MSE Trading Report for week ending March 29, 2018

MSE Equity Total Return Indexerased most of the previous week’s gain as it drifted 1.46% lower over the course of this four-day week to 8,677.545 points. A total of 16 equities were active during the week of which ten headed north, while only four gained ground, as total turnover was €1.7 million, as 219 deals were executed.

Bank of Valletta plc (BOV)kicked off an eventful week by announcing that the board was advised by UniCredit S.p.A. that subject to regulatory approval, it intends to dispose of its total shareholding in the bank to an investor that has already been identified. UniCredit S.p.A. currently holds just over 10% of the issued shareholding of the Bank.

On Tuesday, BOV made another announcement regarding the legal proceedings which were instituted against the bank in Italy, in which the plaintiffs are requesting the bank to pay €363 million as compensation for the loss registered from the shares of a company which had been settled on trust with the Bank in 2009. Although the case is still at its preliminary stage, the Italian Tribunal has issued a precautionary warrant for €363 million against the bank.

The Board of Directors, stated that after taking legal advice, believes that it has a strong case both on the merits and in appealing the precautionary warrant and is firmly rebutting the claims instituted against it before the Italian Tribunal.

In the aftermath of these announcements, the equity posted losses for three straight days (having also dipped slightly on Monday), ultimately closing the week 5.26% lower at €1.80. This translates to a month-on-month loss of 1.1%. As expected, trading activity was high as 418,577 shares changed hands over 95 deals.

HSBC Bank Malta plcwas the only other active equity in the banking sector, recovering the previous week’s loss of 0.54% to recapture the €1.86 price level, which is 4.62% lower than February’s closing price. A total of 37,627 shares were exchanged over 16 trades.

In the telecommunications sector, GO plc shares ended the month unchanged having depreciated 2.78% in value this week back to the €3.50 level. A total of 29,080 shares were dealt over 15 trades.

In the insurance sector, Mapfre Middlesea plc shares reached a fresh 11-month high as the equity touched the €2.10 price level, on a total volume of 18,504, spread over eight transactions. The 5% weekly gain topped off a very positive month for the equity in which its share value increased by an impressive 13.51%.

Malta International Airport plc closed the month 0.81% lower as its share price remained unchanged at €4.90 this week, despite a high traded volume of 87,290 shares over 24 deals.

MaltaPost plctraded just once on slim volume this week at a 70-week low of €1.86, which equates to 2.11% lower than last week, and 4.62% lower when compared with the previous month’s closing price.

Despite drifting 3.38% lower to €1.43 this week across six deals of 15,193 shares, March was still a very positive month for RS2 Software plc shares, as the monthly gain totalled 10.85%.

During the week, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc traded eight times, generating a trading volume of 7,460 shares. The minor gain registered last week proved unsustainable as the equity price returned to the €6.95 level. The weekly loss of 0.71% is identical to the loss for the whole month.

In the retail sector, the share price of PG plc dropped 1.45% this week to €1.36 and 0.74% higher on last month’s closing price. A total of 31,650 shares traded across seven deals.

The oil and gas logistics specialists, Medserv plc announced on Tuesday that its board is scheduled to meet on April 27, 2018, to consider and approve the annual financial statements of the company for 2017. The company also announced that the forthcoming Annual General Meeting shall be held on May 28, 2018. The equityextended its monthly loss to 9.09% having closed at a 15-week low of €1.10 this week. The 3.51% week-on-week loss is a result of six transactions of a combined 19,853 shares.

In the property market, Trident Estates plc was one of the few positive performers as it posted a gain of 2.7% this week to reach €1.90. The equity traded five times, as 10,551 shares exchanged hand. Nevertheless, it closed the month 0.52% in the red.

A single transaction of 2,000 Tigne Mall plc shares shaved 3.06% off the share price, closing at €0.95. As a result, the accumulated monthly decline in value was 5.94%.

Malta Properties Company plcfollowed suit as it was down by 2.08% both week-on-week and month-on-month, settling at €0.47 as 51,452 shares were exchanged over six deals.

In midweek, after turning ex-div, Malita Investments plc cancelled out the gains registered earlier during the week, to close the week a marginal 0.62% lower at €0.80. Trading volume totalled 95,350 shares across 14 deals. When compared with the previous month, thus resulting in a 3.61% decline in value.

In the same sector, Plaza Centres plc traded in positive territory as a couple of deals of a combined 9,000 shares pushed the price upwards by 1.92% to €1.06. This equates to a monthly gain of 4.95%.

For MIDI plc, the increase in value for the month amounted to 1.76%, having closed unchanged at €0.346 this week. A total of 95,042 shares traded over five deals.

On Wednesday, International Hotel Investment plc (IHI) announced that its subsidiary, Corinthia Hotels Limited, has signed a management agreement to operate a new luxury property opening in the heart Bucharest, Romania. The Corinthia Grand Hotel du Boulevard Bucharest, originally built in 1867 shall undergo extensive refurbishment before reopening its doors on December 1, 2019 and will offer over 50 rooms and suites, exquisite dining options, a grand ballroom, boutique meeting spaces and luxury amenities. In spite of this announcement, IHI shares were not active during the week.

Performances in the local sovereign debt market were mixed as out of the 21 active issues, ten gained ground and 11 registered losses. Longer-dated Malta Government Stocks registered the largest declines, with the 2.4% MGS 2041 topping the list of fallers having depreciating 0.99%. On the other hand, the best performer was the 4.8% MGS 2028 which gained 0.61%, closing at €134.45.

In the local corporate debt market a total of 32 issues were active during the week, of which nine headed north, and eight closed in negative territory. The 5.3% Mariner Finance plc Unsecured € 2024 reversed last week’s gain, as the bond price declined by 2.03% to close at €108.75. The 3.75% Premier Capital plc Unsecured € 2026 did the complete opposite as it recovered the previous week’s loss by advancing 1.36% to close the week €104.05.

Happy Easter to all our readers.