The Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) index sustained its positive momentum, reaching a fresh seven-year high of 4,027.053 points last Thursday, and closing the week up by 1.75 per cent at 4,021.758 points after declining marginally on Friday. The index traded in the black during all but one of this week’s trading sessions, as shares of International Hotel Investments plc (IHI) and Mapfre Middlesea plc (MMS) locked-in double digit gains, closing the week at multi-year highs.
Activity was spread over a total of 15 securities, of which seven rose in value, six fell, while two closed unchanged. Total turnover increased by 0.6 per cent to €1.17 million.
In the financial services sector, MMS headed the list of gainers as 14 deals of 29,736 shares pushed the equity’s price to a six-year high of €1.86. In the banking industry, shares of Bank of Valletta plc (BOV) edged 0.4 per cent higher, while those of HSBC Bank Malta plc lost 2.2 per cent.
The latter was dragged lower to a three-week low of €1.80, after the third highest turnover of the week, worth €178,000. Meanwhile, BOV was negotiated in 45 deals of 73,328 shares, to end at its weekly high of €2.29.
In the same line of business, Lombard Bank Malta plc inched 0.05 per cent higher after a single dale of 2,828 shares.
No change in price was recorded in shares of Fimbank plc which were active in four deals of 18,681 shares.
Telecommunications company Go plc strengthened by 1.3 per cent after the second highest turnover of the week – worth €185,000 – to close at its seven-year, four-month high of €3.14.
Shares of IHI closed the week at a 16-month high of €0.901 as 18 transactions of 127,732 shares lifted the equity’s price by a staggering 11.2 per cent.
A single deal of a mere 118 shares pushed Maltapost plc shares up by 3.3 per cent to a record high closing price of €1.55.
One week’s other gainer was Loqus Holdings plc, whose shares were also up on thin volume – up by 7.4 per cent over the week.
RS2 Software plc shares witnessed the highest turnover for the week, worth €203,000, partially reversing the previous week’s 1.3 per cent advancement, and down from its all-time high of €3.425. The IT services company’s share price dipped by 0.7 per cent, to close the week at €3.40.
Trading activity was also significantly strong in shares of Malta International Airport plc (MIA), which contracted by 0.2 per cent as 48,150 shares changed hands in 21 deals.
Last Monday, the company announced that it has become aware of media reports in connection with an internal investigation report in relation to the former CEO Markus Klaushofer. The investigation report was prepared for the company’s internal purposes and in preparation for legal proceedings which are ongoing with the former CEO. The report was sent to the executive police for them to investigate further the facts outline in the report.
Midi plc shares posted a decline of 1.5 per cent, following a 10 per cent surge in price the previous week. There were three deals of 16,000 Midi shares.
Likewise, both shares of Malita Investments plc and Plaza Centres plc erased 1.1 per cent. The latter was active in 10 deals of 35,000 shares, whereas the special purpose vehicle lost ground after four deals of 13,066 shares.
No change in price was recorded in shares of Grand Harbour Marina plc after three deals of 20,000 shares were executed.
Last Monday, the board of directors of the 6PM Holdings plc announced that it has submitted an application to the listing authority of the MFSA requesting the admissibility to listing of €13 million in bonds redeemable in 2025. Subject to approval, the issuer will be granting preference to shareholders listed in the share register as at last Monday.
In a separate announcement, the company reported that it entered into a share transfer agreement (STA) last Wednesday to acquire all the issued share capital in Blithe Computer Systems Ltd from Peter Wright – the current sole shareholder – for the total consideration of £4.2 million. The STA is conditional upon the company raising enough fund through the issue of €13 million in new bonds redeemable in 2025.
Blithe specialises in the provision of systems and solutions for the management of Electronic Patient Records (EPR) in the healthcare sector, particularly in relation to sexual health and substance misuse. Blithe solutions are currently being used by more than 10,000 healthcare professionals in over 700 locations throughout the UK.
Through this acquisition, the company aims to enhance its portfolio of solutions in the health sector as well as achieve additional business through cross selling. The total gross assets and profits of Blithe as at June 30, 2014, are £1.3 million and £70,509 respectively.
In the corporate bond market, out of the 30 traded issues, 22 closed in the black, three fell out of favour, while the other five closed unchanged. Total turnover shrank by 5.7 per cent to €776,600, with the strongest gains registered across bonds of IHI. In fact, the 6.25 per cent IHI plc € 2017-2020 and the 5.8 per cent IHI plc 2023 were up by 2.4 and 3.7 per cent, respectively.
In the sovereign debt market, 26 issues were negotiated – the majority of which ended the week in the red. Total trading value stood at €24.9 million, representing a week-on-week increase of 17.9 per cent. The most traded stock was the 5.25 per cent MGS 2030 (I), accounting for 58.4 per cent of total trading value – down by 1.1 per cent. The decline recorded over the week opposes that witnessed across the broader European government counterparts, as bond prices recouped some of the losses registered during the previous week’s significant sell-off.
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.