Last Friday, the Treasury announced the offering of two issues of Malta Government Stock to the public. In aggregate the two issues will be of €120 million, subject to an over-allotment option of a further €60 million.
The stocks being offered to the public have a coupon of two and three per cent and will mature in 2020 and 2040 respectively.
The offer price will be announced on Thursday and applications may be submitted from February 23 to 25.
The closing date for the receipt of applications may be brought forward at the discretion of the Accountant General.
The Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) index more than erased the previous week 0.17 per cent decline with a 0.34 per cent gain registered on similar turnover of €1.3m, closing at 3,425.973 points. Trading was spread across 17 equities, of which gainers prevailed at 10, four fell and three closed flat.
Banking equities showed mixed trends last week as Fimbank plc rallied, HSBC Bank Malta plc and Lombard Bank plc lost ground while Bank of Valletta plc traded flat.
Bank of Valletta plc shares dominated trading with a turnover of €731,000 traded in 73 deals as its share price fluctuated between a low of €2.07 and a high of €2.09 before settling at €2.08.
At the negative end, HSBC Bank Malta plc shares suffered a one per cent drop to €2 on a turnover worth €142,000, having traded at a low of €1.97 and a high of €2.02.
Meanwhile, Lombard Bank Malta plc shares eased by 0.5 per cent to €1.91, recovering from an intra-week low of €1.85, as 34,809 shares changed hands in 11 deals.
On the other hand, Fimbank plc shares rebounded from their recent declines with an eight per cent gain to end the week at $0.54 on very low trading volume.
Elsewhere, Maltapost plc shares climbed 1.5 per cent to a record high of €1.35 on seven deals of 18,578 shares.
Similarly, Malita Investments plc and Tigné Mall plc closed at fresh highs of €0.73 and €0.671 respectively.
Six deals were executed in both equities, however, volumes varied as 46,983 Malita shares were traded while 115,100 shares changed hands in Tigné Mall.
In its interim directors’ statement last Wednesday, Maltapost plc reported that during the financial period starting on October 1, 2014, to date, the company’s financial performance improved compared to the corresponding period last year, which is in line with expectations.
The company’s turnover increased which was mainly due to new service offerings and the revision of certain tariffs, which came into effect on January 1.
However, the impact of this increase on profitability was partially offset by higher staff costs and inflationary pressures on operating costs.
Letter mail volumes continued their long-term downward trend while parcels and packets registered growth, especially over the Christmas period.
Looking ahead, the company remains focused on growing revenue through product and service diversification and by positioning itself as the leading e-commerce partner to both local and international business.
The board of directors is confident that this strategy will ensure that Maltapost will retain the confidence of its clients, continue to deliver a fair return to shareholders while providing a secure workplace for its staff.
Meanwhile, a single deal of 5,000 shares in Malta International Airport plc executed at its all-time high closing price of €2.52 lead to a 0.8 per cent gain on the previous week.
Last Monday, two deals of 62,053 Plaza Centres plc shares pushed their price up by a significant 3.5 per cent to €0.71.
Similarly, Go plc shares ended the week with a 1.34 per cent gain at €2.65 after 10 deals worth €106,000. The equity last traded at this level in October 2014.
Similar gains of less than one per cent were recorded in the share price of Middlesea Insurance plc, RS2 Software plc and Midi plc, all on similarly low volumes.
Meanwhile, the share price of Simonds Farsons Cisk plc fell by a marginal 0.65 per cent to €3.07 after 4,650 shares were traded.
Loqus Holdings plc suffered last week’s worst drop of 14 per cent after two deals of 6,230 shares were struck at €0.12.
Low trading volumes in International Hotel Investments plc and Island Hotels Group Holdings plc kept their share prices flat at €0.62 and €1.029 respectively.
Meanwhile, in the corporate bond market, a total of 28 issues were active as trading reached a turnover of €1.84 million – up from €1.06m traded the previous week.
A substantial value of €840,000 was traded in the 5.1 per cent PTL Holdings plc Unsecured € 2024 at a slight gain of 0.19 per cent.
Trading in the sovereign debt market was spread across 26 issues, reaching a turnover of €27.8 million – down from €31.4m.
The majority of issues showed a downward trend as 19 issues fell, five gained ground and two closed flat.
The 4.5 per cent MGS 2028 (II) was the most liquid issue with a turnover worth €9.1 million.
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.