Malta International Airport’s cash pile

Edward Rizzo’s excellent article ‘MIA’s strong recovery continues’ (November 24) highlighted MIA’s massive cash resources of €53.7 million as at September 30. He correctly urges the company to consider restarting the payment of an interim and final dividend.

This is certainly justified and I would add that cash resources stood at €31 million at the end of 2020; increased by a mere €1.7 million by the end of 2021 through the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic but, in just nine months of this year, rose by no less than €21 million as a result of the resurgence of airline traffic.

Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

It will be recalled that the last time that MIA’s shareholders received a dividend was three years ago, in September 2019. During the same period, the local banks whose shares are quoted on the Malta Stock Exchange were prohibited by the European Central Bank from paying any dividends so as to prop up the banks’ capital base. There are bound to be many who hold shares in MIA and also in one or more of the local banks and who, especially pensioners, rely on dividend income to maintain their standard of living. Moreover, MIA’s stock price that reached a high of €7.95 in 2019 now trades at €5.70, a fall of 28.3 per cent.

Rizzo ended his article with the very apposite comment that investors’ sentiment remains very weak across the Maltese equity market. If quoted companies do not pay dividends, the market is bound to remain in the doldrums and this will certainly not encourage investment in local company shares.

Anthony Curmi – St Julian’s

Soul-searching exercise

The government has gone ahead with its proposed amendments, which are clearly introducing abortion in Malta. This is a massive betrayal of trust. It has no mandate to do so.

One can keep saying that black is white and white is black but the electorate can see what the reality is and it will feel cheated. Ultimately, as is happening in other countries, babies are destined to die to maintain a lie.

The government needs to do some soul-searching and truly listen to others and to its own conscience.

Carmel Zammit – Naxxar

Parochial Malta

Bestselling author John Boyne was a recent guest at the 2022 Malta Book Festival. He advised Maltese writers to broaden their horizons.

His advice is also applicable to Maltese painters and sculptors who have depicted the Jesus myth to death.

Times of Malta itself should heed Boyne’s suggestion and broaden its horizons so that it should look less like a Church newspaper.

Its social/personal page serves as a Church noticeboard.

John Guillaumier – St Julian’s