Yum China Holdings, Inc. (09987) has disclosed minor changes to its share capital following continued execution of its multi-listing share-repurchase programme.
1. Net Share Count Reduced • Between 18–19 March 2026, the company repurchased and immediately cancelled 56,120 ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange at an average price of USD 53.46 per share. • Concurrently, 106 new shares were issued to satisfy employee share-based incentive plans at an issue price referenced to the 19 March NYSE close of USD 53.70. • Net effect: the company’s issued share capital (excluding treasury shares) fell by 56,014 shares, trimming the total to 353.19 million shares—down 0.02% from the previous balance of 353.24 million.
2. Ongoing Repurchase Activity • On 19 March, Yum China bought back 56,298 shares in the U.S. market for USD 3.00 million (price range: USD 52.39–54.25) and 18,200 shares in Hong Kong for HKD 7.71 million (price range: HKD 419–429). All were marked for cancellation. • Cumulative repurchases under the shareholder mandate granted on 23 May 2025 have reached 22.16 million shares, representing 5.95% of the 372.40 million shares authorised for repurchase. • As at 19 March 2026, 1.44 million repurchased shares—acquired between 4 December 2025 and 19 March 2026 across both the HKEX and NYSE—remain pending cancellation.
3. Repurchase Capacity • The current authorisation permits a total of 37.24 million shares to be repurchased. After the latest transactions, approximately 15.08 million shares, or 40.5% of the mandate, remain available. • In line with Hong Kong Listing Rules, Yum China faces a 30-day moratorium on issuing new shares or selling any treasury shares following the 19 March buybacks.
The company reiterated that all US transactions were executed under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, while Hong Kong repurchases were carried out under an automatic share-repurchase agreement via an independent broker. No treasury shares were held as at the reporting date.
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