The Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) index closed the week 0.96 per cent higher at 4,467.283 points, the highest weekly gain in eight weeks. This positive performance was buoyed by the increase in value of nine equities, primarily in HSBC Bank Malta plc, International Hotel Investments plc (IHI) and GO plc, given their larger weighting on the index.

Total trading value fell from €795,000 to €743,000. Trading was spread across 18 equities, of which nine rose in value, five fell out of favour and four closed unchanged.

Telecommunications company GO locked a weekly return of 2.7 per cent, as its share price exceeded €3 for the first time since the announcement last May that Tunisie Telecom was to launch a voluntary bid for GO’s entire issued share capital.

The equity closed the week at a three-month high of €3.05 after having traded at €3.09, and thus turned positive this year with a one per cent gain. Having said this, only 5,655 shares were traded in four deals during the week.

In the banking sector, HSBC shares climbed 1.9 per cent to €1.59, as 16 deals of 54,638 shares were struck. Meanwhile, Bank of Valletta plc shares remained unchanged at €2.23 despite accounting for the highest turnover value of €232,000 and having traded at a high of €2.25.

Similarly, Lombard Bank Malta plc shares traded unchanged at €2.20, following a single deal of 4,517 shares. During the week, the bank published its financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2016.

The group registered a pre-tax profit of €4.4 million, compared to €4.3m in 2015. This year’s results include a one-time significant item of income of €1.3 million received from Visa Inc.’s purchase of all shares in Visa Europe.

Group operating income reached €23.9 million, compared to €21.6m in 2015. The bank performed satisfactorily in most of its business lines while its Maltapost subsidiary experienced lower profits. Net interest income for the period under review amounted to €7.1 million, a 10.4 per cent rise from 2015. Earnings per share increased to €0.057.

On a negative note, the share price of Fimbank plc fell by half a per cent to $0.975, on a low volume of 2,200 shares.

Elsewhere, 8,000 IHI shares changed hands at €0.64 in Friday’s trading session, thus locking in a weekly gain of 3.2 per cent to partially recover from its previous week’s decline of 4.6 per cent.

In the IT services sector, a single deal of 1,030 shares in 6PM Holdings plc dragged it share price 5.9 per cent lower to £0.80, thus extending the equity’s downward trend, which started last May following a peak at £1. In the same line of business, RS2 Software plc shares remained unchanged at €1.85, following 11 deals of 33,328 shares.

Among the list of fallers, Malta International Airport plc shares closed the trading week 0.2 per cent lower at €4.24 following six deals of 5,119 shares.

The share price of oil and gas logistics and services company Medserv plc fell by 2.9 per cent on the week – its fourth consecutive weekly decline – to close at a five-month low of €1.65, after three deals of 20,450 shares.

On the other hand, after almost four weeks of inactivity, the share price of Global Capital plc gained €0.149 to close at €0.499, its highest level in over 10 weeks, marking the best performance for the week, after 26,593 shares were traded in six deals.

Meanwhile, Mapfre Middlesea plc shares also traded higher – up by 1.9 per cent to €2.10, on a single deal of a scant 1,000 shares.

Simonds Farsons Cisk plc shares advanced by 0.8 per cent to €6.40, just €0.10 shy of its all-time high of €6.50 reached last May. The equity was negotiated in four deals of 12,770 shares.

Moreover, it was a positive week for most of the traded property equities, as Plaza Centres plc shares rallied by 6.4 per cent to €1.149, having reached an all-time high of €1.15 intra-week, as five deals of 23,250 shares were struck.

Similarly, the share price of Malta Properties Company plc (MPC) surged by 4.7 per cent to a three-month high of €0.56 in Friday’s trading session, following the announcement of their interim results. The equity recorded a volume of 10,000 shares spread across five deals.

Last Thursday, MPC published its unaudited financial statements for the six months ending June 30, 2016. The group registered a pre-tax profit of €928,358 – an increase of 40 per cent from 2015. The total comprehensive income for the period fell from €1.7 million in 2015 to €551,115, mainly due to a tax credit for the period ended June 30, 2015, as a result of changes of tax rules on capital gains tax arising on transfer of immovable property. Revenue for the period under review amounted to €1.7 million – up by 3.4 per cent from 2015, which is expected to remain stable due to long-term lease agreements with its tenants.

Additionally, the share price of Malita Investments plc rose by 2.2 per cent to €0.87 after a significant volume of 148,000 shares traded in four transactions.

Conversely, Tigné Mall plc shares were down by 1.9 per cent on the week, at €1.02 following a deal of 2,000 shares, while Midi plc shares traded the week unchang­ed at €0.365, over a volume of 41,100 shares.

In the corporate bond market, total turnover stood at €872,000 – a week-on-week decline of one per cent. Of the 25 traded issues, nine gained ground, 13 declined and closed stood unchanged.

In the sovereign debt market, long-dated issues continued to trade higher while short-dated issues declined. During the week, the newly listed 2.4 per cent MGS 2041 (I) issue surged to €106.25 but then closed at €105.99 by Friday’s trading session – up by 4.2 per cent in its first week of trading. Total trading value amounted to €19.8 million, of which 57 per cent was traded in this issue.

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.

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