Movements in Equity & Bond Indices
The MSE Equity Total Return Index closed the month of May lower by 1.2% at 8,143.962 points. A total of 27 equities were active, eight of which headed north while another 17 closed in the opposite direction. Total monthly turnover amounted to €2.9m, generated across 576 transactions.
The MSE Corporate Bonds Total Return Index ended the month 0.6% lower at 1,175.782 points. A total of 92 issues were active, 31 of which headed north while 43 closed lower. The best performing bond was the 4.85% JD Capital plc Secured € 2032 S1 T1, advancing by 9.2% and closing at €100.50. On the other hand, the 4.5% The Ona plc Secured € 2028-2034 was the worst performing bond, as it closed at €95.11, translating to a 4.8% decline.
The MSE MGS Total Return Index remained relatively flat, to end the month at 906.125 points. A total of 33 issues were active, 10 of which traded higher while another 19 closed in the red. The 3% MGS 2040 registered a 6.3% gain, as it closed at €96. The 2.6% MGS 2028 registered the largest decline, as it dropped by 2.6%, to close at €97.37.
Top 10 Market Movers
RS2 Software plc Ordinary shares ended May in negative territory, closing the month at €0.95. This was the outcome of six deals involving 18,918 shares which pushed the share price 11.2% lower. From a year-to-date perspective, the equity is down by 20.2%.
Malta International Airport plc (MIA) saw a slight 0.9% decrease in its share price, closing the month at €5.65. MIA shares traded at a monthly high of €5.75 and a low of €5.60. The equity generated a total turnover of €340,070, as 60,110 shares exchanged hands across 70 deals.
Simonds Farsons Cisk plc gained 6.7% to close the month at €7.15. Trading activity included 30 trades of 20,114 shares worth €137,425.
The share price of Bank of Valletta plc (BOV) retracted marginally by 0.7%, after trading at a monthly high of €1.45 and a low of €1.32. A total of 162 transactions of 957,260 shares, generated a monthly turnover of €1.3m. The equity closed the month at €1.40, reflecting a 1.4% decline since the beginning of the year.
APS Bank plc experienced an 8.8% decrease in its share price, fully erasing the previous month’s gain and closing at €0.52. The equity’s monthly high and low were recorded at €0.58 and €0.492, respectively. A total of 293,833 shares worth €158,224, exchanged hands across 59 deals.
Similarly, Mapfre Middlesea plc closed the month in the red at the €1.22 level.. The equity reached a monthly high of €1.42 but did not manage to maintain this price, to record a decline of 12.2%. A total of nine deals worth €7,757 were executed.
The share price of Lombard Bank Malta plc dropped by 5.7%, ending May at €0.75. Nine transactions of 17,935 shares generated a monthly turnover of €13,839.
The negative performance continued within the financial sector, as FIMBank plc experienced a 4.5% decrease in its share price, closing at $0.19. This was the outcome of just three deals worth $3,387.
In the property sector, 15 deals of 190,506 Hili Properties plc (Hili) shares, raised the share price to a monthly high of €0.216. This translated in a monthly gain of 10.8%.
Similar to its peer, MIDI plc recorded an 8.7% gain in its share price, closing at €0.25. This marked a reversal from a three-month consecutive decline.
Company Announcements
BOV announced the Bank’s quarterly financial overview. The Group delivered a strong performance for the first quarter of 2024, with profit before tax rising by 36.8% over the same period in 2023 to reach €63.7m. Net interest income remained the primary contributor for the Group, as the Bank’s net interest income jumped by nearly 34% when compared to the same quarter last year. The Bank is focusing on continued loan portfolio growth, effective cost management, and digitalisation of products and processes to sustain its profitability and make the necessary investments towards the further greening of its operations and its balance sheet.
APS Bank plc held its AGM, where a final net dividend of €0.015 per ordinary share tallying to €5.5m was approved. The AGM also approved that the board be authorised to undertake a rights issue and issue new debt securities.
MIA disclosed the financial results of the group for the first quarter of 2024. The Company reported a strong start to the year. The Group’s first quarter financial performance highlighted substantial growth over the same period in 2023. Heightened travel demand resulted in a 26.3% hike in passenger volumes. Between January and March 2024, the Group’s generated revenues tallied to €25.7m, which translates to a 35.7% year-on-year increase. MIA’s first-quarter earnings surged 75% year-on-year, as net profit stood at €7.3m.
The company held its AGM where all resolutions were considered and approved at the meeting. A final net dividend of €0.15 per share was approved, representing a gross payment of €31.2m.
Hili Properties plc announced that the Company’s AGM will be held on June 25, 2024. The board shall recommend the payment of a net dividend of €4.3m, which is equivalent to €0.0108 per share.
Malita Investments plc has addressed recent news articles about a decision by Magistrate Frendo Dimech regarding changes to identity card addresses for voters in a Siggiewi property owned and managed by the Company. Reports claim that a witness testified that CEO Jennifer Falzon directed officials at Identita’ Agency to facilitate these address changes. The Company and Falzon deny any wrongdoing, asserting they were not involved in altering identity card addresses, and only organized meetings with new tenants to handle utility service changes. The Company is referring the allegations to the Commissioner of Police for further investigation.
The board announced that during the AGM held on May 30, 2024, all resolutions were approved. A final net dividend of €0.02708 per share was approved.
Malta Properties Company plc announced that it held its AGM where all the resolutions on the agenda were approved.
The board of Trident Estates plc met and approved the annual financial report for the financial year ended January 31, 2024. The Group registered a profit for the year of €1.1m, a decline of 84% when compared to the previous year’s profits.
Main Street Complex plc approved all the resolutions put forward at the Company’s AGM and a final net dividend of €214,000 or €0.011 per share was approved.
GO plc and BMIT Technologies plc announced that during their AGMs all the proposed resolutions on the agenda were approved.
The board of Simonds Farsons Cisk plc met and approved the annual financial report of the company and the Group for the year ended January 31, 2024. The board has resolved to recommend for the approval of the AGM the distribution of a final net dividend of €3.96m, or €0.11 per ordinary share.
MedservRegis plc held its AGM on May 29, 2024 and approved all the resolutions. The interim report published earlier this week showed that the Group’s overall revenue grew 15.4% from €14.9m in Q1 2023 to €17.2m in Q1 2024, driven by a strong increase in Oil Country Tubular Goods revenue.
The board of MaltaPost plc approved the unaudited consolidated interim financial statements for the six-month period ended March 31, 2024.
The board of Hal Mann Vella Group plc announced that it has submitted an application to the MFSA, seeking approval for the listing of secured bonds worth €23m maturing between 2031 and 2034. This move aims to refinance the €30m 5% secured bonds which are due for redemption at par on November 6, 2024.
Merkanti Holding plc announced plans to propose amendments to its secured bonds due in 2026, increasing the interest rate to 5.7% and extending the maturity by seven years to 2033. These amendments are designed to retain balance sheet diversification with balanced long-term debt, avoiding the significant costs and time associated with issuing new bonds and re-registering German mortgage securities. Additionally, all bondholders will receive a bonus payment of 0.8% of the bonds’ face value if the amendments are approved at the bondholders’ meeting.
Back in April Hili Finance plc updated the market with its submission of an application to the MFSA requesting the admissibility to listing of €80m unsecured bonds maturing in 2029. In May, the Company announced that the bond will bear an interest rate of 5%. In addition, bondholders of 1923 Investments plc, will be given the opportunity to transfer all or part of their bonds in exchange for the new bonds while holders of other Hili Ventures Limited-related securities will be granted preference.
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: 21224410, or email info@jesmondmizzi.com