The MSE Index was back in the red for the fourth time in the last five weeks, as a 0.311 per cent dip was registered. The Index settled at the 4,703.726 points level.
A total of 15 equities were active during the week, of which five headed north, seven declined and three closed unchanged. Total turnover amounted to €872,734.
Bank of Valletta plc shares gained a further 0.5 per cent, to register a fresh nine year high. The equity featured in 49 separate trades worth €308,600 or 35 per cent of total trading. The price at the end of the final trading session for the week read €2.21.
HSBC Bank Malta plc’s equity also performed relatively well, as it appreciated by one per cent, to close at €2.08. The two cent increase materialised itself across 14 transactions, which translated into 61,533 shares exchanging hands.
Following the fresh six-year high registered on Thursday, Lombard Bank Malta plc shares managed to hold on to the price of €2.499 – a 0.8 per cent increase from last week’s closing price.
The equity traded 11 times for a total value of €96,500.
FIMBank plc shares fell to a fresh 11 month low of $0.80 reached intra-week to then settle at $0.82 – a week on week decline of 3.5 per cent. Trading was spread across seven deals, worth €53,600.
An identical decline, albeit spread over 11 transactions of 14,827 shares, was witnessed by Malta International Airport plc shares, as these closed at the €4.09 price tag.
The reason behind this slump is that the equity fell ex-dividend yesterday, that is, who acquires the shares from this point onwards will not be receiving the next company dividend due in May 2017.
Last Wednesday, Medserv plc announced that it has approved the audited consolidated financial statements for the financial year ended December 31, 2016.
The Board resolved that these audited consolidated financial statements be submitted for the approval of the shareholders at the forthcoming AGM scheduled for May 31, 2017. Group’s total revenue for the year amounted to €32.8m (2015: €42.7m) and the Group’s operating profit amounted to €9,104 (2015: €7.5m). The significant decrease in results is attributable to the delay in the provision of logistical support services to major drilling contracts and pressure on profit margins.
Heading the list of fallers for the week were MIDI plc shares, as these registered a 6.1 per cent decline, to close at €0.31. This fall dragged the price down to levels last seen in June 2015.
On the opposite end of the spectrum one finds Malta Properties Company plc’s equity, which registered a 4.6 per cent appreciation, to close at €0.545. A total of 105,880 shares were traded across 14 different transactions, with a fresh one-month high of €0.548 reached on Wednesday.
International Hotel Investments plc and MaltaPost plc experienced contrasting fortunes as the former closed in the green by 1.4 per cent, while the latter headed south by 1.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, the equities of RS2 Software plc and Plaza Centres plc, both registered declines.
The IT Services Company stumbled by 1.2 per cent over five transactions of 20,100 shares, to close at €1.601, while the Property Company traded three times to register a 2.4 per cent decline, over a total turnover of €16,500.
Other active but non-moving equities were Mapfre Middlesea plc, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc and Malita Investments plc.
Three non-active equities issued announcements during the week.
Yesterday, GO plc announced that their 19th AGM will be held on May 3, 2017 while on Wednesday, the Board of Directors of Global Capital plc has approved the financial statements for the period ended December 31, 2016 and resolved that they will be submitted for the approval of the shareholders at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.
Tigne Mall plc announced that in the year ended December 31, 2016, the company registered a profit before tax of €3.1 million as compared to a profit before tax of €2.9 million in 2015. The company’s EBITDA increased to €5.3 million (2015: €5.2 million), while profit before tax for the current financial year stood at €2.05m, up by 23.7 per cent from that recorded in 2015.
The company reported an earnings per share of 3.63c when compared to 2.93c in 2015.
The Directors recommend the payment of a final net dividend of €705,000 in relation to 2016 financial results.
Trading in the corporate debt market was generally flat as from the 35 active issues, 11 gained, 7 declined and 17 closed unchanged.
Total trading in corporate bond issues was just short of the €1.5m mark. The 5.75 per cent International Hotel Investment plc Unsecured €2025 registered a strong gain as it appreciated by 2.5 per cent, to close at €108.
The Sovereign debt market was extremely positive as 22 of the 27 active issues gained ground.
The biggest leap in price was that experienced by the 4.65 per cent MGS 2032 as this increased by 1.2 per cent, to close at €137.78.