BOV posts net profit of €56m, share price stays at multi-year low

The MSE Equity Price Index on Tuesday extended Monday's decline as it fell by a further 0.30% to a near 16-month low of 3,639.455 points.

FIMBank, MPC, MaltaPost and Plaza moved lower while Mapfre Middlesea plc added 5.9% to the €2.14 level across 5,000 shares. Meanwhile, four companies ended unchanged as overall trading activity contracted to €0.06 million compared to €0.12 million on Monday.

Bank of Valletta closed the session unchanged at its multi-year low of €0.77 across 7,991 shares.

On Tuesday BOV published its results for the financial year ended 31 December 2021. Net interest income increased by 6.5% to €156.3 million as gross interest income increased by 2.4% to €194.8 million whilst interest expense dropped by 11.4% to €38.5 million. Similarly, BOV also recorded growth in non-interest income as this increased by 2.1% to €86.6 million. On the other hand, operating costs surged by 14.8% to €195.6 million reflecting increases across all lines of expenditure.

Meanwhile, the bank’s financial performance was boosted by a net release of expected credit losses amounting to €18.9 million compared to a net charge of €56.6 million in 2020. Moreover, BOV recorded higher profits...