Hyundai Motor to buy back $720 mn in shares

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 through shareholder-friendly measures.

Starting on Nov. 28, the country’s largest automaker 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 the repurchased shares and award the remaining 300 billion won in treasury stock to its employees as compensation. The buyback prices are based on its Tuesday closing price.

The move aligns with its pledge in August to cancel about 4 trillion won in treasury stock over the next three years, beginning 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 annually in dividend or treasury stock retirement.

Shares of Hyundai Motor have gained 10.2% year to date, compared to a 6.3% drop in the broader Kospi index over the same period.

The carmaker's buyback announcement came just over 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.

Write to Jin-Won Kim at Jin1@hankyung.com
 

Yeonhee Kim edited this article.