Malita Investments plc - Full-Year Results

On 8 March 2019, Malita Investments plc published the Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2018.

Performance Overview

During 2018, Malita Investments plc generated record revenues of €8.01 million, representing an increase of 7.2% over the previous corresponding figure. The increase in revenues was driven by the additional ground rent received from the Valletta Cruise Port (“VCP”) which, in turn, reflects the increased business at the VCP that resulted in a higher percentage of rent payable to Malita than the pre-set minimum annual ground rent. Furthermore, during 2018, Malita received additional income from the Parliament Building following completion of a number of improvements to the building. In this respect, Malita also noted that the completion certificate of the Parliament Building was issued in January 2019.

On the expenditure side, administrative expenses climbed by 30.2% to €0.51 million, largely reflecting higher professional fees, HR costs and other expenses. Similarly, net finance costs increased by 12.3% to €1.43 million as Malita took on additional debt during 2018 in relation to the Affordable Housing Project.

The financial performance of Malita was also negatively impacted by the much lower incidence of positive fair value movements of investment properties as these amounted to €7.66 million in 2018 compared to €16.7 million the previous year. In this respect however, it is important to highlight that the amount of fair value movements in 2017 reflected an adjustment in the valuation of the Parliament Building and the Open Air Theatre which, until 31 December 2016, were still valued at cost on the books of Malita.

Overall, Malita registered a pre-tax profit of €13.7 million (2017: €22.5 million). After accounting for a tax charge of €2.06 million, the net profit for the year amounted to €11.7 million, representing a decline of 10.1% when compared to the corresponding figure for 2017.

The Statement of Financial Position shows that total assets increased by 5.8% to €190.3 million, largely reflecting the increase in the fair value of the company’s investment properties as well as the value of capitalised costs amounting to €5.57 million related to the Affordable Housing Project (31 December 2017: €1.51 million). Similarly, total liabilities grew by 4.6% to €61.9 million largely reflecting increased borrowings. In fact, the company’s net debt increased by 12.5% to €44 million compared to €39.1 million as at the end of 2017. Meanwhile, total equity increased by 6.3% to €128.4 million (31 December 2017: €120.7 million). This translates into a net asset value per share of €0.867 (31 December 2017: €0.815 per share).

Dividend

The Directors are recommending the payment of a final net dividend of €0.01417 per share to all shareholders as at the close of trading on Wednesday 3 April 2019. The final dividend will be paid on Friday 10 May 2019 subject to shareholders’ approval at the upcoming Annual General Meeting scheduled to be held on Monday 6 May 2019.

Coupled with the interim net dividend of €0.00858 per share, the total net dividend for the 2018 financial year amounts to €0.02275 per share. This is 18% lower than the total net dividend per share of €0.02773 paid for the 2017 financial year. As such, the drop in the net dividend for the 2018 financial year reflects the application of a different tax treatment when compared to the previous year. In fact, the total gross dividend for the 2017 and 2018 financial years are identical at €0.035 per share, representing a gross dividend yield of 7% on the IPO share price of €0.50.

Download

Malita Investments plc – Annual Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2018.