Toyota Motor Corp announced a ￥100 billion (US$827 million) stock buyback, with its shares trading more than 10 percent off recent highs.
The Japanese automaker said that it was taking the share price into account and being “more flexible” than ever in its implementation of buybacks, a company filing with the Tokyo Stock Exchange said.
Toyota would repurchase the shares between Thursday and May 10, around the time it typically announces full-year earnings.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Toyota usually announces share buybacks at the same time as it reports. A ￥150 billion buyback flagged in November last year concluded earlier this month.
Since that announcement, the company has been buffeted by disruptions, including a cyberattack on a supplier, and production suspensions caused by earthquakes in Japan and COVID-19 outbreaks in China.
Toyota shares yesterday rose 3.99 percent to close at ￥2,137 in Tokyo trading.
Buybacks have been on investors’ minds this week in Asia, after shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) surged following its announcement of an expanded US$25 billion repurchase.
Xiaomi Corp (小米) shares yesterday jumped as much as 6.3 percent in early trading in Hong Kong after posting better-than-expected results and declaring that it would begin buying as much as HK$10 billion (US$1.28 billion) of its own shares.
The company reported a 40 percent jump in adjusted net income to 4.47 billion yuan (US$701.11 million) in the fourth quarter of last year, while sales increased 21 percent to 85.6 billion yuan.
That was despite prolonged component shortages and fluctuating producer prices in the second half of last year.
Investors are betting that Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊) could be next to jump on the bandwagon.
“Alibaba and Xiaomi have probably kick-started shareholders’ focus on buybacks after a horrendous performance in share prices in the last year,” Kamet Capital Partners Pte Ltd chief investment officer Kerry Goh said.
“Tougher restrictions on investing in other firms, coupled with a strong balance sheet and good cash flow, should motivate Tencent to do a share buyback like the others,” Goh said.
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