Local Weekly Round-Up: 2nd – 9th March 2007

Local Weekly Round Up: 2nd — 9th March 2007

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The MSE Index declined 0.9% on a week-on-week basis, in a week which saw twelve equities active, half of which closed in negative territory while only three equities closed in positive grounds. The three local large caps – HSBC Bank Malta (HSBC), Bank of Valletta (BOV) and Maltacom — all registered losses on a weekly basis. 324 transactions were performed on the regular equity market with 798,730 shares changing hands for a total turnover of Lm806,805.

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BOV’s shares declined by 1.91% from last week’s closing price. Activity remained thin in the equity with a mere 25,273 shares changing hands across 54 transactions. It was Friday’s session that proved to be detrimental to the share price after losing 6c9 following a relatively stable week. The share had edged 0c5 lower on Tuesday to recoup the same loss in the following session. In Thursday’s session the equity registered a marginal drop of 0c1 with the last session seeing its price head downwards by 6c9 to close the week 7c lower.

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HSBC was the most actively traded equity of the week slipping by 0.5% from last week’s closing price. 155,357 shares were traded across 142 transactions during the week, with the equity declining to a low Lm1.88 level in Monday’s session, this representing a 4% drop. Throughout the rest of the week the equity managed to recoup such loss, gaining back 2c on Tuesday, 1c5 on Wednesday and 0c5 on Thursday. In Friday’s session the equity however shed 1c to close at the Lm1.91 level.

Within the same sector, Lombard Bank was also active trading a mere 400 shares across three transactions, to remain stable on a weekly basis at the Lm5.00 level. On Thursday, the Board of Directors of Lombard approved the Preliminary Statement of annual results for the financial year ended 31st December 2006 and also further resolved to recommend that the AGM (to be held on 25th April 2007) approves the payment of a final ordinary gross dividend of 12.5cents per share (8.125 cents per share net of tax). This would imply a 25% increase over last year’s dividend, when taking into account the share split of May 2006. Moreover, as noted from the statement, the profit before tax was Lm3.87 million for the year ended 31st December 2006, representing an improvement of 5.5% over the previous year’s Lm3.67 million figure.

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Remaining in the banking sector, FIMBank’s shares gained 1.41% over last week. Activity was relatively strong in the equity as 455,560 shares changed hands across 45 transactions. During the week, FIMBank’s Board of Directors announced that it considered and accepted the terms of an offer dated 10th February 2007, received from Burgan Bank, Kuwait (the “Prospective Investor”) to acquire a substantial shareholding (not less than 33%) in the Company at US$1.70 per share by means of an issue of new shares for cash.

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FIMBank and the Prospective Investor have since discussed and agreed to the commencement of due diligence procedures. The acceptance of the offer from the Prospective Investor is subject to completion of the due diligence exercise, regulatory approvals being obtained by the competent authorities in both Malta and Kuwait.

Back to trading on the local stock exchange, Maltacom closed in negative territory, losing 3.4%. Within the first two days of the week the equity lost 1c, however Thursday’s session saw its share price drop sharply by 5c to recoup 1c in the last session of the week. This was all attained across 26 transactions with over 40,000 shares changing hands.

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Negative performances were also registered in Middlesea Insurance down 1.5%, Malta International Airport down 0.7% and Simonds Farsons Cisk 2.4% lower. 1,808 shares were traded across five transactions in Middlesea Insurance, while 1,484 traded also across five transactions in Simonds Farsons Cisk. Activity in Malta International Airport was higher with 15,170 shares changing hands across 15 transactions.

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On the other hand, International Hotel Investments was the week’s top equity performer increasing by 4.5%. Over 78,000 shares were traded during the week, with Thursday’s session being the most positive, as the share price registered a Eur0.061 daily rise and thus pushed the equity into positive territory.

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For the first time, Grand Harbour Marina shares were traded on the stock exchange with its share price gaining 2.86% and closing at the Lm0.72 level.

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Trades were also recorded in Plaza Centre and Datatrak holding shares however the prices both closed stable on a week-on-week basis.