The MSE Equity Total Return Index extended January's 1.16 per cent loss, having declined by 0.64 per cent, on a turnover of €6.7 million. A total of 26 equities were active, of which 10 advanced and 12 fell.

Bank of Valletta plc shares closed February 2.8 per cent lower, at €1.05. A total of 111 deals of 421,901 shares were recorded. The equity's price fluctuated between a monthly low of €1.04 and a high of €1.08.

Meanwhile, HSBC Bank Malta plc (HSBC) shares closed unchanged at €1.05, despite having traded at a monthly high of €1.14, and a low of €1.04. The equity witnessed 166 transactions worth €1.4 million. The bank's adjusted profit exceeded management expectations, as it stood at €45.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, translating into a 24 per cent increase from the previous year - mainly due to the continued focus on cost reduction and credit quality. If the impact of a one-off restructuring provision is taken in to account, pre-tax profit amounts to €30.7 million. That is, a 20 per cent decrease or €7.8m over the previous year.

Reported profit attributable to shareholders amounted to €20.2 million, as earnings per share stood at €0.056 per share versus an €0.08 during the same period last year.  Moreover, the bank's net interest income advanced by 1 per cent to €110.1 million, when compared to 2018. Net trading income has also increased by €1.8 million as a result of a fair value gain on VISA shares. Meanwhile net non-interest income marginally declined with strong fee performance within commercial banking. This was due to the new fees offset by a reduction in fee income within insurance due to the disposal of a specific insurance portfolio in December 2018. Net loans and advances to customers increased by 5 per cent to €3,257 million while deposits grew by 2 per cent to €4,977 million.

The bank's capital ratios registered a positive performance as CET1 increased to 16.4 per cent, in line with its strong capital base and compliance with the regulatory capital requirements. This increase was also driven by a €13 million net dividend paid from the insurance subsidiary.

Total dividend for 2019 adds up to €0.038, as the final gross dividend will be €0.021 per share (gross of tax), together with the gross interim dividend of €0.017 per share, paid in September 2019. The final dividend shall be paid on April 15, 2020 to all shareholders listed on the bank's register as at March 9, 2020.

FIMBank plc shares decreased by 3.3 per cent across three trades of 79,871 shares, to close the month at $0.58. The board of the trade finance bank shall meet on March 10, 2020 to consider, and if deemed fit, approve the group's and bank's audited accounts for the financial year ended December 31, 2019. The board shall also consider a dividend declaration, if any, to be recommended to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of shareholders.

Lombard Bank Malta plc shares partially recouped the previous month's loss of 4.4 per cent, having returned 1.8 per cent in February. The banking equity was active on 15 transactions of 84,308 shares, closing at €2.22.

MaltaPost plc shares fell by €0.06, or 4.5 per cent, across four deals of 13,500 shares, to close at €1.28. The company's audited financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2019 were approved at the company's AGM.  Moreover, a final ordinary net dividend of €0.04 per nominal €0.25 share was declared, translating into a net cash payment of over €1.5 million.

RS2 Software plc (RS2) shares oscillated between a high of €2.56 and a low of €2.34, to ultimately close at €2.48. The I.T. logistics services provider's shares were executed over 86 deals of 325,276 shares.

RS2 announced a partnership agreement with MoviiRed, one of the leading digital challenger banks in Colombia, to offer direct issuing and acquiring services to consumers and merchants. The aim of this agreement is to change the payment system in Colombia. RS2 will enable consumers to pay using a single digital platform, which will result into a more time-efficient service and at the lowest possible cost. Colombia is one of the company's targets, together with the European and Northern American markets. According to the partners, Colombia has a lot of future growth potential, as so far only about 8 per cent of merchants accept card payments. The partners expect to register exponential growth in its direct acquiring and issuing business, having already built a strong base of 60,000 POS terminals, serving 15 million client transactions per month.

From the same sector, Loqus Holdings plc shares increased by €0.014, or 22.1 per cent, over nine trades of 93,309 shares, closing at €0.08. The directors of the company approved the half-yearly report for the six months ended December 31, 2019. The company recorded a positive 121 per cent change in profit before tax, as it ended the year at a profit of €23,074 versus the loss of over €110,000 in the previous year. This results into a €0.007 profit per share.

Harvest Technology plc shares closed unchanged at €1.50, despite having traded at €1.48. The equity was active on four transactions of 16,791 shares.

Meanwhile, BMIT Technologies plc shares appreciated by 3.9 per cent, as 926,704 shares changed hands over 83 deals, to close at €0.54.

The telecommunications services provider GO plc registered a 2.4 per cent increase in its share price, as 43 transactions of 209,634 shares were negotiated, to close €0.10 higher at €4.24.

Malta International Airport plc (MIA) shares fell by a marginal 0.7 per cent, as 109 deals of 119,966 shares were concluded, closing €0.05 lower at €6.85. The airport started off the year on a good note as traffic has grown by 14.2 per cent in January, exceeding the 400,000-passenger mark for the first time.  Total number of passengers amounted to 418,096, which is comparable to the number of passengers during the peak summer months of ten years ago. Seat capacity registered an 11.3 per cent increase, while seat load factor advanced by 1.8 per cent. January saw Italy top the airport's list of drivers of passenger traffic again after 11 months. This market was followed by France, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Growth in the French market is partly due to the fact that the Lyon and Nantes routes are being operated in the winter months for the first time.

MIA profit before tax of €62.6 million for the financial year ended December 2019, translated into an 11.7 per cent growth when compared to 2018's amount of €47.1 million.

The company's revenue also increased by €8 million, as both aviation and non-aviation activities generated a total revenue of €100.2 million, translating into an 8.7 per cent increase from the previous year. In 2019, 20 new routes were introduced while MIA reached a new record of over 7.3 million passenger movements and solid results were posted from the retail and property segment. The EBITDA increased by 16 per cent, as it reached €63.2 million until end of year 2019, while the EBTIDA margin was up from 59 per cent to 63 per cent.

In addition to the net interim dividends paid of over €4 million, the board recommended a final net dividend of €0.10 per share on all shares listed on the register as at April 13, 2020. Dividend shall be paid on May 27, 2020.

Malta Properties Company plc (MPC) shares added on to January's 4 per cent increase, having advanced by 2.3 per cent over 10 trades of 51,236 shares, closing at €0.67. The board of the company approved the annual report and consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019. These shall be submitted for the approval of the shareholders during the next AGM, which will be held on May 27, 2020.

The group's revenue was up by 3.5 per cent from the previous year, as it amounted to €3.43 million. Meanwhile, its operating profit has declined by 6.6 per cent, as it stood at €2.12 million. During 2019, the company continued to seek investment opportunities. Profit before tax decreased by €9.16 million from the previous year, as it reached €3.62 million. This is mainly due to a lower fair valuation gain, as well as a lower gain on disposal. In 2018, the promise of sale agreement for the St George's Exchange and the sale of the old Sliema Exchange positively impacted the company's annual results. However, the group's revenue is secured by the long-term leases with several tenants, while revenues are expected to increase in line with inflation and with rents from new developments.

MPC's financial position is still strong. Its total non-current assets have increased by 4.56 per cent, as it stood at €76.74 million, while current assets were down by 18.6 per cent since the previous year, as it amounted to €7.44 million. The main movements relating to the cash conversion of inventories sold were partly set-off by the dividend payment made during the year 2019. Moreover, the company is still relatively unleveraged with a gearing ratio of 0.39 and a loan-to-value rate of 0.27.

A final net dividend of €0.01 per share shall be recommended for approval at the AGM. The payment of this net dividend, which sums up to over €1 million, will be paid on June 1, 2020 to all shareholders on the register as at April 28, 2020.

MIDI plc shares partially recouped January's 13 per cent loss, having advanced by 2.1 per cent, as 14 trades of 154,730 shares were negotiated, to close at €0.48. Meanwhile, Malita Investments plc shares fell by 1.1 per cent across three deals of 26,206 shares, closing at €0.89.

Trident Estates plc shares stumbled by 11.3 per cent, as seven transactions of 11,729 shares changed ownership, to close €0.20 lower at €1.57.

Santumas Shareholdings plc shares increased by €0.09, or 6.4 per cent, across three deals of 1,076 shares, closing at €1.50.

Tigne' Mall plc shares declined by 2.2 per cent over 10 trades of 47,500 shares, closing at €0.88. Meanwhile, Plaza Centres plc shares advanced by two per cent over four trades of 29,000 shares, to close at €1.03.

In the same sector, Main Street Complex plc shares added on to January's 3.3 per cent loss, having declined by a further 1.7 per cent. The shopping mall's equity was active on three transactions of 30,483 shares, closing at €0.57.

The oil and gas logistics services provider Medserv plc, registered a decrease in its share price for the third consecutive month. The equity witnessed nine deals of 72,100 shares, and closed 5.5 per cent lower at €1.03.

The insurance and investments services provider Mapfre Middlesa plc recorded a 0.9 per cent increase in its share price, as 16 transactions of 25,419 shares were negotiated, to close at €2.34. Meanwhile, GlobalCapital plc shares sagged 28 per cent, as 12 trades of 1.26 million shares were executed, closing €0.084 lower at €0.216.

PG plc shares fell by three per cent. The retail and supermarkets owner's shares witnessed 45 deals of 221,266 shares, and closed €0.06 lower at €1.96.

International Hotel Investments plc shares slipped by €0.04 or 4.9 per cent over 33 transactions of 251,201 shares, closing at €0.77.

Grand Harbour Marina plc (GHM) shares closed unchanged at €0.55, as 151,974 shares changed ownership across eight trades. GHM announced that its custodian and trustee, HSBC Bank Malta plc, disposed of its entire 1,397,216 shares on behalf of its clients, carrying voting rights held in the company. This represents an aggregate 6.98 per cent of the total issued share capital of the company carrying voting rights.

The food and beverage supplier Simonds Farsons Cisk plc, closed unchanged at €10.90, as 15 deals of 11,604 shares were concluded.

In the corporate bond market, 58 issues were active, of which 40 appreciated and 11 fell, amounting to a turnover of €10.8 million. The 5.8% IHI plc 2023 headed the list of gainers, having advanced by 4.3 per cent, to close at €108.50. Meanwhile, the 5% GlobalCapital plc Unsecured € 2021 was the worst performer, having declined by one per cent, closing at €98.

In the sovereign debt market, turnover totalled to €14.3 million spread across 23 issues, of which 11 gained ground and 12 declined. The 3.3% MGS 2024 (I) was the most liquid issue, having witnessed a turnover of €2.7 million, to close 0.3 per cent higher at €116.40.

This article, which was compiled by 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 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 Limited at 67, Level 3, South Street, Valletta, or on Tel: 2122 4410, or email [email protected]