HPO "We Will Enhance Shareholder Value and Strengthen Responsible Management"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Premium health functional food specialist company HPIO announced on the 21st that it will continue shareholder-friendly actions to enhance shareholder value and stabilize stock prices.

On the 16th, HPIO disclosed that it signed a contract to directly acquire approximately 300,000 treasury shares on the market. According to the disclosure, HPIO will directly acquire treasury shares equivalent to about 1.5% of the total issued shares by September 16.

This proactive shareholder-friendly approach by HPIO is not the first. Last October, HPIO announced plans to directly acquire 300,000 treasury shares and completed the acquisition within the scheduled period (3 months). At that time, the total acquisition amount of treasury shares reached approximately 4.5 billion KRW.

Moreover, at the end of last year, the first fiscal year after listing, HPIO conducted a differentiated cash dividend. While minority shareholders received 300 KRW per common share, the largest shareholder and CEO Lee Hyun-yong received 75 KRW per share. This method minimized cash outflow for long-term company growth while allowing minority shareholders to secure a dividend yield of about 2% based on market price.

HPIO’s executives also participated in strengthening responsible management and enhancing shareholder value. In January of this year, CEO Lim Sung-bin and CEO Oh Seung-chan, who were appointed as co-CEOs in September last year, declared responsible management and each acquired shares worth approximately 100 million KRW on the market.

An HPIO official stated, “Thanks to the growth of overseas businesses and domestic subsidiaries in the first quarter, we recorded the highest-ever consolidated sales, and HPIO has convened a shareholders’ meeting in July for a new business to be launched soon. Based on this growth, HPIO plans to continuously establish shareholder return policies, share them with shareholders, and communicate.”