MSE Trading Report for week ending May 18, 2018

The MSE Equity Total Return Index recovered last week’s loss by advancing 1.22% this week, closing at 8,538.891 points. In the equity market, a total of 20 securities were active, of which nine gained ground, while only four headed south. Investment activity increased further, as a turnover €1.91 million was generated over 206 deals. One of the main drivers of this week’s performance was the banking industry.

HSBC Bank Malta reached a six-week high of €1.75 during mid-week before retracting back to €1.74, translating to a gain of 2.96%. The equity traded 22 times, as trading volume amounted to 61,117 shares.

The share price of Bank of Valletta plc was stable as it closed unchanged at €1.75. A total of 83,047 shares traded across 29 transactions.

The top performer in the banking sector was FIMBank plc, as a single trade of 1,667 sharespushed the equity up by 8.91% to $0.55.

Its peer, Lombard Bank plc followed suit, as the share price climbed 0.86% to €2.34 across five deals of a combined 8,000 shares.

In the telecommunications sector, GO plc held its Annual General Meeting, during which the financial statements, and all other resolutions on the agenda were approved. The equity closed unchanged at €3.48, despite being the most liquid equity, as 95,936 shares were exchanged over 22 trades.

A marginal gain registered by International Hotel Investments plc early during the week proved unsustainable, as the equity ultimately closed 0.8% lower at €0.62. A total seven transactions were recorded, in which 219,410 shares were exchanged.

On Wednesday, MaltaPost plc‘s board approved the unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the six month period ending March 31, 2018. During the period, revenue increased by 37.5% from €17.6 million to €24.2 million as a result of positive trends in foreign mail activity, parcels business and document management services. However, margins were lower, as expenses increased at a higher rate, climbing by 44.7% to €23 million, from €15.9 million in the previous year. This disproportionate increase was mainly the result of expenses related to foreign mail activity.  As a result, profit before tax for the period was €1.3 million, compared to €1.8 million in the same period last year. Total assets were up by €9.7m, however this was matched by a similar increase of €10.4m in liabilities as both trade receivables and payables increased. This announcement had no bearing on the share price as the equity closed unchanged at €1.80, on a turnover of €20,403.

Insurance company Mapfre Middlesea plc traded flat at €2.04 over three deals of 3,800 shares.

Its peer, GlobalCapital plc hiked 6.25% to €0.34, albeit only recording two trades on slim volume.

RS2 Software plc posted successive negative performances during mid-week, sinking to the lowest closing price in five years of €1.18, before settling at a more moderate €1.21 on Friday, minimizing the loss to 1.63%. Trading volume totalled 103,045 shares over 18 deals.

On Wednesday, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc published the financial statements for the year ended January 31, 2018. The group registered a profit before tax from continuing operations of €13.5 million, an increase of 18.2% over the previous year. Turnover reached €95 million, translating to an improvement of 7.2%. As a result, Earnings per share increased from €0.404 to €0.459. The board has resolved to recommend to the Annual General Meeting a final net dividend of €0.0866 per share, which will be distributed on June 22, 2018 to all shareholders on the register as at May 22, 2018. The share price was not impacted by the announcement, as it traded flat at €6.70 over three transactions on slim volume.

Retail conglomerate PG plc advanced 0.76% in value to close at €1.32 as 182,740 shares changed hands over ten trades.

Medserv plc traded twice, reaching a record breaking low of €1.00 before rebounding to last week’s closing price of €1.10. During the financial intermediaries’ meeting held this week, the board explained that although 2017 has been another tough year, judging on the performances of large oil companies, 2018 should be the start of a recovery. As had already been reported the two major shareholders are currently seeking to sell their shares and their intention is to find a strategic investor who can add value to the company. No further details about the matter were provided.

SanTumas Shareholding plcrecorded a single transaction of 627 shares late on Friday. As a result, the share price plunged 33.33% to €1.00.

In the property market, Plaza Centres plc recorded two trades of 96,200 shares at €1.04, thus registering no change in price.

Its peer, MIDI plc traded heavily as 767,500 shares changed hands over 19 deals. During the financial intermediaries’ meeting held this week, the board provided some updates on the Manoel Island Masterplan project, which is the main focus of the company for the near future. The project, which will include 600 units of residence, will be undergoing an environmental impact assessment in the coming months, which the board hopes will be finalised by June. The company officials stated that with regards to funding, the company has not yet decided on the way forward, but will consider a number of options in this regard. The equity posted a solid gain of 3.24% this week, rising to a 21-month high of €0.382. Eligible investors will receive the company’s final net dividend of €0.007 per share, if they own the company’s shares as at the close of market next Thursday, May 24, as the equity turns ex-div on Friday.

In the same sector,Malita Investments plc rebounded from last week’s loss as it put on 2.38% to €0.86. A total of 87,560 shares traded over eight transactions.

The top performer of the week was Malta Properties plc as it soared 9.57% to close at €0.515. The equity traded heavily as 313,370 shares changed ownership over 27 trades. On Thursday, MPC announced that it is entering into discussions with SmartCity (Dubai) LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dubai Holding LLC Dubai, United Arab Emirates for the possible acquisition of the major shareholding in SmartCity (Malta) Ltd. The company maintained that it is still in the early stage of evaluating the opportunity and any potential agreement that may be reached would be subject to general meeting approval, various terms and conditions, satisfactory due diligence and regulatory approvals.

On a negative note, Trident Estates plc droppeda substantial 3.75% to settle at €1.54 ahead of next week’s board meeting to consider and approve the financial results on Wednesday, May 23. In total, 15,645 shares were exchanged across eight deals.

It was a negative week for the local sovereign debt market as out of the 25 active issues, 23 declined, while the other two posted a minimal gain.

The largest losses were recorded by the longer-dated securities, particularly the 3% MGS 2040 as it registered a negative movement of 1.62%, to close at €116.90. Similarly, the 2.5% MGS 2036 was down 1.18% to €108.62.

The corporate debt posted rather mixed performances as out of 36 active issues, 16 traded higher while 9 lost ground.

As opposed to last week’s negative performance, the 5% GlobalCapital plc Unsecured € 2021 registered the best performance, that of 2.31%, to close at €99.75.

On the other hand, the 5.75% International Hotel Investments plc Unsecured € 2025 fullyerased last week’s gain as it drifted 2.27% at the €107.50 price level.