BBVA has repurchased 14 percent of its shares for more than €5.3 billion
On Tuesday, BBVA completed its latest share buyback in the amount of €781 million. Including all the buyback programs carried out between November 2021 to date, the bank has repurchased the equivalent of 14 percent of the total, for a total amount of €5.36 billion. BBVA launched these buybacks as part of its commitment to create value for its shareholders.
The average price of BBVA’s four buyback programs thus far has been €5.93 per share. The bank’s shares are currently trading above €10.
Furthermore, these buybacks have boosted earnings per share. Therefore, while BBVA’s net attributable profit has risen 72 percent between 2021 and 2023 (from €4.65 billion to €8.02 billion), earnings per share has practically doubled during the same period of time (from €0.67 to €1.29 per share).
€781 million buyback as part of BBVA shareholder remuneration
The bank just completed the €781 million buyback that began on March 1st. This buyback plan is part of the shareholder remuneration for the year 2023. In total, BBVA has allocated €4.01 billion (50 percent of the profit reported last year) to shareholder remuneration including the cash dividend of €0.55 gross per share (€0.16 paid in October and €0.39 paid on Wednesday, April 10th) and this share buyback. This remuneration is consistent with the Group’s shareholder distribution policy, which specifies annual distributions of 40 to 50 percent of the profit from the year, with the option of combining cash payments with share buybacks.
This marks the second buyback that the bank has carried out in the past two years as part of the ordinary distribution of earnings. On April 21, 2023, BBVA completed the first buyback during this time period in the amount of €422 million.
Furthermore, BBVA has executed two buybacks that are considered extraordinary shareholder distributions. First, on August 2022, the bank carried out a program in the amount of €3.16 billion. On November 2023, it successfully completed another €1 billion share buyback.
