PSP Swiss Property is to buy back up to 5% of its issued shares over the next three years. The company said it is opening a Second Trading Line on the SIX Swiss Exchange on 23 October to repurchase up to 2.3 million shares. The buyback programme will run until April 2011 at the latest.
PSP Swiss Property is to buy back up to 5% of its issued shares over the next three years. The company said it is opening a Second Trading Line on the SIX Swiss Exchange on 23 October to repurchase up to 2.3 million shares. The buyback programme will run until April 2011 at the latest.
Explaining the move, the Swiss property company said the international finance and capital markets have not recovered yet and shares will be bought for cancellation only if the price 'falls off sharply' compared to the net asset value (NAV). NAV stood at CHF 60.22 in mid-2008, while the share price closed at CHF 57.20 on Monday.
The Second Trading Line method is widely used by listed Swiss companies to buy back shares. Under the scheme, a trading line in which only the firm itself can buy shares is opened on the stock exchange parallel to the standard open trading in the shares.
PSP Swiss Property confirmed its positive outlook for 2008, with EBITA (earnings before interest, tax and amortisation) rising to CHF 205 mln from CHF 194 mln a year earlier. The company is to publish its third-quarter figures on 14 November.
Listed since March 2000, PSP Swiss Property has a market capitalisation of CHF 2.7 bn and owns office and commercial properties valued at CHF 5.1 bn in Swiss cities.
