Monthly Round up Report for March 2013 – MSE Index gains as nine equities trade higher

The Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) Index ended the first quarter of the year on a high as it registered a 3.5 per cent gain during the first three months of the year. The top performers for the first quarter of 2013 were 6PM Holdings plc (6PM),GO plc and RS2 Software plc (RS2) as they appreciated by 45.2 per cent, 34.4 per cent and 24.3 per cent respectively.

Over the month of March, the MSE Index registered a 1.2 per cent increase, closing at 3,322.58 points. Turnover in the local equity market amounted to over €5.8m traded across 664 transactions. The local market shadowed the positive results made by overseas markets as all major equity indices performed relatively well during the month. In fact, the NIKKEI in Japan soared by 7.3 per cent, the DOW Jones in New York surged by 3.7 per cent and the Euro First 300 edged 1.5 per cent higher.

In the local banking sector, Lombard Bank Malta plc was the only gainer for the month as it advanced by 6.3 per cent across 20 deals of 102,959 shares, closing at its monthly high of €2. This positive result came on the back of a company announcement issued in mid-March stating that the Board of Directors had approved the audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2012. The Board also resolved to recommend for approval at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held on April 25, 2013, the payment of a final ordinary net dividend of €0.078 per share, which will be paid on April 30, 2013.Furthermore, the Board of Directors recommends that the AGM approves a bonus share issue of one share for every 10 shares already held which will be allotted on May 28, 2013 to shareholders who are on the company’s Register of shareholders as at close of business on May 27, 2013, the last trading date being May 22, 2013. This bonus issue will be funded by a capitalisation of reserves amounting to €902,318. The Group registered a profit before tax of €9.4m, compared to €11.3m registered in 2011. Net interest income for the period under review declined by 2.7 per cent to €13.8m, Earnings per share have decreased to €0.158.

Conversely,HSBC Bank Malta plc declined marginally by 0.2 per cent over a total of 79 transactions of 319,472 shares, to close lower at €2.736. This despite having announced in the beginning of the month that the Board of Directors resolved to recommend that the AGM to be held on April 18, 2013 approves the payment of a final net ordinary dividend of €0.051 per share, which will be paid on April 27, 2013 to shareholders who are on the company’s register of shareholdings as at March 19, 2013. The Group registered a profit before tax of €95.3m, compared to €88.3m registered in 2011. Net interest income for the period under review amounted to €113.1m, a significant rise of 3 per cent from 2011. Meanwhile, earnings per share increased to €0.211.

Similarly, both Bank of Valletta plc and FIMBank plc (FIMBank) slipped marginally by 1.1 per cent and one per cent respectively. The former witnessed the trading of 594,650 shares across 197 trades, to close at €2.25, while FIMBank plc the most active in terms of volume, closed at the $0.99 price level. A total of 1.07m shares were dealt over 37 deals worth $0.8m.

The Board of Directors of FIMBank announced that it approved the consolidated audited financial statements for the financial year ended December 31, 2012, to be submitted at the forthcoming AGM to be held on May 2, 2012. At the meeting, the Board will be recommending the payment of a cash dividend of circa $0.037 per ordinary share. Shareholders on the Register at the Central Securities Depository of the MSE on April 2, 2013 will be entitled to receive the respective dividend. The Group registered a profit before tax of over $8.8m, a decline of four per cent from 2011, whilst earnings per share decreased to $0.0617.

On a positive note, GO has performed extremely well as it continued to increase gradually for seven consecutive months, and managed to be the best performer for March 2013 as it advanced by a further 13.8 per cent. The telecommunications equity closed just below its monthly high of €1.60, at €1.599 as 451,228 shares exchanged hands over 117 deals. During the month the company announced that the Board of Directors resolved to recommend that the AGM, which will be held on May 7, 2013 and to recommend the approval of a final net dividend of €0.10 per share. The Group registered a profit before tax of over €26.4m, compared to a staggering €45.1m loss registered in 2011.

On the downside, the worst performer for the month was Plaza Centres plc as it stumbled by 6.8 per cent as 15 deals of 210,250 shares were struck, to close at its monthly low of €0.55. This negative result was obtained despite having announced a €1.3m profit before tax and a rise of 2.4 per cent in revenue for the year ended December 2012. Earnings per share declined to €0.0291. The Board of Directors recommends the payment of a final net dividend of €0.0247 per share for the approval at the forthcoming AGM to be held on May 31, 2013.

Likewise, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc, Santumas Shareholdings plc, Island Hotels Group plc and Malita Investments all lost ground as they fell by 1.9 per cent, five per cent, 0.2 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively. On a similar note, Grand Harbour Marina plc (GHM) slipped by 3.5 per cent over as a single deal of 1,000 shares. The Board of Directors of GHM approved the financial statements for the period ended December 31, 2012 which outlined that the Group registered a profit before tax of over €1.3m, compared to a €522,849 loss in 2011. Earnings per share rose to €0.15. Meanwhile, MaltaPost plc lurched one per cent downwards across 17 deals of 271,238 shares, after recording gains for six consecutive months.

March proved to be rewarding to the IT sector as 6PM Holdings plc, Crimsonwing plc and RS2 Software plc all climbed by 4.7 per cent, 5.6 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively. The same applied to Middlesea Insurance plc, International Hotels Investments plc (IHI) and MIDI plc as they all strengthened by 8.9 per cent, 0.7 per cent and 8.6 per cent respectively.

Malta International Airport also gained ground by 3.9 per cent over 59 trades of 275,540 shares. The company announced that passenger movements for the month of February increased by 4.2 per cent when compared to the same month last year; therefore, reaching an all-time record of 176,818 for the second month of the year.  In the period under review, the Board of Directors approved the financial statements of the Company for the financial year ended December 31, 2012. The Board resolved to propose to the AGM that a further net dividend of €0.04 per share be paid to all shareholders on the register of members after settlement as at close of business on April 19, 2013 and payable by not later than June 5, 2013. The Group registered a profit before tax of over €19.4m compared to just under €19m in 2011.

In the fixed-income market, the Malta Government Bonds were the most liquid as a total of 412 trades of over €43.4m were transacted. The 5.1% MGS 2014 (III) was the most active issue as trading volume surpassed 9.2m nominal. Meanwhile, in the Corporate Bonds Market 179 deals worth over €2.3m were executed.