FIMBank and Trident Estates top list of gainers

MSE Trading Report for week ending February 16, 2018

The MSE Equity Total Return Index returned to positive territory as it advanced by 0.42%. A total of 18 issues were active during the week of which eight ticked higher while six were a drag on the index. The most notable positive movers wereFIMBank plc and Trident Estates plc as they posted noteworthy gains of 9.68% and 6.49% respectively. Total turnover decreased from the previous week’s €1.9 million to €1.63 million spread over 180 transactions.

Bank of Valletta plc was unsurprisingly the most liquid equity as a total of 199,793 shares changed hands across 50 transactions. During the week the equity continued to oscillate in last week’s price range, as it was dragged back to €1.81, cancelling out the previous week’s gain. After close of trading on Friday, the bank announced that its Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on May 10, 2018. Further details relating to the AGM shall be communicated at a later date.

Also in the banking industry,FIMBank plc was the best performer of the week as it managed to return to the €0.68 level, a price which it had not managed to reach for over three weeks. The equity hiked by an impressive 9.68% across four deals of 17,500 shares.

Two trades worth a combined €34,202 of Lombard Bank Malta plc shares also had a positive effect on the equity as it gained 1.74% to close at a one-month high of €2.34.

The only banking equity not to register a price movement was HSBC Bank Malta plc, which closed unchanged at €1.82 despite generating a turnover of €43,582 over five deals.

In the telecommunications sector, GO plc recovered the losses registered in the previous week, climbing 1.71% to return to the €3.56 price level. The equity was traded eight times as 13,371 shares were exchanged.

The property sector had a very positive week as four equities posted solid gains. The strongest performance was a 7.03% gain registered by Trident Estates plc, extending its impressive rally to three successive weeks, since it started trading. The equity was negotiated across 21 transactions of 28,429 shares and closed at €1.98 after trading at a weekly low of €1.90 and a high of €2.00.

MIDI plcclosed in the green, climbing 2.89% to reach the price of €0.356. Trading volumes totalled 207,000 shares across seven transactions.

In the same sector, Malita plc was also traded somewhat heavily as 124,300 shares were exchanged over 26 deals. The outcome was a 1.22% advancement to close at €0.83.

Similarly, Malta Properties Company plc increased in value by 1.69% to €0.482 across seven deals of 54,720 shares.

Plaza Centres plcwas also active in the property sector, however it closed unchanged at €1.01 despite trading volumes of 46,000 shares.

MaltaPost plcheld its Annual General Meeting on February 9, 2018 during which it approved the audited financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2017.  On Monday, the company announced that a net dividend of €0.04 per nominal €0.25 share shall be distributed, representing a final net payment of €1,506,189.

International Hotel Investments plcshares were once again in the red, as the equity contracted by 1.59%, closing at €0.62. A volume of 119,000 shares was registered, spread over nine deals.

On a positive note, Malta International Airport plc experienced a 1.22% appreciation in share price, as the equity closed at a one-month high of €4.96. This positive price movement was a consequence of nine deals, in which 39,495 shares changed hands.

RS2 Software plcshares extended their negative streak to seven consecutive weeks, as the equity settled 1.5% lower to close at €1.31 after touching a low of €1.30 on Tuesday. The equity featured in ten trades, in which a total of 38,360 shares were exchanged.

Retail conglomerate, PG plc gave up a small portion of the solid gains registered in the previous week. The equity slipped by 0.71% to end the week at €1.39 as a total of 3,500 shares were traded over two deals.

A single transaction of 2,000 Santumas Shareholdings plc shares shaved 0.66% off the equity price, settling at €1.50.

Similarly, two deals of 2,000 Tigne Mall plc shares each, dragged the share price down by 1.94% to €1.01.

Simonds Farsons Cisk plc traded 12 times this week while Mapfre Middlesea was traded three times, however both equities closed unchanged at €7.45 and €1.85 respectively.

On Monday, GlobalCapital plc announced the resignation of Chief Operations Officer (COO), Mr. Paul Said, who shall be stepping down from his position in the company on April 10, 2018. A further announcement shall be made in due course regarding the appointment of a new COO. The announcement had no effect on the share price as no deals were registered this week.

Thecorporate debt market enjoyed a strong week as out of a total of 33 active issues, 15 gained and nine headed in the opposite direction. The 5% Dizz Finance plc Unsecured € 2026 headed the list of gainers, soaring by 3.79% to close at €109. The 6% Mediterranean Investments Holdings plc Euro 2021 also posted solid gains as it registered a 3.63% price hike to reverse the marginal loss recorded in the previous week.

Following the approval and publication of the 2017 Interim Financial Statements of 6PM Holdings plc, the Listing Authority announced that sufficient information has now been made public by the Company for listing and trading of its securities. Therefore, as from February 12, 2018 the suspension of listing and trading in the5.1% 6PM Holdings plc Unsecured Bonds €2025 was terminated.As a result the issue lost 10.8% in value from the last traded price to fall to €95 from €106.50.

Yields in the sovereign debt market were up as 16 issues headed south, while gainers and non-movers amounted to three each. The longer dated bonds experienced the worst performances, particularly the 4.3% MGS 2033 which drifted 2.3% lower to €130.92. The 4.1% MGS 2034 and the 3% MGS 2040 were also notable fallers as they were down by 1.68% and 1.64% respectively.