Malta Properties Company plc – Updated Financial Analysis Summary

On 6 May 2026, Malta Properties Company plc published an updated Financial Analysis Summary. The following are the main highlights of the company’s expected financial performance and position in 2026:

Revenues are expected to rebound by 16.5% to a record of €5.95 million (2025: €5.01 million). The Swatar property will be leased throughout the year, The Exchange at Spencer Hill became fully occupied in early 2026 and the Marsa Central property is also expected to be fully leased by mid-year. Office space was also increased at Ta’ Xbiex from an area previously occupied by the company.
EBITDA is anticipated to surge by 18.3% to €4.0 million and the EBITDA margin is expected to improve to 67.2% (2025: 65.4%).
Net finance costs are forecasted to rise by 13.7% to €1.35 million reflecting the use of an overdraft facility to fund some required capital expenditure across some properties.  Nonetheless, in view of the steeper increase in EBITDA, the interest cover is expected to improve to 3.0 times compared to 2.7 times in the previous year.
Although the Rabat Exchange is subject to a promise of sale agreement until 30 December 2026 and expected to be sold for €2 million, it is being assumed to be sold in 2027 in view of an automatic extension to the promise of sale by 2 months if the required permit is not issued. The property is accounted for as an asset held for sale at a carrying value of €1.2 million.
Total debt is projected to increase by 7% (or €2.1 million) to €31.5 million. As such, the gearing ratio is anticipated to rise slightly to 35.2% compared to 33.8% as at the end of 2025. However, the debt-to-asset ratio is forecasted to remain virtually unchanged at 0.31 times.
By the end of 2026, the net debt position is expected at €26.3 million (31 December 2025: €24.8 million), but the net debt to EBITDA multiple is expected to strengthen to 6.6 times from 7.6 times in the previous year.
The net asset value per share as at 31 December 2026 is anticipated to climb to €0.573 compared to €0.568 as at the end of 2025.

SD Finance plc – Issue of Third Tranche of Bonds

On 6 May 2026, SD Finance plc published the Final Terms of Tranche 3 of its bond issuance programme as per Base Prospectus dated 3 October 2025.

Tranche 3 will consist of the issuance of up to €7 million 5.20% unsecured bonds maturing on 15 February 2031 and will form part of the same series and will be fully fungible with the existing Tranche 1 bonds and with the bonds being offered as part of Tranche 2.

The bonds are offered for subscription through authorised financial intermediaries, subject to a minimum amount of €2,000 (nominal) and in multiples of €100 thereafter. Tranche 3 is expected to be listed on Official List of the Malta Stock Exchange on 5 June 2026 and trading is expected to commence on 8 June 2026.

RS2 plc – New Processing Agreement in Latin America

On 5 May 2026, RS2 plc announced that it has entered into a five-year, multi-million-euro processing agreement processing agreement with a major financial services partner in Latin America. The company highlighted that this demonstrates the Group’s ability to support complex, multi-country processing requirements across both acquiring and issuing services.

The agreement will be delivered through the Group’s BankWORKS® platform and will extend the Company’s acquiring capabilities into eight additional markets: Ecuador, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala.

The Company will also extend its issuing services across eight markets: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic and the Cayman Islands.

This expansion builds on the Group’s existing presence in Latin America, where it is already active in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Argentina.

HSBC Bank Malta plc – Interim Directors’ Statement

On 5 May 2026, HSBC Bank Malta plc published a quarterly update providing information about its performance in Q1 2026 when compared to the same period in 2025.

Total revenue decreased by 14% (or €8.1 million) reflecting the lower prevailing average interest rates in Q1 2026 when compared to Q1 2025 and lower net investment return from the insurance subsidiary due to significant market fluctuations. Nonetheless, the Directors highlighted that from an underlying business perspective, the insurance subsidiary reported higher gross written premium compared to Q1 2025. The Group also experienced strong sales growth across the retail and commercial businesses, as well as wealth management.

The financial performance was positively impacted by a release of expected credit losses (ECL) of €4.6 million compared to a charge of €0.6 million in Q1 2025. The release in Q1 2026 was mainly driven by a recovery on a long-outstanding non-performing corporate loan.

HSBC noted that costs increased by 12% (or €3.7 million) driven by higher salaries and employee benefits, legal provisions, as well as accelerated amortisation of intangible assets in view of the change in their estimated useful lives.

Overall, HSBC reported a profit before tax of €21.3 million, which is 24% lower than the €27.9 million figure reported in Q1 2025. The bank continued to hold a strong liquidity position and regulatory capital ratios that exceed regulatory requirements by significant margins.

The Bank explained that customer loans remained broadly in line with balances as at 31 December 2025 of around €2.76 billion. Loans to corporates were 4% higher than balances as at 31 December 2025. New loans to corporates approved in Q1 2026 were up 86% when compared to Q1 2025. Despite a slight decline in overall retail lending balances when compared to balances as at 31 December 2025, the Bank delivered 4% growth in mortgage sales and 41% growth in personal unsecured loan sales compared to Q1 2025.

Customer deposits decreased by €200m when compared to balances as at 31 December 2025 of €6.53 billion, reflecting mainly a decrease in corporate deposits due to seasonality. Deposits were, however, €120m higher than those reported as at 31 March 2025.

Commenting on the results, HSBC Malta’s CEO Mr Geoffrey Fichte noted that Malta’s strong economy is presenting many opportunities for growth. The CEO highlighted that progress was made on the transition to a new majority shareholder, CrediaBank, which is still subject to regulatory approval.

Dividend

In line with previous guidance relating to the declaration of quarterly dividends, the Directors declared a gross interim dividend of €0.036 (net: €0.0234) per share, representing a payout ratio of 60%. The interim dividend will be paid on 30 June 2026 to shareholders as at close of trading on Friday 15 May 2026.