iRemit shares jump after stock buyback

MANILA, Philippines—Shares of remittance iRemit Inc. surged by 21.67 percent after the company announced that it had bought back shares from the open market.

In a disclosure posted on the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, iRemit said it had bought a total of 910,000 common shares at prices of between P2.60 and P3 per share on August 31.

Given this signal that iRemit was supporting its share prices through this buyback, iRemit shares jumped to P3.20 per share from Friday’s finish of P2.63 per share. The stock also hit a 52-week high of P3.25 in intraday trade on Monday.

The company said this buyback was in line with a share buyback program approved by its board in September 2011.

The buyback brought iRemit’s treasury shares after the transaction to 17.228 million, or about 1.1 percent of the company’s total outstanding stock.

iRemit has a free float of about 26 percent. Based on Monday’s closing, the company had a market capitalization of P1.58 billion.

A profitable company typically buys back shares when it deems that these are undervalued by the market.

Recently, iRemit said it’s expecting a 5 to 7 percent growth in remittances with the expansion of its global network, broadening of its market share and with more Filipinos shifting to formal cash transfer channels.

IRemit posted $1.4 billion in inbound remittances in 2011.

Originally posted at 05:42 pm | Monday, September 03, 2012