Daily Market Highlights (10.11.09)

  • MSE Share Index edges 0.15% higher to 3,255.127 points BOV and HSBC close today’s session unchanged with gains from Crimsonwing (+6.9%), Lombard Bank (+1.9%) and GO (+0.9%). Download a copy of today’s Equity Market Summary .
  • General Public subscriptions fro the new Malta Government Stocks close tomorrow. The new MGS are: (i) 3.6% MGS 2013 (IV) FI at 100.75% for every €100 nominal giving a yield to maturity of 3.393% per annum and (ii) 4.6% MGS 2020 (II) at 100.00% (par) for every €100 nominal giving a yield to maturity of 4.6% per annum. With regards to the Floating Rate Malta Government Stock 2015 (V) linked to the 6-month Euribor, the Treasury will announce the initial interest rate on Monday 16 November 2009. Further details and application forms available here.
  • Mizzi Organisation Finance plc also recently announced a €25 million bond issue at a coupon of 6.2% per annum. The bonds have a final maturity date of 30 November 2019 and the Issuer reserves the right to increase the amount up to a further €5 million in the event of over-subscription. Existing holders of the 6.7% Mizzi bonds 2009-2012 will be given preferential allocation. Further details, application form and prospectus available here.
  • BOV remains unchanged at the €3.80 on continued high activity of 18,318 shares despite trading without the entitlement to the final dividend. Further shares on offer at the closing price with highest bids pitched at the €3.76 level. On 30 October the Bank published its September 2009 results which showed a pre-tax profit of €81.8 million, representing an increase of over 100% compared to the Group’s profitability in the previous financial year. The Directors recommended a final gross dividend of €0.215 per share (Sep 08: €0.0563) and a 1 for 4 bonus issue subject to approval at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting scheduled for 16 December. Further details of results available here.
  • Similarly, HSBC closes unchanged at €2.84 on lower volumes of 6,064 shares.
  • GO continues to trade higher and advances by a further 0.9% to €1.685. Four trades totaling 10,400 shares transacted today with further bids outstanding at the closing price and lowest offers now placed at €1.70. Last Friday afternoon GO published its Interim Statement claiming that the downward trend in the Group’s revenue and profitability reported for the first six months of 2009 continued throughout the third quarter but at a lower rate. Further details available here.
  • Lombard share price also continues to recover following the increasingly positive sentiment within the local banking sector. Equity gains 1.85% to the €2.75 level on volumes of 4,374 shares.
  • Crimsonwing share price jumps 6.9% to close at €0.31 on a single trade of 7,000 shares. The equity had plummeted by 25.5% last week. Crimsonwing is shortly expected to publish its September 2009 half-year results. Lowest offers now placed in the market at the €0.39 level.