Treasury announces new MGS issuance of up to €400 million

 

Today, the Treasury announced the issue of 2 new Malta Government Stocks for an aggregate nominal amount of €260 million subject to an over-allotment option of up to a further €140 million. The 2 new fixed-rate stocks are the 4.00% MGS 2033 (IV) and the 4.30% MGS 2038 (II). The prices of these two new MGSs will be announced on Wednesday 30 August 2023 in the afternoon. Subscriptions for the General Public open on Friday 1 September 2023 and close on Tuesday 5 September 2023 at 14:30 hrs – or earlier at the discretion of the Accountant General.

The RF MGS Index reversed some of yesterday’s gains as it eased by 0.28% to 872.183 points. Nonetheless, the index registered a weekly gain of 0.60% reflecting the positive movements on Wednesday and Thursday. Today, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell explained that although progress has been made with respect to control inflation, the Federal Reserve will continue with its efforts to tame price increases further. In this respect, he noted that US economy remained strong and further rate hikes cannot be excluded.

The MSE Equity Price Index extended its losing streak to the ninth consecutive session as it fell by a further 0.22% to 3,742.625 points, reflecting the declines of APS, Hili Properties and MIA. Meanwhile, four other equities closed unchanged but overall trading activity remained lacklustre. Download today’s Equity Market Summary.

A single trade of 15,000 shares pulled the share price of Hili Properties plc down by 1.7% to the €0.236 level. Yesterday, Hili Properties reported record income and profitability for the first half of the year.

Malta International Airport plc (-0.9%) and APS Bank plc (-1.6%) were today’s other negative performing equities as they dropped to the €5.70 and €0.61 levels respectively on muted activity.

Bank of Valletta plc was today’s most actively traded equity as it held the €1.26 level across three deals totalling 9,300 shares.

Also in the banking sector, HSBC Bank Malta plc remained at the €1.20 level on a single deal of 1,677 shares.

In the property sector, AX Real Estate plc (16,667 shares) and Main Street Complex plc (2,651 shares) traded flat at the €0.45 and €0.412 levels respectively. On Wednesday, the Directors of Main Street Complex elected to distribute a net interim dividend of €0.0072 per share, which is 7.2% higher than the corresponding net interim dividend paid in September 2022, and translates into a payout ratio of 80% (H1 2022: 85%). The dividend is payable by Tuesday 12 September 2023 to all shareholders as at close of trading on Monday 28 August 2023.

Today, Grand Harbour Marina plc published its interim results. Revenues increased by 21.4% to €2.08 million, while total operating costs were 20.8% higher at €1.40 million. Given the sharper increase in revenues than costs, operating profit surged by 22.7% to €0.68 million. EBITDA amounted to €0.88 million which translated into an EBITDA margin of 42.2%. Meanwhile, net finance costs decreased by 4.9% to €0.35 million. On the other hand, GHM’s financial performance was negatively affected by the share of loss of €0.06 million from its investment in IC Çeşme Marina located in Turkey. Overall, the net profit for the period under review amounted to €0.12 million.

The Convenience Shop (Holding) plc published its interim results. Revenues grew by 15.5% to €22.5 million, while operating costs also increased notably by 14.4% to €20.9 million. The company’s operating profit surged by 33.9% to €1.55 million. After accounting for other income of €0.3 million, net finance costs of €0.43 million and a tax charge of €0.43 million, the company reported a net profit for the period attributable to shareholders of €0.99 million, which is almost double the €0.50 million figure recorded in the previous comparable period. The Directors approved a net interim dividend of €0.015 per share which translates into a payout ratio of just under 50%. The dividend will be paid on Friday 29 September 2023 to all shareholders as at the close of trading on Tuesday 5 September 2023.

Today, Simonds Farsons Cisk plc announced that its Board of Directors is scheduled to meet on Wednesday 27 September 2023 to consider and approve the interim financial statements for the six-month period ended 31 July 2023. The Directors will also consider the payment of an interim dividend.

Yesterday, International Hotel Investments plc published its interim financial statements covering the six-month period ended 30 June 2023. Revenues increased by 30.3% to €124.8 million compared to €95.8 million in H1 2022. However, amid a sharp increase in costs, operating profit amounted to €3.72 million compared to €4.57 million posted in the corresponding period in 2022. Furthermore, interest expenses increased markedly to €17.3 million compared to €12.8 million in the previous year. Furthermore, IHI registered negative net exchange differences on borrowings amounting to €1.6 million, in contrast to the positive impact from currency exchange differences of €10.5 million in the first half of 2022. Overall, the net loss for the period attributable to IHI’s shareholders amounted to €10.3 million. The Statement of Financial Position as at 30 June 2023, when compared to the corresponding figures as at 31 December 2022 shows that shareholders’ funds contracted by 3.9% (or €23.5 million) to €583.4 million, which translates into a net asset value per share of €0.948.

Also yesterday, PG plc published the Annual Report and Financial Statements for the financial year ended 30 April 2023. Revenues surged by 18.3% to a new record of just under €174 million (FY2021/22: €147 million) reflecting the further growth achieved by both business segments. Operating costs (net of other income) increased by 20.2% to €155 million principally driven by higher cost of sales. However, since the growth in revenue in absolute terms was higher than the increase in costs, PG still reported a 4.6% increase in operating profit (EBIT) to a record of €18.9 million although the EBIT margin dropped to 10.9% compared to 12.3% in the previous financial year. After accounting for net finance costs of €1.13 million and a tax charge of €4.98 million, PG reported a net profit of €12.7 million which is 5.2% higher than the previous comparable figure of €12.0 million. Looking ahead, the company stated that the 2023/24 financial year started on a positive note with first quarter (1 May 2023 and 31 July 2023) sales being 23% higher than the same period in 2022.

 

This report contains public information only and is not to be construed as investment advice or an offer to buy or sell any securities. Information contained herein is based on data obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but no representations or guarantees are made with regard to the accuracy of the data. Stock markets are volatile and subject to fluctuations which cannot be reasonably foreseen. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Rizzo, Farrugia & Co. (Stockbrokers) Limited is a company licensed to undertake investment services in Malta by the MFSA under the Investment Services Act, Cap. 370 of the Laws of Malta and a member of the Malta Stock Exchange.