Local Weekly Round Up — 29th September — 6th October 2006

–

The MSE Index closed 2.81% lower this week to end at 4,996.313 points. 12 equities traded, 2 of which were gainers, 7 were losers while the other equity remained stable. There were 283 deals placed this week in the equity market, for a total value of Lm310,218. BOV was the most traded equity with regards to value and accounted for 32.62% of the total value, while HSBC was the second most traded equity accounting for 26.11%.

–

The six monthly financial statements for the period ending 31st July 2006 announced during the week proved to be beneficial to Simonds Farsons Cisk share price, as it rose by 8.57% on a week-on-week basis, closing at Lm0.76. The profit before tax figure for the period was 137% higher than last year’s figure for the same period. The earnings per share on profit from continuous operations stood at 2c1 in contrast to last years which was 0c9.

–

GlobalCapital was the other equity gainer of the week increasing by 3.25% to close at Lm2.065.

–

BOV on the other hand lost 2.60% as the market reacted negatively to the news that the Government decided to take its BOV shareholding off the market. The BOV share price fell by 10c on a week-on-week basis and closed at Lm3.75. The Government’s decision did not just relate to price, but it was more concerned with ensuring that any eventual buyer could offer added value to BOV through a strategic fit within the Maltese banking structure, while offering new products, a strong retail presence with a commitment to the local commercial and financial sector, as well as development and expansion potential.

–

Middlesea Insurance was the worst performer of the week, declining by 13.9%. Malta International Airport was also a negative performer, shedding 3c, equivalent to a 2.14% drop in share price.

–

Maltacom was quite active during the week registering a total of 11% of the total value traded, with its share price heading downwards and closing 6.35% lower than last week’s closing price.

–

HSBC and Lombard both performed negatively this week to close 1.92% and 1.27% lower than a week ago. FIMBank also closed in negative territory as it declined by 3.31%.

–

In the mean time, Suncrest, International Hotels Investment and Plaza share prices all closed unchanged.

–

An offer of 2,500,000 shares of Medserv plc at a price of Lm1.30 per share plc was also announced.

–