By Sean Carney
PRAGUE--Telefonica Czech Republic AS (BAATELEC.PR) won't
increase the size of its share buyback this year above the
announced level of 2% of outstanding shares and needs no additional
financing to execute the plan, its chief financial officer said
Wednesday.
"At this stage I don't think you can expect another 1% this
year," Chief Financial Officer Jesus Perez de Uriguen said on a
conference call. "Regarding the financing of the share buyback
program, this year we don't need leverage to finance it at all. In
2013 it's too preliminary to say how we'll finance it but we'll say
in the [upcoming] quarterly calls."
The company acquired 1.7 million of its own shares as of July
20, equaling 0.54% of registered capital, at an average price of
383.3 koruna ($18.27) a share using cash on hand for the purchase
totaling CZK663 million, the company said.
Telefonica Czech this year approved buying back up to 10% of its
shares from the market and said it would aim to buy 2% of shares
this year, starting in May.
"Originally we thought it would take a quarter and a half, but
we started slowly and will be finalizing [this phase of the
buyback] in November or December," Mr. Perez de Uriguen said.
The board of directors at Czech Telefonica, majority-owned by
Spain's Telefonica SA (TEF), has proposed to shareholders that all
acquired shares be cancelled at the next annual general meeting and
to reduce registered capital by the amount of the nominal value of
the acquired shares.
Earlier Wednesday, the company reported smaller-than-expected
declines in its second-quarter net profit and revenue, but
confirmed its full-year guidance.
Write to Sean Carney at sean.carney@dowjones.com
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