Utah Medical Products Inc. said it will buy back 1 million shares of its stock in 1997 in the open market if its share price remains near current levels.
The company has repurchased 993,800 of its shares this year, leaving 8.84 million shares outstanding."This announcement is not just a minor dividend. It is consistent with our past actions to increase shareholder value," said Kevin Cornwell, Utah Medical Products' chairman and chief executive officer.
"Another one-million-share reduction will leverage established earnings by 11 percent on a per share basis," he said. "When sales of recently launched new products begin to add to top-line growth, the leverage in earnings per share will be even further accelerated."
Cornwell said the company's directors want it to use all of its "available uncommitted cash to reduce outstanding shares at these low prices, which do not adequately reflect the inherent value of the company."