London, 2Mar2001
Italy's Eni bought back 1.4% of its issued share capital in February for a total Eur738-mil ($690-mil), the first of a program to repurchase up to 10% of the oil and gas group's stock, Eni CEO Vittorio Mincato said late Thursday.
Speaking to analysts in London, Mincato said Eni plans to continue repurchasing its stock but gave no indication of how much the company aims to spend on buybacks this year. Shareholders approved Eni's plans to buy back up to 800-mil shares, for a total of Eur3.4-bil last June. At the time, Eni was criticized for attempting to prop up its sagging share price by manufacturing a short-term lift in earnings per share, one of the effect of reducing traded share capital through buybacks.
Platts.com
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Italy's Eni buys back 1.4% of share capital for $690-mil
Italy's Eni bought back 1.4% of its issued share ...
