Malita and SFC shares at all-time high
MSE Trading Report for week ending January 31, 2014
The Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) Index closed the week 0.53 per cent higher, at 3,703.617 points. A total of 16 equities were active this week of which three fell, eight gained ground and five closed unchanged as total turnover reached €1.35m. FIMBank plc was the best performer for the week, while MaltaPost plc headed the list of losing equities.
Simonds Farsons Cisk plc share price appreciated by €0.05 or 1.7 per cent over three trades of 1,733 shares – closing at a new high of €2.95. Similarly, Malta International Airport plc advanced by 1.6 per cent as 15 deals of 22,914 shares were negotiated to retouch the €2.20 price level.
In the banking sector, Bank of Valletta plc (BOV) failed to maintain last week’s positive stance as its share price slipped by 0.4 per cent across 115 trades of 193,783 shares, closing at €2.479. In its interim directors' statement, the bank reported that the financial period commencing on October 1, 2013 until last Thursday, witnessed restrained credit growth that was alleviated by a satisfactory increase in the demand for house loans. Meanwhile, deposits grew at a faster rate. The narrowing margins of the bank’s proprietary operations are expected to continue due to the higher levels of liquidity, competition and the continuing low interest rate environment. Net commission income continued to grow across all business lines, mainly driven by investment related activities, trade finance and card related business. Control on costs continued to be exercised and expenses to date are in line with expectations. The bank retained its cautious approach towards provisioning, especially in the light of the requirements of the new banking rules. The price movements on the bank’s investment book remained positive. Fitch has confirmed BOV’s long-term credit rating at BBB+ by outlining the bank’s leading franchise, strong funding base and its liquidity position, which benefits from a large and stable customer deposit base. As from November 1, 2014, the bank will become subject to direct supervision by the European Central Bank (ECB) under the Single Supervisory Mechanism. An Asset Quality Review, conducted by the ECB will take place over the coming months, with the aim of evaluating asset quality before the new supervisory arrangement comes into effect.
Lombard Bank Malta plc shares stumbled by €0.04 over a single transaction of a mere 62 shares, to close at €1.86.The bank has appointed Mr David P. Attard as Chief Officer of the Group Corporate Services. Meanwhile, HSBC Bank Malta plc shares edged 0.4 per cent higher as 36 trades of 65,227 shares were negotiated, closing at €2.56. Similarly, the share price of FIMBank plc rose by 3.2 per cent on Thursday, to close the week $0.03 higher at $0.98. The equity was traded across eight deals of 15,985 shares.
The trade finance bank reported that 115 shareholders holding 30.36 per cent of the total issued share capital of FIMBank have accepted the joint voluntary bid launched on December 9, 2013 by Burgan Bank S.A.K. (Burgan) and United Gulf Bank (UGB). As a result, the aggregate shareholding of the offerors has reached 80.14 per cent of the total issued share capital of FIMBank. The shareholding of Burgan shall remain at 35 million shares representing 19.53 per cent of all issued shares while UGB’s shareholding will increase to 108,614,962 shares, representing 60.61 per cent of all issued shares in FIMBank. On Wednesday, the Board of Directors of FIMBank resolved to request the Listing Authority’s approval to remain listed on the MSE notwithstanding that the proportion of the class of ordinary shares admitted to listing on the MSE owned by the public has fallen below the 25 per cent of the total issued share capital as required by the Listing Rules.
On the negative side, MaltaPost plc shares declined by 2.6 per cent over four transactions of 54,703 shares, to close €0.03 lower at €1.12. Conversely, GO plc strengthened by 1.9 per cent over 15 deals of 35,783 shares, closing at €1.885 – a price last reached in January 2011. Likewise, Malita Investments plc closed at a record high of €0.54, €0.04 higher than its original issue price. The equity was active across four deals of 64,643 shares on Friday.
International Hotel Investments plc shares stepped 1.3 per cent higher across the highest turnover for the week of 203,224 shares, to close at €0.91. Similarly, MIDI plc increased by 0.7 per cent over nine trades of 100,295 shares, closing at €0.297.
In the IT sector, Crimsonwing plc and RS2 Software plc closed the week unchanged at €0.81 and €2.30 respectively. The former witnessed eight deals of 178,485 shares, while the latter was negotiated across seven trades of 36,886 shares.
The other non-movers for the week were Medserv plc, Santumas Shareholdings plc and Middlesea Insurance plc closing at €1.30, €2.20 and €1.00 respectively on low volumes.
In the sovereign debt market,23 issues were active of which 11 lost ground, ten gained and two remained unchanged as total turnover amounted to €7.88 million. The most liquid issue for the week was the recently issued 4.65% MGS 2032 (I) witnessing a traded value of €2m. Meanwhile, turnover in the corporate bond market stood at €450,289. A total of 23 issues were active of which eight edged higher, six decreased in value and nine remained unchanged.