"Up to 110 Trillion Won in Shareholder Returns This Year"... Weakness After Announcement

[Anchor]

Samsung Electronics has announced plans for shareholder returns of up to 110 trillion won this year. The company decided to issue 30 trillion won in dividends for the third quarter alone, with detailed return plans to be released soon.

Reporter Kim Hye-min has the details.

[Reporter]

Samsung Electronics held a board meeting and approved the implementation plan for this year's shareholder returns, estimated at approximately 90 trillion to 110 trillion won.

This is about five times the scale of 2020, which was previously the largest ever.

First, approximately 30 trillion won will be paid out in cash dividends during the third quarter of this year, including regular quarterly dividends. The exact amount will be finalized at a board meeting in late October.

The remaining shareholder return methods will be finalized and announced at a board meeting in January next year, when this year's business performance is confirmed.

This round of returns follows the three-year shareholder return policy announced in 2024.

Samsung Electronics previously pledged to return 50 percent of the free cash flow generated from 2024 through this year to shareholders.

As a result, a total of 29.3 trillion won has been returned over the past two years through regular and special dividends as well as the purchase and retirement of treasury shares.

Adding the 90 trillion to 110 trillion won scheduled for this year, the total shareholder return scale over the three-year period is projected to reach between 120 trillion and 140 trillion won.

Separately, Samsung Electronics also approved a plan to buy back 15 trillion won worth of treasury shares.

Aimed at funding special management performance bonuses agreed upon with the labor union, the company plans to make open-market purchases over three months starting on the 24th.

Samsung Electronics shares rose 3.8% during regular trading amid expectations of a large-scale shareholder return announcement, and the KOSPI also rose 0.88%.

[Interview / Han Ji-young / Kiwoom Securities: Because the scale itself is 100 trillion won, the amount is substantial. Next week, overall, these two stocks, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, will serve as a safety net for domestic supply and demand.]

However, Samsung Electronics appeared to give up its gains on alternative trading platforms following the public disclosure.

Alongside interpretations that profit-taking emerged due to the dissipation of expectations, opinions were also raised that it looked somewhat lacking compared to SK Hynix, which had promised "over" 50 percent of its free cash flow for shareholder returns.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
Reported by Lee Moo-jin | Video by Choi Hye-young | Graphics by Im Chan-hyuk
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.