GO share price falls to 10-week low

 

The MSE Equity Price Index fell by a further 0.41% to 3,993.751 points as the declines in GO, MIDI, MIA, Malita and RS2 outweighed the gains in BOV, Harvest and HSBC. Meanwhile, MPC closed unchanged as overall trading activity rose to just under €0.1 million. Download today’s Equity Market Summary.

GO plc declined by 3.4% to a fresh 10-week low at the €3.40 level as 4,000 shares changed hands. Yesterday, GO announced that the Listing Authority approved the prospectus relating to the 3.5% unsecured bonds with an aggregate principal amount of up to €60 million. GO also explained that further announcements regarding the availability of the prospectus will be made shortly. Meanwhile, GO will be holding its Annual General Meeting tomorrow and the final net dividend of €0.16 per share will be paid on Monday 31 May.

Malta International Airport plc eased by 0.8% to the €6.40 level across 1,753 shares.

A single trade of just 131 shares forced RS2 Software plc 2% lower to the €2.00 level whilst RS2’s preference shares traded unchanged at its all-time high of €1.85 on volumes of 2,550 shares.

In the property sector, MIDI plc failed to hold onto an intra-day high of €0.37 (+2.8%) as it closed 2.8% lower at the €0.35 level across 49,700 shares. Meanwhile, Malita Investments plc slid by 1.1% to a 7-week low at the €0.86 level as 4,500 shares changed hands whilst Malta Properties Company plc closed flat at the €0.545 level across 14,219 shares.

Bank of Valletta plc advanced by 1.1% as it regained the €0.90 level across 13,049 shares.

Similarly, HSBC Bank Malta plc rebounded by 1.2% to the €0.84 level as 11,776 shares changed hands.

Elsewhere, Harvest Technology plc inched 0.6% higher as it returned to the €1.55 level across 8,300 shares.

Today Simonds Farsons Cisk plc published its Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 January 2021 which exceeded the projections published in the Financial Analysis Summary. During the period under review, Farsons generated €73 million in turnover compared to €103.5 million in the previous year – a decrease of 29.4%. The reduction in turnover was experienced across all segments, with the higher drops being registered in the beverage’s importation operations and the franchised food retailing establishments, both of which were heavily impacted by the lack of tourist traffic and the closure and other regulations imposed on hotels, bars and restaurant outlets at various periods during the past financial year. Overall, the Group generated a profit before tax for the year which amounted to €4.4 million, a decrease of €7.9 million over that reported in FY2020. In its commentary, the Directors explained that the immediate outlook remains uncertain, as does the speed at which the economy and the tourism market will re-open and recover to pre-Covid levels. However, given the effectiveness of the vaccine and inoculation programs, the Directors are cautiously optimistic that it will be able to report improved results in FY2022, absent any marked deterioration in the public health outlook. Meanwhile, in view of the ongoing uncertainties caused by the pandemic, the Directors resolved not to recommend the payment of a dividend.

The RF MGS Index registered its strongest uplift in two months as it gained 0.22% to 1,106.138 points as business expectations continued to grow with German and French indexes reporting better than expected survey data for May. Meanwhile in the US, the median house price climbed to a record high as lower interest rates and the recent fiscal stimulus have encouraged people to take out larger loans. Moreover, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (‘CDC’) announced that over 50% of people above the age of 18 in the US are now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. The CDC stated that just under 288 million vaccines have been administered so far.