MSE trading activity reaches 1-month high

 

The MSE Equity Price Index fell by 0.24% to 3,870.631 points as the declines in five equities outweighed the gains in HSBC and Lombard. Meanwhile, GO and RS2 closed unchanged as overall trading activity improved to a 1-month high of €0.17 million. Download today’s Equity Market Summary.

In the retail banking sector, HSBC Bank Malta plc advanced by 0.6% to the €0.805 level on three trades totalling 21,034 shares.

Lombard Bank Malta plc climbed 1.6% to the €1.87 level as 6,638 shares changed hands. Lombard is expected to publish its interim results on 26 August 2021.

In contrast, Bank of Valletta plc lost 0.6% to the €0.895 level on four trades totalling 29,908 shares.

Also among the large equities by market capitalisation, Malta International Airport plc moved 0.8% lower to the €6.25 level on four deals totalling 4,020 shares. Yesterday, MIA published its traffic results for the month of July. Last month’s traffic totaled 311,692 passenger movements, which amounts to 39% of the traffic levels in July 2019. Meanwhile, seat capacity deployed on routes to and from Malta was just 35.5% below 2019 levels, whilst the seat load factor stood at 52.6% compared to 87% in the same period in 2019.

Santumas Shareholding plc extended yesterday’s decline as it slumped by a further 42.3% to an over 4-year low of €0.75 on three deals totalling 35,839 shares.

Elsewhere, Harvest Technology plc declined by 1.9% to the €1.55 level on a single trade of 5,000 shares.

Also in the technology segment, BMIT Technologies plc eased by 0.8% to the €0.496 level albeit on just 20,000 shares. Last week, BMIT published its interim results showing record performance on the back of higher demand for cloud services and managed services.

BMIT’s parent company, GO plc traded flat at the €3.44 level on three deals totalling 11,000 shares. On Monday, GO published its interim financial results covering the six-month period ended 30 June 2021. Revenues increased by 2.5% to a record (at interim stage) of €93.9 million compared to €91.6 million in the previous comparable period, reflecting the increased business activity by its subsidiaries Cablenet Communication Systems plc and BMIT Technologies plc. Due to a higher level of expenses, EBITDA eased by 1.9% to €34.8 million which, in turn, translates into an EBITDA margin of 37.1%. For the first time since 2007, the Board of Directors of GO elected to distribute a net interim dividend of €0.07 per share to all shareholders as at close of trading on 16 August 2021.

Similarly, a single deal of 5,900 shares left the ordinary shares of RS2 Software plc unchanged at the €1.76 level. RS2 is expected to publish its interim results on 17 August 2021.

The RF MGS Index erased yesterday’s uplift as it declined by 0.06% to 1,105.401 points. Italy’s Consumer Price Index (‘CPI’) increased by more than expected in July reflecting higher prices of energy products. Similarly in the US, inflation rose more than anticipated amid higher prices of food items and new vehicles.