Harvest revises lower profit target

 

The MSE Equity Price Index advanced by 0.24% to 3,568.070 points as the uplift in BOV outweighed the drop in APS. Download today’s Equity Market Summary.

Bank of Valletta plc climbed 2.3% to the €0.89 level across four deals totalling 25,500 shares.

In contrast, APS Bank plc eased by 0.8%% to the €0.60 level albeit on just 2,396 shares.

Today, Harvest Technology plc announced that it will distribute a net interim dividend of €0.01 per share which is 37.5% lower than the corresponding interim dividend of €0.016 per share paid out in November 2021. Shareholders as at close of trading on Tuesday 6 December 2022 will be entitled to receive the dividend which will be paid by not later than 20 December 2022. Harvest also provided an update on its business performance. In this respect, Harvest explained that regulatory developments are adversely impacting the performance of its ‘Payment Processing Services’ arm. Moreover, the company also experienced delays in the award of several multi-million contracts which were expected to start in 2022 but will now start in 2023. As a result, the profit before tax for the 2022 financial year is expected to be lower than the projected figure of €3 million as indicated in early June 2022.

Meanwhile, PG plc announced that its Board of Directors is scheduled to meet on Thursday 15 December 2022 to consider and approve the interim financial statements for the six-month period ended 31 October 2022.

The RF MGS Index extended yesterday’s gain as advanced by a further 0.20% to 903.411 points. The 10-year German Bund yield touched a three-month low of 1.76% amid expectations that the ECB will also tame its pace of monetary policy tightening in the coming months. Elsewhere in the US, fresh employment data was better than expected and continued to highlight the underlying strength of the world’s largest economy.

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.