Belgian tanker giant Euronav has revealed another big outlay on its own shares as it continues to return cash to investors.
The VLCC and suezmax owner said it had spent €9.37m ($11.2m) on stock through the Euronext and New York exchanges from 9 September to 17 September.
The company snapped up 1.16m shares, meaning it now controls 7.04% of the equity.
The lowest price paid in Brussels was €7.62 and the highest €8.25. The biggest single slice was worth €1.61m.
On the New York Stock Exchange, the largest individual amount was $1.46m, with the price ranging between $9.20 and $9.74 per share.
The stock closed at $9.66, up 0.52%, in New York on Thursday.
Total keeps rising
The tanker owner has now spent about $91m on its stock since shareholders approved the repurchase scheme earlier this year.
Euronav said the deals are part of a commitment to return $25m to investors by the end of the third quarter.
In total, Euronav will return $200m to shareholders, derived from bumper second quarter profit — $100m in dividends and $100m in buybacks.
"The company will monitor market conditions to decide to continue buying back shares, taking into account a variety of factors, including regulatory or legal requirements and other corporate considerations," the shipowner said.
The board believes this will create long-term value "given the disconnect between equity and net asset values at present."
Clarksons Securities continues to act as an independent broker to carry out the deals.
The company's third quarter results are due on 5 November.
Euronav has $1.1bn of liquidity at hand and has authorisation to repurchase up to 10% of its shares.
