Telstra announced a capital management program of at least AUD 1.5 billion to commence in its first half of the 2017 financial year. The distribution to shareholders will be in addition to the ordinary dividend, with specific details to be made available at Telstra’s full-year results presentation on 11 August.
In an announcement at its investors day, Telstra said it is examining various ways to return capital to shareholders, with the exact nature, amount and timing dependent upon market conditions and all necessary regulatory approvals. It plans to use the proceeds from the recently announced sale of Autohome shares to fund the capital management program.
At the end of December, Telstra had AUD 2.2 billion in available cash, and the Autohome sale will raise another USD 1.6 billion. Telstra said it would still have sufficient cash for investment after the shareholder returns and would maintain a capex to sales ratio of around 14 percent as well as single A credit ratings. Net debt totaled AUD 14.1 billion at the end of 2015.
