Trident Park reaches agreements for occupancy of 83%

The MSE Equity Price Index remained relatively unchanged at 3,694.594 points as the declines in BOV and Santumas were mostly offset by the gains in BMIT and APS. Meanwhile, five other equities closed unchanged as the total trading activity in local equities was muted at €0.05 million. Download today’s Equity Market Summary.

Today, Trident Estates plc published the full-year results for the financial year ended 31 January 2024. Revenues surged by 79% to €4.22 million reflecting the new rental income generated by the tenants moving into Trident Park. Meanwhile, operating costs nearly doubled to €2.01 million, resulting in an operating profit of €2.21 million compared to €1.27 million in the previous year. Net finance costs amounted to €1.50 million compared to €0.53 million driven by to the higher level of debt and the impact of variable interest rates. The financial performance was boosted by the fair value gain of €0.59 million related to the Group’s investment properties, which however was materially lower than the €6.75 million in fair value gains accounted for in the previous year. Overall, Trident generated a net profit of €1.05 million. Total equity increased by 1.76% to €60.8 million, translating into a net asset value per share of €1.447 (31 January 2023: €1.4220). In his commentary, the Chairman explained that Trident has signed tenancy agreements which will result in an occupancy of 83% in Trident Park once all contracted tenants move in over the upcoming months.

Bank of Valletta plc shed 0.7% to the €1.39 level on one deal of 10,237 shares. BOV is holding its annual general meeting tomorrow.

Santumas Shareholding plc slumped by 7.0% to the €1.20 level albeit over trivial volumes.

On the other hand, APS Bank plc rose by 1.9% to the €0.53 level after recovering from an intraday low of €0.492 (-5.4%) across seven deals amounting to 33,041 shares.

A single trade of 15,200 shares pushed the share price of BMIT Technologies plc 2.3% higher to the €0.35 level. During yesterday’s AGM, the Chairman stated that BMIT plans to acquire digital infrastructure assets such as data centres, fibre networks, energy meters and mobile towers, amongst others, across Europe. He noted that this transformation would make BMIT a one-of-a-kind investment asset class in Malta.

HSBC Bank Malta plc traded flat at the €1.40 level as 1,825 shares changed hands.

Also in the banking sector, Lombard Bank Malta plc held the €0.75 level on one trade of 2,699 shares.

MaltaPost plc closed unchanged at the €0.46 level after recovering from an intraday low of €0.41 (-10.9%) on two deals totalling 10,483 shares.

Mapfre Middlesea plc closed unchanged at the €1.22 level on muted activity.

Simonds Farsons Cisk plc remained unchanged at the €6.75 level on a single trade of 665 shares. Yesterday, Farsons published its annual results for the financial year ending 31 January 2024. Farsons generated record revenues of €133 million (+12.4%) and record operating profit of €17.4 million (+4.1%), driven by the improvement in profitability of the ‘Importation, wholesale of food & Operation of franchised food establishments’ segment. The net profit of €15.3 million was minimally lower than the previous year due to a tax charge in contrast to the tax credit of the previous year. The Board of Directors is recommending a final net dividend of €0.11 per share to all shareholders as at close of trading on Monday 3 June 2024, subject to approval at the Annual General Meeting Scheduled for Thursday 27 June.

The RF MGS Index declined for the second consecutive session as it fell by 0.15% to a three-month low of 884.5610 points, as the German 10-year bund yield hovered above 2.68% for the first time in six months. Data released today showed that the eurozone labour market was more resilient than expected during April as the unemployment figure was revised down to 6.4% from the previously reported figure of 6.5%. Meanwhile in the US, economic growth during the first quarter was revised lower to 1.3% from 1.6%. The decrease was fuelled by a larger-than-expected decline in consumer spending in both goods and services consumption.