Five equities register double digit gains in July
The MSE Index ended the month of July 2.9 per cent higher at 4,207.572 points. Activity was spread across 19 equities of which four fell in value, 14 appreciated and one closed unchanged. Turnover for the month amounted to €8.8m.
Malta International Airport plc shares headed the list of gainers having rallied by a significant €0.62 or 18.6 per cent as 120 trades of 318,044 shares were struck, closing at €3.95. The local airport operator reported that it is forecasting traffic of around 4.5m passengers by the end of 2015 - an increase of over 200,000 passengers over 2014. Passenger traffic in June 2015 increased by 8.2 per cent compared to June 2014. Meanwhile, traffic between January and June increased by 6.9 per cent over last year.
The Group registered a profit before tax of €11.4m for the six months ended June 30, 2015, compared to €10.4m registered in 2014. Total revenue for the period under review amounted to €29.9m, an increase of 6.5 per cent over the same period last year. Meanwhile, earnings per share increased from €0.0491 to €0.0539. The Directors are proposing the payment of a net interim dividend of €0.03 per share on all shares settled as at close of business on August 12, 2015 and payable by not later than September 4, 2015.
Similarly, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc shares extended their on-going upward streak - having registered an increase for the 11th consecutive month. The equity appreciated by an impressive €0.75 or 16.7 per cent as 10,043 shares changed ownership, closing at a record high of €5.25.
MaltaPost plc shares ended the month at a record high of €1.60 as seven deals of 18,724 shares were struck, registering a €0.10 or 6.7 per cent increase. Medserv plc shares also ended the month at a record high of €2.37, having gained 0.6 per cent across 18 transactions of 53,916 shares.
Conversely, International Hotel Investments plc shares suffered the worst decline of 7.4 per cent as 26 trades of 143,231 shares were negotiated, closing at its monthly low of €0.806.
Meanwhile, Bank of Valletta plc shares closed the month unchanged at €2.30, despite reaching a monthly high of €2.34 and a low of €2.27. The banking equity witnessed 249 transactions of 694,995 shares.
In its Interim Directors' Statement, the company reported that during the financial period commencing on April 1, 2015 up to July 13, 2015, no material events or transactions that would have an impact on the financial position of the Bank or the Group took place. Financial performance to date is in line with expectations. Demand for credit was mainly driven by strong growth in home loans, boosted by Government measures aimed to enhance the ability of first time buyers to acquire property. Customer deposits continued to grow across all segments. The Group registered a satisfactory increase in commission income across key business lines. Meanwhile, costs incurred exceeded those of the comparative period last year, in line with expectations, due to the higher regulatory costs applicable from this year.
HSBC Bank Malta plc shares fluctuated between a monthly high of €1.86 and a low of €1.78 to ultimately close the month 0.5 per cent lower at €1.791. The equity was active across 145 deals of 449,093 shares.
On the other hand, Lombard Bank Malta plc shares fully recouped June's losses, having advanced by 12.5 per cent as 37 transactions of 325,822 shares were negotiated, and closing €0.228 higher at €2.049. FIMBank plc shares gained a further 6.2 per cent across nine trades of 31,633 shares, to close at $0.495.
Mapfre Middlesea plc shares registered their sixth consecutive monthly gain, having strengthened by 10.2 per cent as 78,504 shares changed hands, closing at €2.011. The Group registered a profit before tax of €15.18m for the half year ended June 30, 2015, compared to €8.21m registered in 2014. All Group companies registered improved results with the main driver being the Group's life operations with MSV Life plc, registering higher profits than the comparative period last year, mainly resulting from a one-off saving from renegotiation of the reinsurance treaty.
The company announced that the total consideration payable to ALLCARE for the acquisition of the Allcare Business amounted to a base payment of €1.1m and a deferred payment of up to a maximum of €500k.
GO plc (GO) was the most liquid equity for the month, having witnessed a total of 224 deals worth €2.4m and ending the month 2.2 per cent higher at €3.50 after reaching a monthly high of €3.60. High volatility was witnessed in this equity after Emirates International Telecommunications Malta Limited (EITML) -a 60% shareholder, expressed its intention to seek to dispose of its shareholding in the company in the short term.
EITML stated that it will continue to maintain its shareholding in Malta Properties Limited after the demerger from GO. EITML stated that it has only just started the process of evaluating its options. EITML has not yet approached or identified any buyer for its stake. In the course of making such evaluations, EITML stated that it is and will seek to safeguard the interests of all GO shareholders.
At GO's Extraordinary General Meeting, the shareholders approved the spin-off of the company's shareholding in Malta Properties Company Limited (MPL) to be effected through the payment of an interim dividend in kind by way of a distribution of the company's shareholding in MPL - to be distributed pro-rata to the company's shareholders.
In the I.T. sector, RS2 Software plc shares extended its recent wining streak, having increased by 10.9 per cent as 150 trades of 525,816 shares were struck, closing €0.216 higher at €2.19. Likewise, 6PM Holdings plc shares advanced by 4.8 per cent over five deals of 7,246 shares, to close at £0.76. On a negative note, Loqus Holdings plc shares fell by 6.9 per cent across four transactions of 2,292 shares, closing at €0.121.
The other fallers for the month were Plaza Centres plc shares registering a 2.1 per cent decline over nine trades of 154,425 shares, to close at €0.95. The group reported that for the six months ending June 30, 2015 it registered a profit before tax of €776,928, compared to €714,929 in 2014. Revenue for the period under review amounted to €1.2m, an increase of 6.7 per cent from 2014. Meanwhile, earnings per share increased to €0.017.
Malita Investments plc shares edged 3.3 per cent higher as 22 deals of 270,100 shares were struck, closing at €0.93. The company reported that it registered a profit before tax of €10.7m for the six months ended June 30, 2015, compared to €8.2m registered in 2014. Earnings per share increased to €0.0775 from €0.0476. The company declared the payment of a net interim dividend of €0.00936 per share, payable on September 11, 2015 to holders of Ordinary A and Ordinary B shares on the company's share register as at August 10, 2015.
MIDI plc shares registered a gain for the sixth consecutive month, having advanced by 2.1 per cent as 15 trades of 210,400 shares were struck, closing at €0.345. Likewise, Tigne Mall plc shares rose by 2.4 per cent over 14 deals of 106,000 shares, to close at €0.87.
Meanwhile, Grand Harbour Marina plc shares fully recouped the previous month's losses after adjusting for the 2-for-1 share split. The equity appreciated by 0.8 per ent as two deals of 6,500 shares were executed, closing at €0.945.
GlobalCapital plc announced that EIP plc (EIP) has entered into a share purchase agreement with BAI Co. (Mtius) Ltd for 6,399,092 shares in the company, pursuant to which EIP has agreed to acquire a 48.45 per cent shareholding interest in the company. The company's shares are currently suspended from trading.
In the corporate bond market turnover amounted to €7.2m spread across 40 issues of which 20 gained ground, 11 fell and nine closed unchanged. The 4.5% Izola Bank plc € Unsecured 2025 was the top performer, having rallied by five per cent to close at €105, while the 5.3% United Finance plc Unsecured € Bonds 2023 registered the worst loss of 4.7 per cent, to close at €105.50.
Over the month, two new bonds were issued, namely the €20m 5.5% Mediterranean Investment Holdings unsecured bonds due in 2020 and €13m 5.1% 6PM Holdings plc unsecured bonds redeemable in 2025, both of which were oversubscribed.
In the sovereign debt market 29 issues were active of which short-dated issues minimally fell, while long dated issues advanced. Turnover amounted to €50.5m. The 4.3% MGS 2022 (II) was the most liquid issue having witnessed a turnover of €8.4m. The 3% MGS 2040 (I) ended the month almost two per cent higher at €108.60 while the 4.1% MGS 2034 registered the highest gain of 4 per cent closing at €126.56.
This article, which was compiled by Jesmond Mizzi, Managing Director of Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors Limited, does not intend to give investment advice and the contents therein should not be construed as such. The Company is licensed to conduct investment services by the MFSA and is a Member Firm of the Malta Stock Exchange and a member of the Atlas Group. The directors or related parties, including the company, and their clients are likely to have an interest in securities mentioned in this article. For further information contact Jesmond Mizzi Financial Advisors at 67 Level 3, South Street, Valletta, or on Tel: 21224410, or email [email protected]