Hyundai Motor Co. said on Wednesday it will buy back 1 trillion won ($720 million) in shares in line with the government campaign to unlock corporate value with shareholder-friendly measures.
Starting on Nov. 28, the country’s largest carmaker will buy back 3,906,545 common shares for 873.1 billion won and 758,323 preferred and other types of shares for 126.8 billion won. It will complete the repurchase on Feb. 27, 2025 through Hyundai Motor Securities Co.
Hyundai will retire 70% of them and grant the remaining 300 billion won in treasury stock to its employees as compensation. The buyback prices are based on its Tuesday closing prices.
The move falls in line with its pledge in August to cancel about 4 trillion won in treasury stock over the next three years, starting in 2025.
At the 2024 CEO Investor Day forum in August, Hyundai Motor CEO Chang Jaehoon said the company will return 35% or more of its net profit to shareholders in dividend or treasury stock retirement annually.
Shares in Hyundai Motor have gained 10.2% year to date, against a 6.3% drop in the broader Kospi index over the same period.
Its buyback announcement came more than a week after Samsung Electronics Co. unveiled a 10-trillion-won share repurchase plan.
SK Square Co., the investment arm of SK Group and tobacco maker KT&G Corp. followed suit with buyback announcements.
By Jin-Won Kim
Jin1@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.
