The MSE Equity Price Index erased yesterday’s sharp drop as it bounced back by 0.85% to 3,784.608 points. Six companies ended the day higher including GO, BOV and BMIT. On the other hand, only two shares posted declines whilst HSBC and MIA finished unchanged. Trading activity remained muted as only €0.07 million worth of shares changed hands.
GO plc rallied 3.1% to regain the €3.36 level across 2,000 shares. Last Friday, GO published its interim financial results showing a resilient performance as EBITDA only dropped by a marginal 0.4% to €35.5 million. The company also recorded a 5.2% increase in net cash from operating activities to €26.1 million which were channelled towards further capital expenditure investments amounting to nearly €30 million.
BMIT’s data centre subsidiary – BMIT Technologies plc – moved back to the €0.478 level on a total of 5,000 shares. Last Friday, BMIT published its interim financial results showing an increase of nearly 5% in revenues to €11.7 million whilst net profits surged by 8.3% to €2.54 million. The company explained that despite the various challenges brought about by COVID-19, it remains active in pursuing new initiatives aimed at delivering additional value and sustainable returns to its shareholders.
A single deal of 10,680 shares lifted the equity of Bank of Valletta plc 1.9% higher to the €0.95 level.
Last Friday, BOV issued an announcement in relation to recent articles in the press in which it was reported that the bank made an out-of-court settlement offer of €50 million to the Deiulemar bondholders in Italy. In this respect, BOV explained that regardless of the offer and its outcome, it has consistently been advised by its lawyers that the Deiulemar case is completely without merit.
In this context, however, BOV explained that there is still the risk at first instance against it. In view of this, and because of the consequential costs the bank may have to incur, it made commercial sense for BOV to offer a settlement to the curators in order to close the matter. In other words, the offer was not a result of any change in the bank’s conviction that the claim is entirely unmeritorious, but rather an attempt at finding a pragmatic, commercial solution.
BOV’s insurance associate – Mapfre Middlesea plc – surged by 6% to the €2.12 level across 2,035 shares.
Within the same sector, GlobalCapital plc climbed almost 30% to the €0.505 level – the highest since early January 2016 – across 12,629 shares. Today, GlobalCapital announced that due to the ongoing uncertainty related to COVID-19, the AGM which was scheduled to be held on 28 August 2020 is being postponed to a future date.
The other positive performing equity today was MIDI plc which rallied by 6.8% to the €0.376 level on two deals totalling 20,486 shares.
Following yesterday’s sharp drop of nearly 8%, Malta International Airport plc retained the €4.80 level after recovering from a near five-month low of €4.74. A total of 5,901 shares traded.
HSBC Bank Malta plc traded flat at the €0.85 level across 4,000 shares.
Also among the large companies, International Hotel Investments plc lost 1.9% back to the €0.52 level on low activity.
MaltaPost plc plunged 7.6% to a near four-month low of €1.10 albeit on trivial volumes.
The RF MGS Index trended higher for the first time in four days as it rebounded by 0.1% to 1,111.246 points. Prices of Malta Government Stocks advanced despite an upsurge in eurozone sovereign bond yields amid a notable pickup in investor sentiment in Germany which sharply exceeded previous expectations. Meanwhile, confidence across international financial markets continued to thrive on hopes of further fiscal stimulus in the US apart from news from Russia that it found a vaccine against COVID-19.