| Fri 9 Jan 2009, 9:29 | | WSL - Wescoal Holdings Limited - Repurchase of securities reaches 6% mark |
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WSL
WSL
WSL - Wescoal Holdings Limited - Repurchase of securities reaches 6% mark
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 REACHES 6% MARK
1 INTRODUCTION
Shareholders are advised that a wholly owned subsidiary of Wescoal has
repurchased 6% 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
As at 5 December 2008, 4 377 940 Wescoal ordinary shares, equivalent to 3% of
the issued share capital of Wescoal, had been purchased by Wescoal. A total of 8
608 851 Wescoal ordinary shares, equivalent to 6% of the issued share capital of
Wescoal, has now been purchased by Wescoal between 5 December 2008 and 7 January
2009.
Details of shares repurchased since the commencement of the repurchases are as
follows:-
Number of ordinary shares repurchased 8 608 851
Cost of ordinary shares repurchased* R6 335 609
Highest price paid per ordinary share* R0.89
Lowest price paid per ordinary share* R0.65
Average price paid per ordinary share* R0.74
* - excluding costs
3 EXTENT OF AUTHORITY OUTSTANDING
The extent of the authority outstanding is 20 577 421 ordinary shares,
equivalent to 14% of the total issued ordinary share capital of Wescoal. This
authority is valid until the next annual general meeting scheduled for 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) (2) (cents)(3)
Earnings per share (cents) 10.40 11.20 7.33%
Headline earnings per share 10.50 10.70 1.61%
(cents)
Fully diluted earnings per 10.30 11.00 7.24%
share (cents)
Fully diluted headline earnings 10.40 10.5 1.53%
per share (cents)
Net asset value per share 106.61 113.29 6.27%
(cents)
Tangible net asset value per 66.49 70.65 6.27%
share (cents)
Weighted average number of 126 068 117 459
shares
Fully diluted weighted average 127 466 118 857
shares in issue
Total number of shares 145 931 137 322
Notes and Assumptions:
1 The unaudited pro forma financial effects on the results were prepared on
the basis that the repurchase of 6% 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 will be used to settle the purchase consideration for the
acquisition of the Prospecting Rights extending over Portions 16 and 12 of the
Farm Vlakvarkfontein 213 IR district of Witbank as referred to in the SENS
announcement dated 19 November 2008.
9 January 2009
Johannesburg
Designated Adviser
Exchange Sponsors
Date: 09/01/2009 09:29:37 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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