THE vast majority of companies listed on the Cyprus Stock Exchange showed gains in the first six months of the year, slightly up from 2005, a report from the bourse revealed yesterday.
Out of 143 companies, 48 showed losses ranging from one per cent to 63 per cent. In 2005, around 52 companies sustained losses in their share prices.
Gains ranging from one per cent to 470 per cent were recorded in the remainder of the companies in the first six months of this year, with the biggest gainers in the banking sector, particularly Hellenic Bank.
On December 31 last year, Hellenic shares were worth only 57 cents but by the end of last week they had jumped to £1.30, an increase of 128 per cent.
Bank of Cyprus shares increased from £2.63 to £4.18 and Laiki from £1.83 to £2.73 in the same period.
Other big movers on the bourse included Lordos Hotel Holdings, which jumped from 15 cents in December to 45 cents, an increase of 363 per cent.
Christis Dairies gained 15 cents in the first six months, from 11 cents to 26, while Woolworth stocks added 24 cents to 49 cents, an increase of 96 per cent.
In fact, the retail sector was one of the biggest gainers, next to the banks. In addition to Woolworth, CTC shares added 16 cents to 46 cents, and Mallouppas and Papacostas six cents, a 75 per cent increase.
Also showing gains across the board was the real estate sector, with hikes of between 4.26 per cent and 70 per cent. But the media sector did not fare well. All three listed companies, Kronos Distribution, Multichoice and Telemarketing all dropped slightly during the six-month period.
The construction sector almost mirrored last year’s results with five gainers and six losers in the sector, while equity investment firms improved their performance with only seven losing companies out of the 30 listed under this category. Last year, 12 companies in the sector lost ground.
Food producers also lost ground this year, with six showing drops in share prices and only three on the rise this year.
In the travel and leisure sector, where 28 companies are listed, ten sustained a drop in stock prices. Cyprus Airways stocks have only gained one cent in the past six months, putting the share price at the end of last week at 16 cents.
