Most local equities fal

The MSE Index continued to lose ground as the equity index fell by a further 0.89 per cent to close the month of April at 4,676.26 points. In the first four month of 2017 the MSE Index gained just under one per cent. In total there were 19 active issues of which the majority closed in the red. HSBC Bank

Malta plc, Lombard Bank plc, Mapfre Middlesea plc, GO plc, GlobalCapital plc, FIMBank plc, Malta International Airport plc, Medserv plc, RS2 Software plc, MIDI plc, Malita Investments plc and Malta Properties Company plc were the equities which head-

ed south. On the other hand

Bank of Valletta plc, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc, Plaza Centres plc, Santumas Shareholding plc, MaltaPost plc and Tigne Mall plc were the equities which

closed in positive territory while

International Hotel Investments plc traded unchanged. In

total there were 604 deals worth just under €3.9 million.

It was not a positive month for the banking industry, as only one equity managed to register a gain. Bank of Valletta plc continued to extend its two-month gain by a further 2.3 per cent, closing the month at €2.25. This equity had the lions share in terms of value as it recorded the highest number of deals which are worth just over €1.3m - 35 per cent of total turnover, as 197 deal were executed. During this month, the equity managed to reach an intra-day high of €2.27, following the announcement of their six months financial statements.

The Bank of Valletta Group announced a profit before tax of €74 million for the six months ended on March 31, 2017, an increase of 8% over the €68.5 million reported for the same period last year. This represents a return on equity before tax (ROE) of 20 per cent per annum, which is equivalent to the ROE for March 2016. Earnings per share amount to 12.1 cents (March 2016: 10.6 cents).

An interim dividend of €0.0450 gross per share (€0.0293 net of tax) has been declared by the Board of Directors, representing an increase of 24 per cent over the 3.63 cents declared last year, as adjusted for the bonus share issue last January 2017 – payable to shareholders on the company’s share registrar as at May 11, 2017.

The Bank reported that, net interest income amounted to €72.7 million, a decrease of 3 per cent over March 2016.Total operating income, comprising interest margin and non-interest income, amounted to €123.2 million, compared to €134.5 million for March 2016. This decrease is wholly attributable to lower price gains on investment and trading securities.

Lombard Bank Malta plc

announced that following the Bank’s Annual General Meeting, five of the nine resolutions put forward for consideration have been approved – mainly related to ordinary business items on the agenda. As per initial announcement dated April 6 2017, items on the agenda with respect to special business, were not carried, except for resolution nine, which was also approved. Resolution nine related to the disclosure of price sensitive information to a prospective bona fide offeror(s) and Cyprus Popular Bank Public Co. Ltd in the disposal of substantial shareholding in Lombard. Resolution six which was related to the acquisition of own shares; resolution seven, based on restriction/withdrawal of statutory preemption rights, and resolution eight, which gave the authority to issues shares, were not approved.

Lombard’s share price closed on the wrong side of the fence as it registered a loss of 3.2 per cent, thus closing at €2.40. In total there were 21 transactions that tallied to €177,852.

FIMBank plc, announced that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) shall take place on Thursday, May 11, 2017. Among the resolutions subject for approval, the board is recommending a bonus issue of fully paid up ordinary shares of a nominal value of $0.50 per share, in the ratio of 1 share for every 80 owned – allotted to those Members on the Register as at the record date April 11, 2017. The equity closed 4.9 per cent lower at $0.799 spread across eight trades of a volume of 71,928 shares.

On a similar note, HSBC Bank Malta plc shares also experienced a slight dip as these closed 0.5 per cent inferior at €2.05. This month the company held its Annual General Meeting, whereby all items on the agenda were approved, including the payment of a final gross dividend of 4.1 cents per share.

In the technological industry, GO plc announced that the agenda for the Company’s Annual General Meeting, due on Wednesday May 3, 2017, has been set. Amongst a number of ordinary resolutions, the Company shareholders will be asked to approve the payment of a Net Dividend of 11 cents per share. On the other hand, during the week, Interna-

tional Hotel Investments plc

also issued an announcement in which it announced that its Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 13, 2017. The equity was not influenced at all.

RS2 Software plc announced that it had registered profits after tax for the year of €453,133 in 2016 from the €4,819,347 reported in 2015. Meanwhile, revenue for the year also decreased from €19,437,614 in 2015 to €17,171,291 reported in 2016. The earnings per share decreased by €0.026 – from €0.03 in 2015 to €0.004 in 2016. The board of directors resolved to recommend for approval at the AGM, the payment of a final dividend of €0.01 per share amounting to €1,583,332. This dividend, if approved at the AGM, will be paid on Thursday June 22, 2017 to shareholders who appear on the shareholders’ register as at the close of business on Friday May 19. In addition, it was further resolved to recommend for approval a bonus share issue of one share for every 12 shares held by shareholders on the company’s share register. This put a downward pressure on the company’s shares as they extended their decline trend by a further 7.4 per cent drop to close at €1.50. This represents a year-to-date loss of 17.6 per cent. The equity was active over 44 deals worth €259,000.

On April 7, 2017, Malta International Airport plc announced that during the winter period it welcomed over 1.6 million passengers, extending from November to March. The figure translates into an upturn of 25 per cent in traffic. This growth was reached on the back of an increase of 19 per cent in aircraft movements and an improvement of 26 per cent in seat capacity. The top five contributors to traffic during the winter months were the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Belgium, and France.

The season closed off with March registering an increase of 53,795 passenger movements over 2016 - even though the Easter effect was registered in March last year. Last month also marked the launch of two new routes - Katowice in Poland and Cluj-Napoca in Romania, with more new connections expected to commence operations in the coming weeks. However, despite achieving these positive results, the equity still declined by 2.1 per cent and closed at €4.15.

MIDI plc announced that it registered a loss after tax of €2.515 million during the financial year under review, compared to a profit of €9.920 million registered during the previous financial year. Unlike the previous financial year, the Company had very few apartments which it could deliver to respective owners. Turnover for the year, including revenues from sales of property, amounted to €8.674million (2015 - €41.042 million). Operating profit for the year amounted to €1.631 million (2015 - €13.123 million). The Board resolved to recommend for the approval of the AGM the payment of a final net dividend of €1,499,119, equivalent to €0.007 per share. MIDI announced that Bank of Valletta plc sold their shares in the company to Mr Mark Andrew Weingard – a total of 19,075,402 ordinary shares to which voting rights are attached and which equate to circa 8.92% of the Company’s total shareholding. The company’s share price plummeted 9.1 per cent to close at €0.30. In total there were 16 transactions worth just under €28,000. These results put a downward pressure on the share price.

Simonds Farsons Cisk plc

announced that its Board of Directors shall be meeting on May 4, 2017 to consider and approve the audited Financial Results for the year ended January 31, 2017. The Company shall also consider the declaration or otherwise of a final dividend to be recommended at the Annual General Meeting which is scheduled for the June 27, 2017. Based on seven trades, the share price of the equity surged by 3.3 per cent to close at €7.44.

Tigne Mall plc announced that in the year ended 31 December 2016, the company registered a profit before tax of €3.1 million as compared to a profit before tax of €2.9 million in 2015. The company’s EBITDA increased to €5.3 million (2015: €5.2 million), while profit before tax for the current financial year stood at €2.05m, up by 23.7 per cent from that recorded in 2015. The company reported an earnings per share of 3.63c when compared to 2.93c in 2015. The Directors recommend the payment of a final net dividend of €705,000 in relation to 2016 financial results. These positive results resulted in an upward pressure on the equity’s price, as it increased by 3.6 per cent to close at €1.10. In total there were nine trades of 34,450 shares of a net worth of €36,539.

Plaza shares changed direction, as it closed this month in positive territory. The equity trades tallied to 17, through which the price appreciated by 1 per cent. Elsewhere, MaltaPost plc shares closed at €2.05 resulting in a 1 per cent increase across

Centres plc

15 deals worth €82,238. On April 10, 2017

Malta Properties Company plc announced

that the Second Annual General Meeting of the Company is to be held on Thursday May 25, 2017. It also announced that, subject to the shareholders’ confirmation, no dividend will be paid out. A total of 29 deals of 194,480 shares managed to diminish the price by one per cent to close at €0.517.

During this month, Interna-

tional Hotel Investments plc

issued the Group’s financial statements for the year 2016. The Group registered a loss before tax of €6.763 million, compared to a loss of €349,000 registered in 2015. Revenue for the period under review amounted to €157.9 million, a rise of just under 18 per cent from 2016. Loss per share remained at €0.01.

The Company also announced its intention to issue a 3 per cent bonus share in favour of the shareholders appearing on the register of members of the Company on the Official List of the Malta Stock Exchange as at close of business on June 30th, 2017 (the “Eligible Shareholders”), subject to obtaining the necessary approvals. Despite these negative results, nine trades did not have an effect on the share price as it remained unchanged at €0.64.

Mapfre Middlesea plc equity continued to plunge this month as the share price deteriorated by a further 4.1 per cent. This was spread across five transactions on a thin volume of 5,000 shares.

The Board of Directors of al Capital plc has approved the financial statements for the period ended December 31, 2016 and resolved that they will be submitted for the approval of the shareholders at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

The Group reported a profit before tax of €2.8million com-

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