The MSE Equity Price Index trended in positive territory on Wednesday following five consecutive sessions of declines as the index inched 0.18% higher to 4,428.624 points. The gains in BMIT, HSBC, MIA and Global Capital outweighed the declines in MIDI and Mapfre Middlesea whilst seven other equities closed unchanged. Trading activity remained robust as €0.9 million worth of shares changed hands.
HSBC Bank Malta plc was the most actively traded equity today as it rose by nearly 1% to the €1.03 level on strong volumes totalling 570,062 shares, amounting to just under 63% of today’s total value traded.
BMIT Technologies plc regained the €0.54 level (+1.9%) on two deals totalling 27,100 shares. Tomorrow, BMIT is expected to publish its 2019 full-year results. The Directors will also consider recommending a dividend. In the Prospectus dated 7 January 2019, the dividend for the 2019 financial year was estimated at €0.0216 per share.
Meanwhile, Malta International Airport plc climbed by nearly 3% to the €5.25 level on persistently high volumes totalling 44,944 shares. On Monday, MIA published its February traffic results showing a 17.3% year-on-year growth in passenger movements. MIA’s CEO Mr Alan Borg warned that the spread of the coronavirus is putting aviation and tourism stakeholders across the globe to the test, with MIA envisaging two challenging months ahead.
GlobalCapital plc surged by 6.5% to the €0.23 level albeit on trivial volumes.
Low trading activity also took place in the equities of MIDI plc and Mapfre Middlesea plc. MIDI plunged by 9.1% to a 21-month low of €0.40 whilst Mapfre Middlesea eased by 0.9% back to the €2.30 level. Tomorrow, Mapfre Middlesea is due to publish its 2019 full-year financial results. The Directors will also consider the recommendation of a dividend.
Bank of Valletta plc traded flat at the €1.04 level across 62,302 shares. The Bank is scheduled to publish its 2019 full-year results on Wednesday 18 March.
Also among the large companies, GO plc (590 shares) and International Hotel Investments plc (12,428 shares) remained at €4.20 and €0.68 respectively. Tomorrow, GO is due to publish its 2019 annual financial results. The Directors will also consider recommending a dividend.
Malta Properties Company plc ended the day unchanged at the €0.63 level as 9,800 shares exchanged hands.
Similarly, Trident Estates plc retained the €1.62 level across 4,140 shares.
Elsewhere, Main Street Complex plc and Santumas Holdings plc traded flat at €0.57 and €1.50 respectively across single trades of insignificant volumes.
FIMBank plc published the preliminary statement of annual financial results for the year ended 31 December 2019. Despite generating a record of USD32.3 million (+3.6%) in net interest income, the net profit for the year amounted to USD4.42 million compared to USD10.2 million in 2018. In their commentary, the Directors of FIMBank explained that during the year, the bank embarked on a de-risking process with the aim of strengthening the overall quality of its portfolios by proactively seeking to optimise business fundamentals whilst also reacting to market, industry and regulatory developments. For 2020, FIMBank is expecting to grow the key areas of its business by building on core established strengths by applying a rigorous approach to risk.
The RF MGS Index extended its recent negative trend as it dropped by a further 0.14% to a near three-week low of 1,153.490 points. This took place as movements in the prices of Malta Government Stocks continued to reflect the widening yield spreads in the euro area amid various concerns about the global spread of the coronavirus.