Telenet’s board of directors announces a gross intermediate dividend of €1.375 per share and a share buy-back program of up to €45.0 million, equivalent to up to 1.1 million outstanding shares
The enclosed information constitutes regulated information as defined in the Royal Decree of 14 November 2007 on the obligations of issuers of financial instruments admitted to trading on a regulated market. Inside information.
Mechelen, October 28, 2021 – Telenet Group Holding NV (“Telenet” or the “Company”) (Euronext Brussels: TNET) announces that its board of directors has decided to propose to the Special Shareholders' Meeting in December 2021 to approve the payment of a gross intermediate dividend[1] of €1.375 per share (€150.4 million in total[2]). If and when approved, the intermediate dividend will be paid on December 8, 2021, with the Telenet shares trading ex-dividend on Euronext Brussels as of December 6, 2021. Telenet’s board of directors firmly supports the Company’s strategy and remains committed to drive sustainable long-term shareholder value. In line with Telenet’s shareholder remuneration policy and leverage framework, the board of directors has approved a share buy-back program of up to €45.0 million, equivalent to up to 1.1 million shares. The commitment to repurchase its own shares underpins the board’s confidence in Telenet’s growth profile and the Company’s appealing intrinsic valuation. In light of today’s announcements and considering potential future M&A opportunities, the board of directors reaffirms its intention to continue to execute the €2.75 per share dividend floor (gross), as evidenced by its proposal to pay a €1.375 per share gross intermediate dividend in early December 2021.
Today’s announcement is consistent with the updated shareholder remuneration policy outlined by the Company in October last year, which consists of a fixed gross dividend per share floor of €2.75 (€300.8 million in total2) against the backdrop of a 4.0x net total leverage target in absence of any material acquisitions and/or significant changes in Telenet’s business or regulatory environment. Within the boundaries of Telenet’s shareholder remuneration policy, the remaining part of its Adjusted Free Cash Flow can still be considered for accretive acquisitions, extraordinary dividends, incremental share buy-backs, deleveraging or a combination thereof.
The aforementioned intermediate dividend is intended to be complemented by a gross dividend of €1.375 per share next year, subject to board and shareholder approval at the April 2022 AGM and assuming no significant changes in our business or regulatory environment and leverage framework. If and when approved, the latter dividend would then be paid early May next year.
1The distributable amounts for the intermediate dividend in December 2021 have been determined on the basis of the 2020 financial statements as per Belgian law
2On the basis of 109,377,020 dividend-entitled shares outstanding as per the date of this press release