The Malta Stock Exchange Index gained slightly less than 6 points on Friday to end the week at the 3,865.625 level. Trading volumes remained brisk as 142,486 shares changed hands across 49 deals.
Making the day’s biggest gain was the stock of Plaza Centres plc, which added €0.17, or 11.3 per cent, to close at €1.670 in a single deal of 3,000 shares.
Also advancing on the day were the shares of Bank of Valletta plc, which added €0.01, or 0.3 per cent, to end at €3.130 in 15 deals for a total of 23,651 shares. After the close of trading, BOV released a company announcement whereby it stated that during the financial period commencing 1 October 2010, no material events and/or transactions had taken place that would have had an impact on the financial position of the Bank or the Group, such that they would require special mention, disclosure or announcement. The Bank noted that during the first quarter of the current year, demand for new credits was subdued while customer deposits were flat. Net interest income was satisfactory while commission and trading income was marginally ahead of the same period in the previous year.
HSBC Bank Malta plc shares, although witnessing trading action of 38,600 shares in 14 deals, closed unchanged at €3.500.
Still in the banking sector, Lombard Bank plc, added 0.3 per cent, or €0.010 to close at €3.000 in seven deals for a total of 22,599 shares.
The other stock to advance yesterday was that of GO plc, which rose marginally by €0.005, or 0.3 per cent, to close at €1.920 on low volume.
Other shares to trade in the session, yet closed unchanged were those of International Hotel Investments plc, FIMBank plc, and Malta International Airport plc, which closed at €$0.950, US$0.950 and €1.750, respectively, all on moderate volume.
During the trading session, Crimsonwing plc released its interim director’s statement for its third quarter operating period. The IT services company stated that revenues grew 25%, to €10.731 million, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the same period grew by 31% to €707,205. The company went on to note that excellent progress was made across all business units during the period.