MSE declines as risk appetite wanes

Movements in Equity &

Bond Indices

The MSE Equity Total Return Index (MSE) lost further ground, as it ended October with a 1.9% decline to close at 7,712.935 points. Activity increased significantly by €8.1m to €10.2m across 555 deals, as Tigne’ Mall plc dominated trading activity, with 17 trades worth €6.9m. During the month a total of 27 equities were active, 17 of which traded lower, while six gained. Since the beginning of the year, the MSE is up by nearly 4.2%.

The

lost 0.4%, closing at 1,155.541 points. A total of 83 issues were active, as 21 bonds posted gain while 49 registered declines. Total turnover equaled to €4.5m, generated across 760 transactions. The

MSE Corporate Bonds Total Return Index 3.5% Bank of Valletta plc € Notes 2030 S2 T1

registered the best performance of 12.4%, closing at €91. The worst performing issue was the 3.65% Mizzi Organisation Finance plc Unsecured € 2028-2031, ending the month 8.8% lower at €86.

The MSE MGS Total Return Index fell by 0.5% to end the month at 859.952 points. A total of €25.8m was generated in turnover across 296 deals. The 4% MGS 2032 (VII) registered the best performance of 0.4%, closing at €100.37. The 2% MGS 2051 (II) registered the biggest drop of 42.6%, ending the month at €59.39.

Top 10 Market Movers Bank of

In the banking sector, Valletta plc (BOV) headed north to end the month at €1.25, reflecting a 0.8% gain. The banking equity was highly active, as 742,173 shares worth €0.9m, exchanged hands across 149 deals.

The share price of APS Bank plc (APS) retracted to the €0.575 price level, reflecting a monthly decline of 4.2%. A total of 42 transactions of 142,214 shares were executed.

A sole deal of 8,054 FIMBank plc shares dragged the share price 9.1% lower. The equity ended the month at $0.20.

International Hotel Investments plc recorded a significant 5.9% decline in its share price, closing the month at €0.48. This was the outcome of 25 transactions worth €40,719.

Despite reaching a low of €2.74 during the month, GO plc closed October at €2.90. This represented a price increase of 5.8%. The equity was active across 23 transactions, involving 54,305 shares worth €153,185.

MaltaPost plc traded 14 times on a volume of 200,559 shares, generating €83,792 in turnover. The Company’s price per share advanced by 9.8%, ending the month at a monthly high of €0.45.

Similarly, Trident Estates plc managed to close at a monthly high of €1.25, reflecting a price increase of 4.2%. A total of nine trades involving 17,230 shares exchanged ownership, generating €20,586 in turnover.

Hili Properties plc faced a double-digit 18.1% decline in its share price, ending the month at €0.19. A total of 165,800 shares spread across 19 deals were executed.

The share price of PG plc fell to a monthly low of €1.91, retracting by 7.3% during the month. Twelve transactions of 33,347 shares, generated €65,595 in turnover.

A single transaction involving 3,000 Convenience Shop Holding plc shares, pushed the share price 6.2% higher to €1.03.

Company Announcements BOV

The board of declared the payment of an interim gross cash dividend of €0.0462 per share (€0.03 net of tax) which will be paid on December 6, 2023 to shareholders on the Bank’s Register of Members as at close of business of November 21. The bank also announced that it is in advanced negotiations to sell a portfolio of longstanding non-performing loans with a view to strengthening its capital and liquidity buffers.

HSBC Bank Malta plc delivered strong results for the ninemonth period ended September 30, 2023. Reported profit before tax was €100.8m, an increase of €67.9m compared to the €32.9m profits reported in the same period last year, following IFRS 17 restatement. The Bank confirmed that the increase in profitability is mainly attributable to strong interest income, improved credit quality of the loan book and continued focus on cost management, while continuing to invest in the future of the business.

APS announced that it received regulatory approval in relation to the €150m unsecured subordinated bond issuance programme and at the end of the month the bank successfully managed to issue the first tranche of €50 million unsecured subordinated bonds.

APS also announced the bank’s financial performance for the nine-month period ending September 30, 2023. The bank registered pre-tax profits of €23.3m, up from €8.4m during the same period last year. Net interest income increased to €55.5m. During the period, the Group continued to recover from the unrealised, negative investment markets trends of 2022.

At the end of the month, Lombard Bank Malta plc announced that not all the rights to subscribe for new ordinary shares were accepted or validly assigned by existing shareholders by the close of the rights issue offer period. This resulted in a residual balance of 12,430,744 excess shares, which were available for subscription at the offer price of €0.75 per share.

Malta International Airport plc announced that the traffic results for September tallied to 812,176 passenger movements, translating into an increase of 6.5% over 2019 figures. This was the third consecutive month during which MIA saw more than 800,000 passengers. This growth was registered on the back of an increase of 3% in seat capacity compared to 2019.

International Hotel Investments plc announced that the bond issue has been oversubscribed and consequently the issuer exercised its right to close the offer period for preferred applicants earlier on October 20, 2023.

AX Group plc announced that the bond issue has been oversubscribed and the issuer decided to close the offer period earlier on October 19, 2023. As a result the intermediaries’ offer did not take place.

Tigne’ Mall plc announced that HSBC Life Assurance (Malta) Ltd sold all their holding in the Company (a total of 7,277,000 ordinary shares). Furthermore, the company announced that Marsamxett Properties Ltd acquired the same number of ordinary shares.

MedservRegis plc shall be convening an extraordinary general meeting on November 16, 2023. During the meeting the Company will seek the approval from shareholders to reduce the share premium account for the purpose of offsetting losses of the company.

The board of Loqus Holdings plc has approved the financial statements for the financial year ended June 30, 2023 and resolved that they be submitted for the approval of the shareholders at the forthcoming AGM. The Company concluded the year on an excellent note, marking an all-time high revenue at €10.7m, an uplift of €676k from the preceding year. This remarkable growth in revenue is predominantly attributed to a 34% or €1.6m surge in the earnings of openFleet. Profit after tax was positive at €885k but lower than 2022 levels of €1.7m.

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