Lombard share price gains 5%

 

The MSE Equity Price Index opened the week in positive territory as it added 0.05% to 3,862.786 points. The uplift in the share price of Lombard outweighed the declines in BMIT, Malita and Plaza. Meanwhile, Mapfre and PG traded unchanged as overall trading activity remained muted at just €0.05 million. Download today’s Equity Market Summary.

Lombard Bank Malta plc surged by 5.4% to the €1.95 level on a single deal of 7,900 shares.

On the other hand, BMIT Technologies plc eased by 0.4% to the €0.494 level on just 1,950 shares.

Malita Investments plc moved 1.2% lower to a three-month low of €0.81 on heightened activity totalling 24,300 shares.

Also in the property sector, Plaza Centres plc extended last Friday’s drop as it fell by a further 7.7% back to the €0.90 level albeit on trivial volumes.

Elsewhere, PG plc remained at the €2.48 level on a single trade of 4,745 shares.

Similarly, Mapfre Middlesea plc stayed at the €2.20 level on negligible volumes.

Last Friday, Malta International Airport plc announced that during the month of October, it welcomed 428,426 passengers which is the strongest monthly figure since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The airport operator also provided information about its financial performance and position until September 2021. In this respect, MIA explained that revenues amounted to €32.3 million compared to €25 million in the same period in 2020 and €77.3 million in 2019. As the airport operator continued to exercise strict control over costs, operating expenses contracted by 9.3% to €16.5 million compared to €18.2 million in 2020. As a result of the considerable increase in revenues and the reduction in costs, EBITDA more than doubled to €15.8 million compared to €6.8 million in 2020. However, this is still 68.2% lower than the EBITDA of €49.6 million recorded in Q1-Q3 2019. From a financial position perspective, cash balances dropped by €10.6 million to €20.5 million compared to €31 million as at the end of 2020. On the other hand, the airport operator remained free from any bank and other borrowings.

The RF MGS Index advanced by 0.23% to 1,088.980 points as eurozone yields continued to slide from their recent highs. Today, ECB President Christine Lagarde addressed the EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee during which she explained that eurozone GDP is expected to exceed pre-pandemic level by the end of this year. With regards to inflation, Lagarde explained that the primary factors driving the higher-than-expected increase in prices are energy costs, supply-chain bottlenecks, and pent-up demand.