MSE Trading Report for week ending April 27, 2018

The MSE Equity Total Return Index continued to trade in negative territory as it declined by a further 1.842%, closing at 8,372.257 points. A total of 19 equities were active during the week of which ten were lower and only four advanced. Total turnover was slightly higher as it amounted to nearly €1 million over 185 transactions.

 

Bank of Valletta plc was one of the major catalysts of the negative MSE index performance as it posted losses in four successive sessions, ultimately closing 3.39% lower at €1.71. The equity was the most liquid, as a total of 216,114 shares were exchanged over 68 transactions.

 

Its peer HSBC Bank Malta plc moved in the opposite direction as it put on a solid gain of 1.18%, to end the week at €1.72. The equity also traded heavily as 66,536 shares changed hands across 27 deals.

 

The other active equity in the banking industry was FIMBank plc which on Wednesday announced that during the rights issue, a total of 180,108,494 shares were subscribed for and these will be admitted to listing on the Malta Stock Exchange on Monday, April 30, 2018. This means that lapsed rights amount to 29,578,934 shares, which shall now be offered through an Intermediaries offer, at a minimum price of US$0.55. Any lapsed rights not subscribed during the intermediaries offer, will be subject to the underwriting agreement with United Gulf Holding Company B.S.C. The equity recorded eight deals towards the end of the week, of a combined 49,940 shares. The result was a 3.64% decrease in the share price, closing at $0.53.

 

A single transaction of 1,018 International Hotel Investments plc shares dragged the share price down by 2.44% to €0.60.

 

Similarly, telecommunications company GO plc drifted 1.71% lower to end the week at €3.44 as 22,400 shares were exchanged over ten deals.

 

Meanwhile, Malta International Airport plc reached a price of €4.92 early in the week, but ultimately retracted back to the €4.86 price level, thus registering no change.

 

MaltaPost plcannounced on Monday that the board of directors is scheduled to meet on May 16, 2018, to consider and approve the interim financial statements for the six months ended March 31, 2018. This announcement had no impact whatsoever on the equity as no trades were executed.

 

In the insurance sector, Mapfre Middlesea plc was one of the worst performers this week, as it extended last week’s loss, by a further 6.86%. The equity closed at €1.90 as 4,000 shares traded across five deals. The equity turned ex-dividend on Thursday.

 

GlobalCapital plc announced on Thursday that the group registered a profit before tax of €4.6 million during 2017, up by 64% from the previous year’s figure of €2.8 million. An important component of this increase was a €2.1 million fair value gain, compared to €1.6 million in 2016. Group assets also increased by a substantial 12.3% from €113.1 million to €127.1 million. The board of directors will not be recommending the payment of a dividend to the Annual General Meeting. The equitywas the top performer of the week as it hiked 10% to €0.33. This substantial gain however was the result of just one trade on slim volume of 6,300 shares.

 

On Wednesday, RS2 Software plc’s board approved the financial statements for the year 2017. The group’s profit after tax was €614,796 up by 35.7% from 2016. Operating profit for the year increased by 92% to over €1.6 million. A major drag on the net profit was the fact that finance costs more than tripled throughout the year, to a figure of €466,616. Earnings per share were up to €0.005, from €0.003 in 2016. The board of directors has resolved to recommend for approval at the Annual General Meeting the payment of a final dividend of €0.0146 per share to all shareholders on the register as at close of business of Friday, May 18, 2018. The equity traded heavily this week, as 104,382 shares changed hands over 22 deals, resulting in a 9.29% slump in price, to close at €1.27.

 

In the food and beverages sector, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc edged 0.74% to €6.70 across three deals on slim volume.

 

Retail conglomerate PG plc traded flat at €1.30 throughout the week, despite a turnover of €11,141.

On Monday, Medserv plc announced that the board meeting to approve the company’s annual financial statements has been rescheduled to take place on April 30, 2018. A sole deal of 5,000 shares shaved 0.9% off the share price as it was executed at €1.10.

 

Another deal of 900 shares had no impact on the share price of Loqus Holdings plc of €0.10.

 

Property firm Trident Estates plc headed the list of fallers albeit trading just once on slim volume, as it sank 12.5% to €1.61.

 

On Monday, MIDI plc announced that the group's profit after tax was €20.8 million, compared to the loss of €2.5 million registered during the previous financial year. However, during 2017, the company recorded an operating loss of €2.8 million, down from a €1.6 million profit recorded in 2016. This difference was the result of a 47% decrease in turnover year-on-year, mainly due to a reduction in sale of properties from €5.6 million to just €0.2 million during the past year. The company’s 50% share in Mid Knight Holdings Limited generated a profit of €26.3 million. The main component of this profit figure, was a gain of €59.6 million from the revaluation of the entity’s immovable property. The board of directors resolved to recommend to the Annual General Meeting, a final net dividend of €0.007 per share. In terms of trading, the equity drifted 0.56% to €0.354, as trading volume amounted to 14,450 shares over five deals.

 

Tigne Mall plcalso published its financial statements, showing a profit before tax figure of €3.4 million, translating to an upturn of 9.7% over the previous year. EPS also increased to €0.0411 from last year’s €0.0363. On the balance sheet, total assets increased by €13.4 million while borrowings were down by €4.1 million.  The board recommended the payment of a final net dividend of €0.012875 per share. The equity traded flat at €0.95 across three transactions of 20,800 shares.

 

Also in the property sector, Malta Properties Company plc posted a gain of 2.62% to €0.47. The equity was quite liquid as 128,330 shares traded over eight deals.

 

Malita Investments plc closed flat at €0.83 despite generating a turnover of €31,000 over five transactions.

 

In the corporate debt market a total of 38 issues were active, of which gainers and fallers were perfectly balanced at 12 each.

 

The 6% Mediterranean Investments Holding plc Euro 2021 was the best performer as it recovered all the losses recorded last week to recapture the €104.10 price level. The 6% AX Investments plc 2024 jumped by 1% to €111.

 

On a negative note, the 5% Dizz Finance plc Unsecured € 2026 headed the list of fallers as it traded 3.54% lower to close at €105.

 

Meanwhile, in the local sovereign debt market, yields were generally up, particularly for the shorter-dated securities, as out of a total of 24 active issues, nine headed higher and 14 closed in the red.

 

Topping the list of fallers was the 5.1% MGS 2029(I) r as it declined by 0.45% to close at €138.87.

 

On the other hand, the 5.2% MGS 2031 (I) logged the best performance with a 0.67% increase in value to close at €143.65.