Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1477178
3 NEWS 25.08.2022 Supply chain disruption, increased cost of steel and aluminium could delay completion Mercury Towers project FROM PAGE 1 e car park underlying the second phase of the development, the commer- cial mall and the serviced apartments are all constructed in shell, save for a few units which could not be roofed due to logistical circumstances. Construction of the hotel tower has reached level 17. e project proceeded without any major interruptions during the most challenging months of the COVID-19 pandemic and has now entered the sec- ond stage which involves the finishing of the building. To date the funding of this project is mainly emanating from proceeds of sold units which stand at 98% of total units for sale for the first phase of the project. Sale of units on the second phase of the project stand at 67% of total units. ere was a cancellation of an existing promise of sale agreement on one unit during the first semester of this year. e unit was re-sold within one week. During the second half of 2022, Mer- cury Towers Ltd is expected to acquire a further 68% of Mercury Car Park Ltd from Bersella Holdings Ltd, bringing its total holding to 93% in the said compa- ny. e company acknowledged that cer- tain works are being negatively impact- ed by delays resulting from disruptions in the supply of materials due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which may de- lay the completion of the project when compared to the original plans. Furthermore, some increases in costs were noted, more specifically on steel and aluminium, however, the Group has managed to fix and secure prices of the main supplies required, thus mitigating the risk of future increases in prices. Trading performance Mercury Projects Finance p.l.c., which was incorporated on 16 January 2019, was established as a special purpose vehicle to act as the finance arm of the Group, the parent company being Mer- cury Towers Ltd. On 4 March 2019, the Company is- sued €11,500,000 3.75% secured bonds maturing in 2027 (Series I Bonds) and €11,000,000 4.25% secured bonds ma- turing in 2031 (Series II Bonds) . Both bonds were issued at a nominal value of €100 per bond. ese bonds were admitted to the official list of the Mal- ta Stock Exchange with effect from 29 March 2019 and trading in the bonds commenced on 5 April 2019. In accordance with the provisions of the prospectus dated 4 March 2019, the proceeds from the bond issue have been advanced by way of loan facility to Mercury Towers Ltd for the purpose of refinancing existing bank loans and construction and finishing of project el- ements at the Mercury site in St. Julians owned by the guarantor. On 21 March 2022, the Company is- sued a further €50,000,000 4.3% secured bonds maturing in 2032. ese bonds were issued at a nominal value of€ 100 per bond and were admitted to the of- ficial list of the Malta Stock Exchange with effect from 26 April 2022. Trading in the bonds commenced on 27 April 2022. e proceeds from this bond issue have, once again, been advanced by way of a loan facility to Mercury Towers Ltd in accordance with the provisions of the prospectus dated 22 March 2022 for the purpose of construction and finishing of project elements, namely the hotel, at the same Mercury site in St. Julians, as well as for general corporate funding requirements. Interest income during this six-month period amounted to €1,030,466 (2021 - €555,808). Profit before taxation for the same period was €1 I 8,896 (2021 - €70,236). e directors anticipate pro-rata changes in the interest income and expenditure relating to the March 2022 Bond Issue during the forthcom- ing six months. e accounting policies applied in these interim financial state- ments are consistent with those applied in the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2021. Group companies As at 30 June 2022, Mercury Projects Finance p.l.c. was a subsidiary of Mer- cury Towers Ltd, which also held Mer- cury Hotel Ltd, Mercury Car Park II Ltd and Mercury Commercial Mall Ltd, as other fully owned subsidiaries. MONEYBASE has just announced that customers using the Moneybase Invest app and web platform can now access the US markets during pre- and post-market hours, giving investors an additional nine and a half hours of trading. Alan Cuschieri, co-CEO at Calamatta Cuschieri said: "is is yet another first for Malta brought to the market by Mon- eybase. Investors using the Moneybase platform can now choose to react to mar- ket-moving news before markets open for the main session. We are maximising investors' ability to tap into investment opportunities and also providing conven- ience around the time investors can make focused decisions. I also wish to take this opportunity to thank our clients for sup- porting us and ultimately making these features possible." With pre-market trading, investors can place orders as early as 10am and after hours until 2am in local time (CEST), before and after the U.S. stock exchang- es are open. All stocks and ETFs trading on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq will be available outside regular market hours. Moneybase users have access to a wide array of investment opportunities with over 20,000 stocks, bonds, funds and ETFs. ey can also access extensive pay- ments functionality, including SEPA pay- ments, make use of a personal IBAN on their e-money accounts, pay with a phys- ical and virtual Mastercard, and make in- stant person –to-person payments. Visit moneybase.com for more information. Moneybase users are invited to be part of this exciting journey and have their say in shaping the next-generation finan- cial platform by joining the online public roadmap, community page and Facebook group. To access Moneybase, users may download the app from either the An- droid or Apple Store. Visit www.money- base.com for more information. Moneybase launches extended hours trading Condensed consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income To date the funding of the Mercury Towers project is mainly emanating from proceeds of sold units