Kumho Petrochemical Decides to Cancel 150 Billion KRW Treasury Shares... Expanding Shareholder Return Policy

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] Kumho Petrochemical announced on the 20th that its board of directors decided to cancel treasury shares following the completion of acquiring treasury shares worth 150 billion KRW. The scheduled cancellation date is the 27th of this month.

Kumho Petrochemical conducted the purchase of treasury shares for cancellation purposes through a trust contract over six months starting in March, completing the total 66 rounds of treasury share acquisitions earlier than planned by more than two months in early July.

The treasury shares to be canceled amount to a total of 981,532 shares, representing 3.2% of the total issued common shares, valued at approximately 150 billion KRW. This corresponds to 15.2% of the separate net profit. This exceeds the company's previously announced plan to use 5-10% of last year's separate net profit for treasury share acquisition and cancellation by more than 5 percentage points.

Additionally, Kumho Petrochemical paid dividends this year of 10,000 KRW per common share and 10,050 KRW per preferred share, totaling approximately 280.9 billion KRW.

Combining the scale of canceled treasury shares and dividends, the total shareholder return amounts to 430.9 billion KRW, which is 43.7% of the separate net profit.

Baek Jong-hoon, CEO of Kumho Petrochemical, stated, "Despite external uncertainties, achieving record-high performance last year with market-leading products and services is thanks to the shareholders who trusted and supported the company. We ask for continuous encouragement and support so that we can expand our shareholder return policy."

Furthermore, this decision marks the first board activity of Park Jun-kyung, Vice President and Head of Sales Division, who was appointed as an inside director this year. Vice President Park is a sales expert who has been responsible for overseas and domestic sales operations at Kumho Petrochemical for over 10 years and took charge of the sales division overseeing sales activities last year.

A Kumho Petrochemical official explained, "It is particularly meaningful that Vice President Park, who prioritizes enhancing shareholder value in management, began his board activities by completing this record-high shareholder return policy. We expect that Park, with his fresh perspective, will bring new momentum to the board."