Samsung to buy back stock worth $7.16 billion to boost shareholder value

Seoul : Samsung Electronics said on Friday it will buy back its own shares worth a combined 10 trillion won ($7.16 billion) over the next year as part of efforts to boost its shareholder value following a recent slide in its stock price.

In the buyback plan approved by the board of directors, a combined 3 trillion won of shares will be bought back within three months starting Monday and continuing until February 17, the company said in a statement.

For the remaining 7 trillion won, the company will decide on how and when to utilize them from the perspective of enhancing shareholder value at subsequent board meetings, reports Yonhap news agency.

Shares in Samsung have been on a sharp decline in recent months, hitting 49,900 won on Thursday, the lowest since June 2020. The drop comes amid disappointing earnings and a negative outlook for the global semiconductor industry under the incoming Donald Trump administration in the United States.

Samsung said it remains committed to delivering "sustainable shareholder value" and will work to enhance the "long-term value" of the company.

Previously, the Korean chip giant executed a share buyback program in 2017, repurchasing shares worth 9.3 trillion won and cancelling half of the treasury stocks to improve shareholder value.

Meanwhile, Samsung and its largest labour union reached a preliminary agreement on a 5.1 per cent pay increase, officials said, paving the way for ending stalled wage negotiations that have involved a weeks-long strike.

The tech giant and the National Samsung Electronics Union -- which represents 31,000 workers, or about 24 percent of the company's workforce -- have held multiple rounds of talks since January over the wage increase rate, vacation systems and bonuses without avail.

The union demanded a 5.6 per cent basic pay raise for all members, a guaranteed day off on the union's founding day and compensation for economic losses due to the strike, while the company offered a 5.1 percent increase in wages.