Commencement of Share Buy-Back Programme

RNS Number : 0958W

Wentworth Resources PLC

17 December 2021

 

17 December 2021

WENTWORTH RESOURCES PLC
("Wentworth" or the "Company")

Commencement of Share Buy-back Programme

Wentworth (AIM: WEN), the independent, Tanzania-focused natural gas production company, announces the launch of a share buy-back programme (the "Programme").

The Board is aware of the significant discount that the Company's shares trade at relative to its net asset value (NAV) per share, despite the strong operational and financial momentum of the business.

The Board regularly reviews capital allocation to optimise long-term returns for shareholders; reflecting this Wentworth has increased its interim dividend by 10% compared with 2020 and anticipates growth in the final dividend in respect of the year ended 31 December 2021. Given the wide discount referred to above, the Board believes that share buybacks are also an appropriate means of returning value, whilst maximising sustainable long term growth for shareholders, given the enhancement to NAV, earnings and dividends per share that will result from reducing the number of shares in issue.

Accordingly, the Company today announces the commencement of the Programme, for the repurchase of its ordinary shares of up to a total value of £2.0 million. Subject to certain restrictions, the Programme is being made available to eligible shareholders who are on the Company's register of members at 6pm (UK time) on 16 December 2021.   The Programme is expected to continue until the start of the Company's 2022 Annual General Meeting, which is expected to be held in June 2022. If shares are available at a discount, the Company may opportunistically look to acquire them, in order to achieve the objectives of the Programme.

Any purchase of ordinary shares will be executed in accordance with the limits of the Company's general authority to repurchase ordinary shares granted by its shareholders at the Company's 2021 Annual General Meeting on 15 June 2021 , i.e. up to 18,554,913 Ordinary Shares, representing approximately 10% of the issued voting share capital of the Company and at a price not exceeding the maximum approved pursuant to that authority. The purpose of the Programme is to reduce the issued ordinary share capital of the Company.

The Board will keep the Programme under review to make sure it continues as an efficient and effective means of generating value for shareholders. While the Company has launched the Programme, there is no certainty on the volume of shares that may be acquired under the Programme and the pace of acquisitions.

The Programme will also be effected in accordance with the Market Abuse Regulation 596/2014/EU (as in force in the UK and as amended by the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019) (the "Regulation"). Given the level of liquidity in the Company's shares, the Company will retain the ability to exceed the average daily volume restrictions established by the Commission Delegated Regulation 2016/1052/EU (as in force in the UK and as amended by the FCA's Technical Standards (Market Abuse Regulation) (EU Exit) Instrument 2019) (the "Delegated Regulation") and therefore the Programme may not fall within the safe harbour provisions of the Regulation. 

The Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 (as amended) permits the Company to hold any shares purchased by it as treasury shares as an alternative to immediately cancelling them. If the Company purchases any of its shares and holds them as treasury shares, the Company may sell these shares (or any of them) for cash or transfer these shares (or any of them) for the purposes of or pursuant to an employee share plan, cancel these shares (or any of them) or continue to hold them as treasury shares. Holding these shares as treasury shares gives the Company the ability to reissue them quickly and cost effectively and provides additional flexibility in the management of the Company's capital base. No distributions will be paid on, and no voting rights will be exercised in respect of, shares held as treasury shares. Shares will only be held in treasury as an alternative to immediate cancellation where there are known upcoming obligations in respect of an employee share plan. If no such known obligations exist, the purchased shares shall be cancelled.

Enquiries:  Wentworth Resources Katherine Roe, Chief Executive Officer   [e-mail] [phone]     Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited   AIM Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker  Callum Stewart Ashton Clanfield Simon Mensley   [phone]   Peel Hunt LLP   Joint Broker  Richard Crichton Alexander Allen   [phone]   FTI Consulting   Communications Advisor  Sara Powell Ben Brewerton    [phone] About Wentworth Resources Wentworth Resources plc (AIM: WEN) is a leading, domestic natural gas producer in Tanzania with a core producing asset at Mnazi Bay in the onshore Rovuma Basin in Southern Tanzania.

Inside Information

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by Wentworth to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) no. 596/2014 ("MAR") (as in force in the UK and as amended by the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019). On the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service ("RIS"), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

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