Share buybacks hit S$586m in Q3, pushing total 9-month consideration up 150% on year

A TOTAL of 46 primary-listed companies bought back shares amounting to S$586 million in the third quarter of 2022, announced the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in a market update on Thursday (Oct 6).

This brings the total buyback consideration for the first nine months of 2022 to slightly over S$1.5 billion – up about 150 per cent from S$609 million for the nine months in 2021.

While the quarter’s total consideration was down from S$657 million for the previous quarter, it was higher than the S$241 million in consideration recorded in Q3 of 2021. Buybacks for the quarter were conducted at an average price of S$0.382 per share.

July 2022 saw the least monthly buyback consideration filed for Singapore’s primary-listed stocks since the same period a year ago. SGX attributed this to a seasonal effect leading into seasonal semi-annual reporting.

The following month of August 2022 saw the highest buyback since the “comparatively more volatile” conditions of March 2020, added the bourse.

The Straits Times Index (STI) generated a 0.9 per cent price gain over Q3 of 2022, with dividends boosting total returns to 2.4 per cent. This is compared to a 3.2 per cent decline in total returns for the international FTSE Developed Index, weighed by the declines of global technology and bank stocks.

During Q3, 41 per cent of trading sessions saw STI annualised 30-day volatility of above 10 per cent – down from 89 per cent in the previous quarter.

SGX noted that the two STI exchange-traded funds (ETFs) attracted moderate net inflows totalling S$19 million, while the broader Singapore stock market attracted more than S$800 million of net fund inflows.

Index counter Wilmar International contributed the largest buyback consideration for Q3, purchasing 34.6 million shares worth S$140.5 million. The average price paid per share for the agribusiness group was S$4.065.

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This was followed by Keppel Corporation and OCBC , which bought back 19 million securities amounting to a consideration of S$136.2 million, and eight million shares worth a consideration of S$97.2 million, respectively, at the average per-share prices of S$7.159 and S$12.148.

Among non-STI stocks, Yangzijiang Financial Holding and The Hour Glass were among the top buyback consideration contributors of Q3.

The financial segment spin-off of Yangzijiang Shipbuilding had bought 5.2 per cent of its issued shares, excluding treasury shares, as at end-September at an average price of S$0.382 per share.

Upon commencing a new buyback mandate during the quarter, luxury watch retailer The Hour Glass bought back 2.1 per cent of its shares between Aug 3 and Sep 30. Its previous mandate saw 3.5 per cent of its shares bought back through to Jul 26, bringing a total buyback volume of 14 million shares in Q3 at the average price of S$2.23 per share.