BOV shares recover some lost ground
MSE Trading Report for week ending June 13, 2014
The Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) Index ended the week in negative territory for the eighth successive week as it fell by a further 0.09 per cent, to close at 3,389.193 points – resulting in a year to date drop of 8.05 per cent. Activity was spread across 12 issues of which five appreciated and seven registered a loss as trading value reached €971k.
Bank of Valletta plc shares erased last week’s losses as its share price appreciated by €0.03 or 1.4 per cent as 55 deals of 117,064 shares were negotiated, to close at €2.15. Likewise, Lombard Bank Malta plc shares advanced by a marginal 0.4 per cent across three trades of 2,243 shares, closing at €1.456.
On the contrary, FIMBank plc shares stumbled 6.5 per cent over three transactions of 35,949 shares, closing $0.049 lower at $0.70. HSBC Bank Malta plc shares declined by one per cent as 32 deals of 65,456 shares were struck, to close at €2.09.
In the I.T. industry, RS2 Software plc shares continued to gain ground as they advanced by 0.8 per cent over eight deals of 22,900 shares. The equity fluctuated between a weekly high of €2.73 and a weekly low of €2.70 – to ultimately close at the €2.701 price level. On Wednesday, the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held, at which the shareholders considered and approved six resolutions, amongst which were net final dividend of €0.0235 per ordinary share amounting to €1 million as recommended by the Directors, and the bonus issue of one new ordinary share of €0.20 each for every 17 ordinary shares already held – to be appropriated to the holders of the issued ordinary shares of the company registered on May 12, 2014. These bonus shares will be issued by capitalising €500,000 from the share premium account, by allotting in full 2.5 million ordinary shares of €0.20 in the capital of the company to be issued and credited as fully paid up at par.
In the same sector,6PM Holdings (6PM) announced that the company entered into an agreement with Javali, LLC (Javali), by which, 6PM will be licensing its proprietary solution CareSolutions. Javali is a limited liability company incorporated in the State of Utah in the United States of America and is composed of a number of shareholders, including the University of Utah. Javali has been granted the right to further develop CareSolutions in order to create a solution aimed at enabling financial institutions improve and increase their financial efficiencies through an automated audit capability – the solution. In consideration of the license and the commitment to provide assistance in furtherance of the development of the solution, the company has been issued with 10 per cent in equity in Javali. The total investment by the company is being estimated to amount to £950,722. Furthermore, 6PM will also be allotted with 45 per cent in equity in a company that will be granted exclusive rights to market the solution in Europe. All the necessary development and support in relation to the solution is being provided by 6PM resources in Malta and Macedonia. The solution is expected to reach the market by latest September 2014 and 6PM expects to start bearing results from this investment in 2015. The company’s equity was not traded this week.
GO plc (GO) shares surged by 3.6 per cent to mark the highest gain across the highest turnover for the week of 161,585 shares, to close €0.07 higher at €2.01. GO announced that Forthnet SA (Forthnet) – the Greek telecommunications company in which GO has indirect equity – has issued an announcement, notifying its shareholders of an agreement dated June 4, 2014 between Vodafone Greece and Wind Hellas Telecommunications S.A. in which Vodafone Greece has been granted an option to acquire 14,584,853 ordinary shares of Forthnet which are owned by Wind and correspond to 13.25 per cent of the total share capital and voting rights of Forthnet. This option is exercisable until June 4, 2015. If the option is exercised, the direct participation of Vodafone Greece and the indirect participation of VODAFONE and the Vodafone Subsidiaries in Forthnet will reach 19.75 per cent from 6.51 per cent of the total share capital and voting rights of Forthnet.
Simonds Farsons Cisk plc shares fell by €0.03 as 2,886 shares changed hands, to close one per cent lower at €2.95. The company reported that since the publication, on April 30, 2014, of its preliminary statement of annual results for the financial year ended January 31, 2014, no material events or transactions have taken place that would have an impact on the financial position of the holding company and its controlled undertakings, such that they would require specific mention, disclosure or announcement pursuant to the applicable listing rules. The Group continues to be challenged by an increasingly competitive environment within all sectors it operates in. Nevertheless, profitability for the year to date is in line with that registered during the same period last year and cash generation performance remains positive. Construction works on the new €27 million beer packaging hall and stores aimed at reducing the operational cost structures and reaffirming the company’s commitment in its export growth strategy, have started and are progressing as scheduled.
Malta International Airport plc shares dipped by 1.8 per cent over 11 deals of 35,340 shares, to close €0.04 lower at €2.22. Meanwhile, Medserv plc shares took a 5.5 per cent pounding as 66,200 shares changed ownership on the first two trading days of the week. The equity closed €0.07 lower at €1.20.
On a positive note, International Hotel Investments plc shares edged 0.1 per cent higher across five transactions of 14,724 shares, closing at €0.781. Conversely, Middlesea Insurance plc shares slipped by two per cent over six deals of 2,500 shares, to close at €0.92. Meanwhile, Tigne Mall plc shares declined by 0.8 per cent as two trades of 2,100 shares were dealt, closing at €0.511.
In the corporate bond market turnover amounted to€1.3 million spread over 24 issues of which eleven gained ground, three decreased while ten closed unchanged. The 5.6% GlobalCapital plc € 2014/16was the best performer as it rose by 3.7 per cent while the newly listed 6% Island Hotels Group Holdings plc 2024 registered a 3 per cent gain. On the other hand, in the sovereign debt market 25 issues were active, the majority of which registered an increase in their value. Total turnover in this market amounted to over €28.8 million. The 4.45% MGS 2032 (II) r was the most liquid issue as it witnessed a turnover volume of 11.5m nominal.
On Wednesday, the Minister of Finance Prof. Edward Scicluna launched a new registration programme in respect of undeclared assets. The Asset Registration Programme will provide individuals the opportunity to register undeclared assets, located both locally and abroad. Registration of assets will be done against a registration fee of 7.5% of the value of the asset, while a rate of 5% will apply in the case of assets held abroad and which are repatriated.