shares lifted the equity’s price by 7.4 per cent to close at a 14-month high of €0.29.
One other gainer for the week was Plaza Centres plc, whose shares continued to trend higher, registering a week-on-week gain of 2.5 per cent after a turnover of €80,700.
The two other equities to fall last week were Go plc and Malita Investments plc, posting declines of 0.7 and one per cent respectively. The telecommunications company was traded in 10 deals of 19,299 shares, whereas 70,040 shares in Malita Investments changed hands in five deals.
A total of €164,000 worth of International Hotel Investments plc shares was traded last week, however, there was no change in price by close of trading on Friday although an intra-week low of €0.70 was noted.
Likewise, Middlesea Insurance plc shares closed the week unchanged, albeit on a relatively thin volume.
On Friday by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) announced that BAI Co (Mtius) Ltd, which owns 48.45 per cent of the issued share capital of Global Capital plc, has been put under the control of conservators by the authorities in Mauritius. Consequently, the MFSA has decided to suspend the listing and trading of Global Capital’s ordinary shares and the 5.6 per cent Global Capital plc euro bonds 2014-2016 until such time that it is able to make a judgement on the effect that the position of BAI CO (Mtius) Ltd will have on the operations of Global Capital plc. These suspensions have been taken to prevent any false market being created in these Global Capital plc securities. The suspension will be for 10 working days. Prior to the end of the suspension period on May 4, further action will be communicated if necessary.
Last Friday, Crimsonwing plc held an extraordinary general meeting in which shareholders unanimously agreed that the company’s issued share capital should discontinue from being listed on the MSE official list with effect from such date as may be determined in conjunction with the MFSA and MSE.
In the corporate bond market, out of 23 traded issues, 13 gained ground, three fell out of favour and seven closed unchanged. Among those trading in positive territory were the 6.6 per cent Eden Finance plc 2017-2020 and the 4.25 per cent Bank of Valletta plc euro notes 2019 issues, up by one and 0.9 per cent respectively. The BOV bond closed at €110 and the Eden Finance issue traded at €106.51. Total turnover more than doubled, from €378,600 to €832,600.
Meanwhile, in the sovereign debt market, total turnover stood at €11.61 million, spread over 27 issues, the majority of which closed in the red, while eight inched higher. The long-dated three per cent MGS 2040 (I) issue accounted for over 42 per cent of total trading value, reaching highs of €120.05 in intra-week trading, and closing the week minimally lower at €119.99. On the other hand, the 4.45 per cent MGS 2032 (II) issue jumped 0.9 per cent higher, to close at €138.84.
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 1/2, St Joseph High Street, Ħamrun, or on Tel. 2122 4410 or e-mail jesmond.mizzi@jesmondmizzi.com.