Celltrion has completed the process of canceling about 100 billion won worth of treasury shares. If additional buybacks and cancellations proceed as scheduled, the cumulative cancellation this year is expected to reach about 2 trillion won.
Celltrion said on the 4th that the cancellation of 488,977 treasury shares was finally reflected through a listing change. As a result, the number of shares outstanding decreased to about 221.63 million.
This cancellation follows the previously disclosed plan to acquire and cancel in full 100 billion won worth of treasury shares. The company expects earnings per share (EPS) and per-share value to improve as the number of shares outstanding declines.
Celltrion is also pursuing additional shareholder return measures. It is currently buying an additional 100 billion won worth of treasury shares, and plans to cancel those shares within the year as well. The company noted that if the additional cancellation is completed, the cumulative size of treasury share cancellations this year will reach about 2 trillion won.
Over the past three years, Celltrion has canceled about 18.56 million treasury shares. This is equivalent to about 8.4% of the current shares outstanding.
The company is also moving forward with the shareholder return policy released last month. It is pursuing a bonus issue of about 10.92 million shares and is proceeding with procedures for the company and the largest shareholder to each purchase 100 billion won in shares, totaling 200 billion won. Employees also plan to participate in share acquisition through an employee stock offering.
Celltrion posted consolidation-based revenue of 1.145 trillion won and operating profit of 321.9 billion won in the first quarter of this year. Based on the expansion of biosimilar products, new drug development, and the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business, the company has set targets for this year of 5.3 trillion won in revenue and 1.8 trillion won in operating profit.
A Celltrion official said, "The successive cancellations and additional buybacks of treasury shares reflect confidence in the company's growth potential and corporate value," adding, "We will both expand shareholder returns and strengthen business competitiveness."