BOV share price up 1.5% ahead of results

During this morning’s trading session, the share price of Bank of Valletta plc jumped 1.5% to €3.35 on increased activity amounting to 24,250 shares as investors acquired shares in anticipation of the publication of the full-year results and the final dividend recommendation. Shortly after the closure of today’s trading session, the Bank published its full-year results for the 12 months to 30 September 2010. The financials show a 20.9% increase in pre-tax profitability to just under €99 million on the back of increases in interest as well as non-interest income. The Directors recommended a final gross dividend of €0.16 and a 1 for 5 bonus share issue to be approved at the next Annual General Meeting to be held on 16 December. The final dividend is payable to those shareholders on the share register as at close of trading next Friday 5 November. Further details of the results are available on our website.

Elsewhere in the market, volumes were particularly weak. HSBC Bank Malta plc closed unchanged at the €2.80 level on activity of 4,190 shares while GO plc edged minimally higher to €1.87 across 4,000 shares.

Malta International Airport plc eased 0.6% lower to €1.64 on a single trade of just 200 shares with the share price of MaltaPost plc failing to hold on to the €0.92 level. The equity slipped 1.1% lower today to the €0.91 level on volumes of over 4,700 shares.

Also on low volumes, Island Hotels Group Holdings plc slumped 3.2% to a new all-time low of €0.949 on a single trade of 1,000 shares while Simonds Farsons Cisk plc climbed 1.7% to €1.75 on a miniscule trade of 333 shares.