HSBC shares rally by 4.4% following dividend declaration

MSE Trading Report for week ending February 23, 2018

The MSE Equity Total Return Index surrendered a large portion of last week’s gain, as it declined by 0.33% to close the week at 8,605.443 points. In the equity market, 18 issues were active, of which 10 traded lower, while five ticked higher. Total turnover was lower than the previous week’s €1.6 million as €1.4 million were generated across 199 transactions.

On Tuesday, HSBC Bank Malta plc announced that profit before tax for 2017 amounts to €49.8m, which translates to a decline of 19.9% over 2016, when the bank’s financial results included a one-off gain on disposal of the bank’s membership interest in Visa Europe, amounting to €10.8 million. Adjusted profit before tax, which excludes the effect of such notable items, was €55.6 million, still 9.5% down from 2016. The Bank reported that net dividend for the year however is 54% higher than the prior year at €40.2 million, €20 million of which is a special dividend to be distributed from surplus retained earnings. A final net dividend of €0.081 per share will be paid on April 19, 2018 to shareholders who are on the bank’s register on March 13, 2018. In the wake of this announcement HSBC enjoyed a strong week, as it hiked by 4.4% to a four-month high of €1.90. This was the outcome of 33 deals in which 81,064 shares were exchanged.

Also in the banking industry, Bank of Valletta plc was the most liquid equity of the week as 232,159 shares changed hands over 45 transactions. The equity recaptured the €1.82 price level, translating to a modest 0.55% gain in share price.The Bank announced that the Arbiter for Financial Services yesterday handed down his decision with respect to a number of complaints relating to the La Valette Multi Manager Property Fund.  It reported that at this stage, the Bank is still reviewing the details of the decision and the Board of Directors will be discussing the matter and deciding on the appropriate actions to take in the best interests of the Bank.  

In the same sector, the considerable gain registered by FIMBank plc in the previous week proved unsustainable, as the share price slumped by 8.82%, back to the $0.62 price level. A total of 7,674 shares were traded in a single deal.

Lombard Bank Malta plc moved in the opposite direction as a couple of trades on slim volumes notched the price up by 2.56% to €2.40.

GO plc traded seven times throughout the week as 11,320 shares were exchanged. The outcome was a 0.56% fall in the share price, settling at €3.54.

International Hotel Investments plc shares traded in negative territory for the third week in a row, as two transactions on slim volume caused the equity to drift 2.42% lower to €0.605.

Malta International Airport plc announced on Wednesday that the Board of Directors approved the financial statements for the financial year ended December 31, 2017. The company’s profits for 2017 increased from €21m to €24.2m. Revenues were up to €82.4m from €73.1m in the previous year. The Board is recommending the payment of a final net dividend of €0.07 per share on all shares settled on April 6, 2018. Finally, the company also announced that the Annual General Meeting is scheduled for May 8, 2018. In a separate announcement on Thursday, MIA declared that it has been granted approval by the Planning Authority for its master plan to invest €100 million into the development of the airport terminal infrastructure and the surrounding airport campus. This approval gives the company the green light to proceed to the planning stage of its investment programme, which will be executed in three major phases. In spite of this positive announcement, the equity traded 0.81% lower this week, closing at €4.92 as trading volume totalled 56,820 shares across 27 transactions.

A total of 5,600 MaltaPost plc shares traded across three deals during the week. As a result, the equity ticked 2.09% higher, to close at €1.95.

RS2 Software plc was unable to break its negative trend as it has now traded in negative territory for each of the eight weeks of 2018. This week, a total of 16 deals of a combined 50,147 shares, dragged the share price 1.53% lower to €1.29.

In the food and beverage industry, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc logged a considerable price fall of 3.36% to €7.20, albeit traded just twice on slim volumes.

The retail conglomerate, PG plc drifted a further 2.88% lower to end the week at €1.35. A couple of deals totalled a volume of 3,000 shares.

The oil and gas logistics company,Medserv plc traded four times as 18,000 shares changed hands. The equity price fell to €1.12, translating to a reduction in value of 3.45%.

In the property market, MIDI plc headed the list of fallers as it slumped by 4.49% to €0.34. Trading volumes amounted to 139,000 shares across six deals.

The most liquid equity in the sector however, was Trident Estates plc as a turnover of €222,950 was generated over 23 deals. The equity registered a negative weekly movement for the first time since it started trading, closing 3.54% lower at €1.91.

In the same sector, Malta Properties Company plc continued its positive trend by posting further gains of 3.83%, climbing to €0.488. Total volume stood at 20,344 shares over six deals.

Its peer, Malita Investments plc traded flat at €0.83 despite registering 13 transactions of a combined 69,500 shares.

Elsewhere, a single deal of 100 Mapfre Middlesea plc shares had no effect on the share price. Likewise, Plaza Centres plc generated a turnover of €55,457, closing unchanged at the price €1.01.

In the corporate debt market a total of 41 issues were active during the week of which 14 gained ground and 8 headed in the opposite direction.

The  5.1% 6PM Holdings plc Unsecured € 2025 headed the list of gainers, bouncing back from last week’s negative performance with a 4.74% price increase, to close at €99.50.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the 5% GlobalCapital plc Unsecured € 2021 was down to €96.02 – a 3% week-on-week loss.

Yields in the sovereign debt market were up, as a total of 22 issues were active of which the absolute majority amounting to 16 headed south, while four closed higher. The 5.1% Malta Government Stock 2022 experienced a considerable fall in value of 4.83%, closing at €121.34. The 5.5% Malta Government Stock 2023 followed suit as it was down by 2.92%. On the other hand, the 2.3% Malta Government Stock 2029 was one of the few exceptions that posted gains, as it climbed by 0.77% to €110.