The Exchange enjoyed a full house this week with activity registered in each security. Nonetheless equity turnover by value only reached Lm513,085, the fifth lowest for the year.
The main gains came from the Alternative Companies List and lower cap stocks - Datatrak plc (DTK) was the hands down top performer, up a remarkable 19.2 per cent to 31c followed by GlobalCapital plc (GCL)'s 8.5 per cent healthy gain to Lm2.23. On the opposite side, the worst performers were Suncrest Hotels plc (SCR), down 7.9 per cent to 26c7 and Maltacom plc (MLC), 4.1 per cent lower at Lm1.63. The MSE index ended the week 0.6 per cent higher at 5,131.555.
DTK moved straight into top gear advancing to 30c, with the trade range temporarily removed on Monday, rising to 31c on Tuesday. It traded at the same price on Thursday to close a remarkable 19.2 per cent ahead. On Tuesday, DTK released the interim Financial Results for the six months ending June 30. Profits before tax increased substantially by more than 250 per cent from Lm14,918 to Lm52,397. The loss per share attributable to equity holders of the parent changed from -0c1 to -0c2.
On Wednesday DTK announced that on November 20 an extraordinary general meeting will be held. A resolution proposing that accumulated losses within the Datatrak Group be offset and absorbed against the share premium account of Datatrak Holdings plc will be made. This will wipe out all accumulated losses and will enable directors to consider a declaration of dividends once the group's books show distributable profits from operations.
GCL had a good week: it was up 4c to Lm2.10 at the open on Monday, leaping from Lm2.15 to Lm2.22 on Wednesday and continued up to Lm2.25 on Thursday. Yesterday's quiet session saw three of the day's four deals carried out at this price, with the final deal matched 2c lower at Lm2.23 - a brisk 8.2 per cent gain on the week.
Lombard Bank plc took the bronze with a comparatively modest 3.4 per cent increase. It gained 3c to Lm3.68 on Monday, only trading again yesterday. Here, it traded at Lm4.75 for most of the session, climbing to Lm4.81 in the final trade.
Middlesea Insurance plc had a negative start to the week falling to Lm1.96,5, however it changed tack on Tuesday progressing to Lm1.97, Lm2 on Thursday and Lm2.02 yesterday - 2.5 per cent up for the week.
HSBC Bank Malta plc (HSB) was stable at Lm2.03 on Monday and Tuesday, advancing to Lm2.08 on Wednesday. Thursday erased the mid-week gains as it dropped to Lm2.04. In the final game of ping-pong for the week, HSB opened at Lm2.04 and was back at Lm2.07,9 by the close, ending the week up 2.4 per cent. At the end of trading, the best bid was for 10,466 shares at Lm2.04, while the best offer for 1,000 shares stood at Lm2.07,8.
Plaza Centres plc was the last equity to end the week in positive territory. It only traded on Tuesday up 0.6 per cent to a six- month high of 67c9. Turnover consisted of 7,599 shares for a value of Lm5,154.
The only two equities to end the week flat were Malta International Airport plc (MIA) and Simonds Farsons Cisk plc (SFC). MIA was active on Tuesday, Thursday and yesterday trading steadily at Lm1.37. Turnover was subdued with just over 10,000 shares changing hands for a market value of Lm14,186. At the end of the week, best bids were for 744 shares at Lm1.37, while offers for 3,475 shares started at Lm1.40. SFC made an appearance on the last two days of the week, trading unchanged at 76c on turnover of 9,752 shares for a market value of Lm7,412.
Bank of Valletta plc (BOV) only just made it onto the losers list with a minimal 1c loss equivalent to 0.25 per cent. BOV traded in a range of Lm3.99 to Lm3.97,9 between Monday and Thursday. Yesterday, it started at Lm3.97,5, slipped to Lm3.94 but recovered to Lm3.97 to close the week practically unchanged. At the close of trade best bids totalled 850 shares at Lm3.86, while supply for 2,500 shares started at Lm3.96,9. On Thursday, BOV announced that the board will meet on Friday, October 27 to consider and approve the bank's Audited Financial Statements for the financial year ended September 30 and to consider the declaration of final dividend.
International Hotel Investments plc was active on Monday and Tuesday at €0.96 throughout, one euro cent lower on the previous week. The board will meet on Wednesday to approve the financial statements for the period ended June 30. Fimbank plc suffered a 2.9 per cent loss on the week. The price sagged to $1.70 as selling pressure kept the price depressed.
MLC slumped 3.8 per cent to Lm1.63,5 in the first session of the week and continued to slide to a low of Lm1.61,7 on Tuesday. This price was maintained on Wednesday and moved up modestly to Lm1.62 during Thursday's solitary deal for 600 shares. Yesterday saw MLC gain a cent in the final deal to end the week 4.1 per cent lower at Lm1.63. At the end of the session, the best bid was for 2,500 shares at Lm1.60,5 and the best offers for 2,000 shares at Lm1.65.
SCR, which had only traded twice this year, was active on two trading days. The first deal was struck on Monday at 25c - a startling 13.8 per cent drop on the previous closing price of 29c on July 25. On Wednesday it recovered somewhat rising to 26c7. Despite this, the net effect still saw SCR shed 7.9 per cent, to earn the title of worst performer of the week.
The Closed Ended Investment Scheme SanTumas Shareholdings Ltd gained 4.5 per cent to Lm1.15 in one deal for 1,826 shares.
Next week will see the listing of Medserv plc's 10,000,000 ordinary shares. Trading in these securities is expected to commence on October 24. This is the first new equity listing since December 2002.
There were 58 deals in government bonds for a total value of Lm336,669.46. In the corporate bond market, turnover by value reached Lm92,930.45 spread over 29 deals.
Report by Financial Planning Services Limited is licensed by the MFSA to provide investment services, including stockbroking (IS/3608). The Directors or related parties, including the company, and their clients, are likely to have an interest in securities mentioned. This article is only meant to provide information and is not intended to give investment advice. The value of securities, and the currencies in which they are denominated, may go down as well as up.
Report by Financial Planning Services Limited, tel. 2134 4244, fax. 2134 1202, e-mail: info@bonellofinancial.com