| Tue 9 Dec 2008, 8:56 | | WSL - Wescoal - Repurchase Of Securities |
|
WSL
WSL
WSL - Wescoal - Repurchase Of Securities
WESCOAL HOLDINGS LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number 2005/006913/06)
(JSE code: WSL ISIN: ZAE000069639)
("Wescoal" or "the company")
REPURCHASE OF SECURITIES
1. INTRODUCTION
Shareholders are advised that a wholly owned subsidiary of Wescoal has
repurchased 3% of its own shares on the open market of the JSE Limited ("JSE"),
in accordance with the general authority granted by its shareholders at its
annual general meeting held on 29 October 2008 ("the repurchase").
2. IMPLEMENTATION
A total of 4 377 940 Wescoal ordinary shares, equivalent to 3% of the issued
share capital of Wescoal, has been purchased by Wescoal on 5 December 2008.
Details of shares repurchased since the commencement of the repurchase are as
follows:-
Number of ordinary shares repurchased 4 377 940
Cost of ordinary shares repurchased* R3 130 060
Highest price paid per ordinary share* R0.75
Lowest price paid per ordinary share* R0.65
Average price paid per ordinary share* R0.71
* - excluding costs
3. EXTENT OF AUTHORITY OUTSTANDING
The extent of the authority outstanding is 24 808 332 ordinary shares,
equivalent to 17% of the total issued ordinary share capital of Wescoal. This
authority is valid until the next annual general meeting scheduled for 30
October 2009.
4. SOURCE OF FUNDS
The repurchases have been funded from available cash resources.
5. DIRECTORS` STATEMENT
The Directors have considered the effect of the repurchases and are of the
opinion that:
5.1 the company will be able in the ordinary course of business to pay their
debts for the period of 12 months after the date of this announcement;
5.2 the assets of the company will exceed liabilities for a period of 12 months
after the date of this announcement, measured in accordance with the
accounting policies used in the company`s financial statements for the
financial year ended 31 March 2008;
5.3 the share capital and reserves of the company will be adequate for ordinary
business purposes for the period of 12 months from the date of this
announcement; and
5.4 the working capital of the company will be adequate for ordinary business
purposes for the period of 12 months from the date of this announcement.
The directors confirm that the repurchase of securities was effected through the
order book operated by the JSE trading system and without any prior
understanding or arrangement between the company and the respective
counterparties.
6. FINANCIAL EFFECTS OF THE REPURCHASE
The directors of Wescoal are responsible for the preparation of the unaudited
pro forma financial information, which has been included for the purposes of
illustrating the effect of the repurchases on Wescoal`s earnings, headline
earnings, net asset value and net tangible asset value per share on the relevant
reporting date. Due to their nature, the unaudited pro-forma financial effects
may not be a fair reflection of Wescoal`s financial position after the
implementation of the repurchases or of Wescoal`s future earnings.
Before After Change
(cents) (1) (cents)(3 (%)
(2) )
Earnings per share (cents) 10.40 10.80 3.60%
Headline earnings per 10.50 10.80 2.72%
share (cents)
Fully diluted earnings per 10.30 10.70 3.56%
share (cents)
Fully diluted headline 10.40 10.70 2.68%
earnings per share (cents)
Net asset value per share 106.61 109.90 3.09%
(cents)
Tangible net asset value 66.49 68.54 3.09%
per share (cents)
Weighted average number of 126 068 121 690
shares
Fully diluted weighted 127 466 123 088
average shares in issue
Total number of shares 145 931 141 553
Notes and Assumptions:
(1) The unaudited pro forma financial effects on the results were prepared on
the basis that the repurchase of 3% of the company`s shares was completed
on 1 April 2008 for income statement purposes and 30 September 2008 for
balance sheet purposes.
(2) The "Before" column has been extracted without adjustment, from the
reviewed interim results of Wescoal for the six months ended 30 September
2008.
(3) The "After" earnings and headline earnings per share have been calculated
on the assumption that the repurchases were financed by excess cash on hand
and interest was calculated at the prevailing interest rates. Tax was
calculated at a rate of 28%.
7. REPURCHASED SECURITIES
The repurchased shares are held by a wholly owned subsidiary of Wescoal as
treasury shares, and therefore do not carry any voting rights.
9 December 2008
Johannesburg
Designated Adviser
Exchange Sponsors
Date: 09/12/2008 08:56:01 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the
JSE Limited (`JSE`). The JSE does not, whether expressly, tacitly or
implicitly, represent, warrant or in any way guarantee the truth, accuracy or
completeness of the information published on SENS. The JSE, their officers,
employees and agents accept no liability for (or in respect of) any direct,
indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind or nature,
howsoever arising, from the use of SENS or the use of, or reliance on,
information disseminated through SENS.
