Norwegian car carrier group Hoegh Autoliners has been busy buying its own stock to hand out to staff.
The Oslo-listed owner said it had spent NOK 43.4m ($3.9m) on 330,000 shares at an average price of NOK 131.45 each.
The shares were trading at NOK 130.50 in Oslo on Monday, down 1.7% on the day.
The company’s market capitalisation is NOK 24.9bn.
Last week, the shipowner said it intended to buy up to 400,000 shares to meet obligations arising from its share incentive programmes.
Investment bank ABG Sundal Collier managed the deals.
In October, the owner said it would pay $245m in dividends after third-quarter profit hit $193m, up $142m recorded for the same period last year.
Earlier this month, Hoegh Autoliners, an owner and operator of about 40 car carriers, extended contracts with a long-standing client for an average duration of three years.
The shipping company did not reveal the counterparty’s identity, nor the amount it stands to earn from the contracts.
However, it can be assumed that the deal exceeds the $100m mark, under Hoegh Autoliners’ practice to disclose transactions with a volume exceeding that amount.
Chief executive Andreas Enger said: “The renewal of these contracts, with substantial cargo volumes in several of our core trade lines, represents another milestone in our efforts to build a solid contract backlog.”
