Rizzo, Farrugia & Co. (Stockbrokers) Ltd. - Malta » 2010

Acquisition of Corinthia Brand

christopher.mallia — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 15:21:54 +0000

On 30 December, International Hotel Investments plc announced that it completed the acquisition of Corinthia Hotels brand name from Corinthia Place Hotel Company Limited. The Board considers the ownership of the brand as an important step forward in successfully positioning itself as a major international hotel operator in the five-star segment through its subsidiary CHI Limited.

Employee Share Option Scheme

christopher.mallia — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 13:08:48 +0000

On 30 December, RS2 Software plc announced the implementation of a share option scheme within the terms and conditions set out in the IPO Prospectus of the Company issued on 16 May 2008. The Board of Directors has resolved to set up a trust, named RS2 Employee Trust, to encourage the participation of employees in the ownership of the Company through a share option scheme.

The RS2 Employee Trust has been funded through a loan by the Company and which will be repaid back by the Trust by not later than 31 December 2022 or upon termination of the Trust, whichever is the first to occur.

The announcement also states that the Trust purchased a total of 750,000 RS2 shares on 29 and 30 December 2010 at €0.48 per share. As a result, the Trust holds 2% of the Company’s issued share capital and voting rights. The shares will be held by the Trust in order to satisfy the future exercise of options to be granted to employees via the share option scheme. When the options are exercised by the respective option holders, the share capital of the Company will not be diluted.

Increase in shareholding in Forthnet

christopher.mallia — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 08:07:26 +0000

On 29 December, Forthnet S.A. announced that its largest shareholder Forgendo Ltd (the joint venture company between GO and its majority shareholder Emirates International Telecommunications) increased its shareholding through an acquisition of a further 159,629 shares. Forgendo acquired 109,830 shares on 27 December for a total consideration of €62,449.34 equivalent to €0.569 per share and a further 49,799 shares on 28 December for a total consideration of €28,001.98 equivalent to €0.562 per share. Following this additional purchase of shares via the Athens Stock Exchange, Forgendo’s equity stake in Forthnet has increased from 40.85% to 40.95%.

So far during 2010 Forgendo acquired a total of 5,983,285 Forthnet shares for a total sum of €5,615,991 representing an average cost price of €0.939 per share. Forthnet’s closing price on the Athens Stock Exchange on 29 December was of €0.58.

Acquisition of shareholding in Softweb

christopher.mallia — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 08:05:49 +0000

On 28 December, 6pm Holdings plc confirmed the acquisition of a 70% equity stake in Softweb Ltd – a leading player in the local ICT industry providing software solutions in the fields of accounting, insurance, shipping, human resources, payroll and point of sale. This acquisition was funded through the capitalisation of a balance due by Softweb to 6pm amounting to €105,000.

As a majority shareholder of Softweb, 6pm is now entitled to nominate and appoint three directors to the Board of Softweb with the other shareholders entitled to nominate and appoint another Director. 6pm have appointed Ivan Bartolo, Stephen Chetcuti and Peter Bugeja as Directors of Softweb.

Interim Results

christopher.mallia — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 12:23:59 +0000

On 28 December, PAVI Shopping Complex plc published its financial results for the six months ended 31 October 2010. The financial statements show a 4.5% increase in turnover to almost €14.2 million coupled with an overall marginal decline in in operational costs. This led to a substantial improvement in the company’s pre-tax profit to €427,197 from the level of €205,706 recorded in the same period last year.

The Directors explained that during the period under review it re-purchased and subsequently cancelled €780,473 (nominal) of its 7% Secured Bonds which are listed on the Alternative Companies List of the Malta Stock Exchange and are due to mature in 2017.

In conclusion, the Directors expressed their confidence that the company’s financial performance will continue to improve in the foreseeable future.

Increase in shareholding in Forthnet

christopher.mallia — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 10:15:10 +0000

On 23 December, Forthnet S.A. announced that its largest shareholder Forgendo Ltd (the joint venture company between GO and its majority shareholder Emirates International Telecommunications) increased its shareholding through an acquisition of a further 174,990 shares. These shares were acquired on 21 December for a total consideration of €104,854.01 (equivalent to €0.599 per share). Following this additional purchase of shares via the Athens Stock Exchange, Forgendo’s equity stake in Forthnet has increased from 40.74% to 40.85%.

So far during 2010 Forgendo acquired a total of 5,823,656 Forthnet shares for a total sum of €5,525,540 representing an average cost price of €0.949 per share. Forthnet’s closing price on the Athens Stock Exchange on 23 December was of €0.58.

Board Meeting

christopher.mallia — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 10:00:54 +0000

On 24 December, FIMBank plc announced that its Board of Directors is scheduled to meet on Thursday 3 March 2011 to consider and approve the Group’s and the Bank’s audited accounts for the financial year ending 31 December 2010. The Directors will also consider the recommendation of a dividend.

Interim Results

christopher.mallia — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 14:39:26 +0000

On 23 December, Santumas Shareholdings plc published its interim report for the six months ended 31 October 2010. During the period under review there was no movement in the Company’s property portfolio. On the other hand, the company’s equity holdings moved broadly in line with the MSE Share Index and thus resulted in an unrealised loss of €110,268 compared to the unrealised profits of €243,277 registered in the comparable period last year. The downturn in the equity component led to a pre-tax loss of €60,668 compared to a profit before tax of €321,466 recorded in the comparable six month period ended 31 October 2009. After accounting for taxation, the Company’s net loss for the period under review was €81,517 in contrast to the profit of €295,878 registered in the corresponding period last year.

The Directors also reported that dividends and interest income increased by just over 2% from the corresponding period last year.

Despite registering a loss, the Company is paying a special net interim dividend of €0.026 per share (as approved during the Annual General Meeting held on 25 November 2010). This dividend is being funded through a write back of unclaimed dividends which have been outstanding for more than twelve years.

Increase in Share Capital

christopher.mallia — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 14:32:14 +0000

On 23 December, Melita Capital plc announced that with effect from the 21 December 2010 the authorised share capital was increased from €1,000,000 to €5,000,000. Concurrently the issued share capital was raised by €4.5 million to €4,676,400 divided into 4,676,400 ordinary shares of a nominal value of €1 per share. The capital injection of €4.5 million was made by the company’s major shareholder, Superholdco Limited, details of which were given in the previous announcement. The funds from this cash capital injection will be on-lent to Melita Mobile Limited (30% owned by Melita Capital plc) to be used for the continued operation and development of its mobile business.

As a result, the shareholding in Melita Capital is now split as follows:

Superholdco Limited	4,676,399 ordinary shares	99.99998%
Honey II Group Limited	1 ordinary share	0.00002%

In the announcement the Directors also gave an update on the performance of Melita Capital plc. The Directors explained that the performance of its fully owned subsidiary, Melita Infrastructure Limited, was in line with expectations backed by the growth in demand for IP based services from Melita plc. Furthermore, the Directors also stated that the afore-mentioned capital injection in Melita Capital plc to fund the ongoing growth of Melita Mobile Ltd is a reflection of the shareholders’ confidence in the mobile business.

Details of CPA Agreement

christopher.mallia — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 11:46:14 +0000

On 23 December, RS2 Software plc gave details of the three-year comprehensive package agreement it revealed in its Interim Directors Statement published on 18 November. The contract was signed with the German payment service provider, KPS Payment GmbH und Co. KG (the payment service provider for CTS Eventim AG). RS2 Software will provide KPS with the BankWORKS system and any future modules together with system maintenance, mandated releases of card schemes and 24/7 support.

Through BankWORKS, KPS will be able to further optimise and streamline the payment processing in the e-commerce business.