Kolmar Group Strengthens Shareholder Returns... Large-Scale Treasury Stock Buyback and Cancellation

Vice Chairman Yoon Sang-hyun Emphasizes Shareholder Return Policy
Expresses Confidence in Growth and Commitment to Responsible Management

KOLMAR Korea Comprehensive Technology Institute located in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by KOLMAR Korea]

Yoon Sang-hyun, Vice Chairman of Korea Kolmar Holdings, is pursuing a stable shareholder return policy by purchasing and canceling a large volume of treasury shares this year.

According to industry sources on the 14th, Korea Kolmar Holdings plans to cancel 191,132 treasury shares. This decision to cancel treasury shares comes about a month after completing a cancellation process worth 53.7 billion KRW at the end of January. The amount scheduled for cancellation is approximately 3.06193 billion KRW. The shares are being acquired and canceled within the scope of distributable profits, so there is no reduction in capital stock.

Purchasing treasury shares is a representative shareholder value enhancement policy that demonstrates confidence in the company's growth as well as a commitment to responsible management. It is often carried out under the judgment that the stock price is undervalued relative to the company's value. When a company acquires treasury shares, the number of shares in circulation decreases, which can temporarily lead to a rise in stock price.

Yoon, the eldest son of Korea Kolmar Holdings founder Yoon Dong-han, joined Korea Kolmar as an executive director in 2009 and has been actively involved in company management through aggressive mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In May last year, he played a role in changing the ownership of the American cosmetics manufacturing company with a 100-year history, Kolmar, to Korea Kolmar Holdings. Additionally, in February 2018, he led the acquisition of CJ Healthcare (now HK Innoen), a pharmaceutical affiliate of CJ Group, actively seeking new growth engines for the Kolmar Group. The gastroesophageal reflux disease drug "K-CAB," developed by HK Innoen, achieved cumulative prescription sales of 300 billion KRW within three years of its launch, establishing itself as a new growth engine for HK Innoen.

HK Innoen has recently been actively participating in treasury share purchases and cancellations to increase shareholder value. Last month, it canceled treasury shares worth 24.2 billion KRW, which corresponds to about 2% of the total shares. The shares canceled were 574,608 common shares acquired through a trust contract since February last year.

Kolmar BNH, a health functional food affiliate, also purchased treasury shares worth approximately 10 billion KRW last month, equivalent to 1% of its market capitalization.

A Korea Kolmar Holdings official said, "This large-scale treasury share cancellation is a strong expression of our commitment to enhancing shareholder value," adding, "The Kolmar Group will continue to implement various policies to improve shareholder value."