MSE Equity index declin the second month in a r

The MSE Equity Total Return Index continued to trend lower during October, as it closed 0.76% lower at 7,972.952 points. A total of four issues headed north while another 19 closed in the opposite direction. Simonds Farsons Cisk plc shares headed the list of gainers with an increase of 5.29%, whilst

Loqus Holdings plc closed the month as the worst performing equity, suffering a loss in value of 34.69%. Total monthly turnover amounted to € 1.7m, generated across 336 transactions.

In the banking industry, following weak performance in the share price of Bank of Valletta plc during September, a month-on-month drop of 0.6% for October was recorded. The decline was a result of 555,353 shares being traded with a value of nearly €488,100. The bank’s equity ended the month at the €0.865 price level.

HSBC Bank Malta plc (HSBC) saw its share price tumble by 3.6%, as trading activity included 26 transactions across 59,957 shares. HSBC’s equity closed at €0.80. This price level represents a yearto-date decline of 11.1%.

On the contrary, Lombard Bank Malta plc trended 2.1% higher during the month, as eight trades with a value of €33,447 pushed the equity price to €1.98. Although the bank’s share price has been on the rise for the past two months, the equity is down 16.1% since January.

Looking at the local telecommunications industry, GO plc shed 0.6% on the value of its equity, to end October at €3.30. Liquidity was fairly high during the month, as 59,902 shares were traded over 37 transactions.

It’s subsidiary BMIT Technologies plc eased by 2% to the €0.484 price level, as 125,872 exchanged hands over 15 trades.

Loqus Holdings plc (€0.064) and Santumas Shareholdings plc (€1) were the two worst performing equities, with the former losing 34.7% of its value, whilst the latter declining by 9.1%. Out of the two equities, Santumas Shareholdings plc shares were more liquid, as they were involved in two transactions with a total turnover of €11,461.

Similarly, Harvest Technology plc plunged by 5.8% to €1.46, a level which was last seen at the beginning of May 2021. Trading activity was spread over two trades across 13,342 shares, as trading value tallied up to €19,879.

The hotel operating company International Hotel Investments plc (IHI) experienced a 1.6% drop in value to close at €0.60. This decline was the result of 12 trades with a total turnover value of €24,717.

During the last week of October, IHI announced that it had received regulatory approval for the issuance of an €80m unsecured bond issue with an annual coupon of 3.65% and maturing in 2031. The bond will be issued at par and opened on November 8, 2021 and will close on November 30, 2021 with the option of early closure on November 26, 2021.

The share price of Simonds Farsons Cisk plc was the best performing equity during October, as it jumped by 5.3% to the €8.95 level. The company’s equity experienced higher liquidity during the month, as 12 deals spread over 12,950 shares were recorded. Equity price fluctuated between a monthly-low of €8.15 and a monthly high of €10. Compared to the equity’s value at the beginning of the year, the share price is up by 14.7%.

RS2 Software plc

declined by 0.6%, as 18 trades on a volume of 59,115 shares were recorded. Compared to previous months, liquidity was fairly high, as turnover slightly exceeded €101,800 to close October at €1.71. The company’s preference shares moved in the opposite direction, as they gained 2.9%. Liquidity was much lower in this share class; as total trading value was €6,218 as a result of five trades.

The equity price of Malta International Airport plc (MIA) closed unchanged at the €5.95 price level. MIA shares were amongst the most liquid on the Exchange during the month, as they were involved in 38 trades across 31,708 shares with a value of €192,229.

During the month, MIA published the September traffic results. The report indicated that MIA recorded its strongest month in terms of passenger volumes since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, welcoming a total of 418,473 passengers in September. When compared to pre-pandemic levels, airport traffic is still significantly low (45.1% less than September 2019). The United Kingdom retained its spot as Malta International Airport’s top driver of passenger traffic, followed by Italy, Germany, France and Spain. MIA also published its winter schedule, featuring new flight connections, adding services to unserved markets including Croatia, North Macedonia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as a number of route extensions from summer into winter.

The retail conglomerate PG plc shed 2.4% to close at €2.44 on 22 trades of 76,195 shares. Although experiencing a drop during the month, the company’s share price is up 22% on a year-to-date basis.

The company held its fifth annual general meeting where all resolutions on the agenda were approved.

Grand Harbour Marina plc and MIDI plc also performed negatively, as the former plummeted by 7.5% to €0.74 as it was involved in a sole trade with a mere value of €80. MIDI plc was involved in one small trade on a volume of 5,000 shares to end the month at €0.40.

Similarly,

Company

Malta Properties plc closed the