The first trading week of 2016 witnessed a positive start on the MSE having closed the week one per cent higher at 4,479.083 points.
Total turnover reached €1.27 million as activity was spread across 17 equities of which six gained ground, four declined and seven closed unchanged.
Mixed movements were noted in the banking sector.
Bank of Valletta plc shares closed flat at €2.35 on the highest turnover this week worth €354,000.
So did FIMBank plc which maintained its previous closing price of $0.66 on a single deal of 1,600 shares.
On the other hand, the share price of HSBC Bank Malta plc registered a 1.87 per cent gain to end the week just shy of its weekly high of €1.80 at €1.795 as 80,558 shares changed hands. Last Thursday, the bank announced that it has now approved a plan to deliver sustainable cost savings through the acceptance of 130 applications, following a comprehensive review of all employees who voluntarily opted to participate in the bank’s early retirement scheme. Such scheme, among a number of other initiatives, is aimed at improving the bank’s productivity and cost effectiveness. Albeit the estimated cost is estimated to be a one-off expenditure of €14.7 million, such scheme should enable the bank to save approximately €4.4 million on annual operating costs. The entire cost of this expense will be provided for in the financial year ended December 31, 2015.
Meanwhile, a single deal of a mere 300 shares in Lombard Bank Malta plc dropped its share price 1.4 per cent lower to €2.45.
A new high was reached in the share price of Malta International Airport plc having gained 6.7 per cent on the week to close at its weekly high of €4.30 after opening at a weekly low of €4 – 34,390 shares changed hands over 23 deals.
Similarly, RS2 Software plc shares rallied by 2.85 per cent to a new high of €3.25 on a turnover worth €148,000.
A solid gain of 7.1 per cent was registered in the share price of MaltaPost plc – the equity opened the week at €1.94 wiping out part of this gain intra-week to then return to the €1.94 price level yesterday. A total of five deals worth almost €47,000 were executed.
Elsewhere, GO plc shares extended their recent upward trend by a further 1.3 per cent as 28,921 shares changed hands over 15 deals. On Wednesday, the company announced that its fully-owned subsidiary, Go Data Centre Services Limited, has now officially obtained regulatory approval to complete the acquisition of Kinetix IT Solutions Limited through the purchase of 51 per cent of the company’s issued share capital.
Meanwhile, Malta Properties Company plc also ended the week in positive territory having gained 8.9 cent to close at €0.55 on a turnover of €149,000.
On a negative note, GlobalCapital plc shares plunged by 33.3 per cent to €0.50 on a single deal of 5,000 shares after three months of inactivity.
Meanwhile, Medserv plc shares suffered a sharp decline of four per cent as eight deals of 18,806 shares were executed to close at €1.68.
Similarly, a 4.1 per cent drop was registered in the share price of MIDI plc on a single deal of 13,900 shares executed at €0.35.
No movements were noted in the closing prices of Mapfre Middlesea plc, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc and International Hotel Investments plc on low trading volumes.
On the other hand, higher volumes were witnessed in Malita Investments plc and Tigne Mall plc to still close flat at €0.95 and €0.94, respectively.
In the corporate bond market, a total of 31 issues were traded reaching a turnover of €1.089 million – eight issues closed higher, 17 lost ground and six closed unchanged. The most liquid issue was the 4.5% Hili Properties plc Unsecured € 2025 Bond with a turnover of almost €174,000.
On Wednesday, PTL Holdings plc announced that by virtue of a share transfer agreement, the company acquired the entire shareholding held by PTL International Ltd in iSpot Holdings B.V. and as a result is the sole shareholder in this company.
In the sovereign debt market, 13 issues registered a gain while nine fell in value as total turnover reached €4.45 million. The short dated 4.25% MGS 2017 (III) was the most active issue with a traded value of €907,000. The worst drop of 1.8 per cent was witnessed in the 4.45% MGS 2032 (II) while the best performer was the 2.3% MGS 2029 (II) with a 0.74 per cent gain to close at €105.68.
This article, which was compiled by Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors Limited, 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 is 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 Financial Advisors Limited at 67, Level 3, South Street, Valletta, or on Tel: 2122 4410, or e-mail at info@jesmondmizzi.com.