Share Buy-Back Summary
On 23 August 2006, BHP Billiton announced its intention to return US$3 billion to shareholders over the next 18 months through a series of share buy-backs. On 7 February 2007, a US$10 billion extension to this program was announced. At that date, 93,435,000 shares in BHP Billiton Plc had been repurchased under the August program at a cost of US$1,705 million, leaving US$1,295 million to be carried forward and added to February's program. Under the latest program, US$2.8 billion was used in the off-market repurchase of BHP Billiton Limited shares (completed 26 March 2007 - see below).
On market purchases of BHP Billiton shares continued until Friday 14 December, when the buy-back was suspended until further notice. See the News Release for further information on the suspension.
| Description | Date completed | No. of shares repurchased | Cost (local ccy) | Cost (US$m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| On-market buy-back of BHP Billiton Plc shares | 7-28 Feb 2007 | 8,950,000 | £96m | 187 |
| March 2007 | 5,900,000 | £63m | 124 | |
| April 2007 | 13,000,000 | £149m | 298 | |
| May 2007 | 15,111,714 | £180m | 357 | |
| June 2007 | 10,325,000 | £137m | 273 | |
| July 2007 | 10,075,000 | £148m | 296 | |
| August 2007 | 14,756,226 | £199m | 398 | |
| September 2007 | 22,035,000 | £328m | 663 | |
| October 2007 | 15,467,510 | £278m | 568 | |
| November 2007 | 24,182,463 | £384m | 795 | |
| December 2007 | 10,387,887 | £166m | 338 | |
| Total no of BHP Billiton Plc shares repurchased under the Feb 2007 program | 150,190,800 | 2,129 | 4,297 |
Completed Capital Management Initiatives
The following table shows shares repurchased under programs announced in 2004, 2006 and 2007.
| Description | Date completed | No. of shares repurchased | Cost (local ccy) | Cost (US$m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2007 program | ||||
| Off-market buy-back of BHP Billiton Limited shares | 26 March 2007 | 141,098,555 | A$3,501m | 2,817 |
| August 2006 program | ||||
| On-market buy-back of BHP Billiton Plc shares | 6 Feb 2007* | 93,435,000 | £883m | 1,705 |
| February 2006 program | ||||
| Off-market buy-back of BHP Billiton Limited shares | 3 April 2006 | 95,950,979 | A$2,250m | 1,600 |
| On-market buy-back of BHP Billiton Plc shares | 16 May 2006 | 18,820,000 | £217m | 409 |
| Total cost of shares bought back | 2,009 | |||
| August 2004 program | ||||
| Off-market buy-back of BHP Billiton Limited shares | 23 Nov 2004 | 180,716,428 | A$2,272m | 1,780 |
*Partially complete. Remaining US$1,295 million c/fwd to February 2007 program.
Purchases of BHP Billiton Plc shares
The numbers set out in this section represent the cumulative position and therefore include the buy-backs listed above.
On market purchases of shares in BHP Billiton Plc have been made by both BHP Billiton Plc (shares held as Treasury shares) and BHP Billiton Limited. None of these shares is included in the number of shares on issue used for EPS purposes. Shares in BHP Billiton Plc held by BHP Billiton Limited are periodically cancelled, in accordance with the resolutions passed at the 2006 Annual General Meetings.
Total number of BHP Billiton Plc shares
repurchased and placed in Treasury by
BHP Billiton Plc 25,420,000
less: shares sold to BHP Billiton Employee
Share Schemes (1,306,342)
Total number of BHP Billiton Plc shares
held as Treasury shares by BHP Billiton Plc: 24,113,658
Total number of BHP Billiton Plc shares
acquired by BHP Billiton Limited: 237,025,800
less: shares cancelled: (237,025,800)
Total number of BHP Billiton Plc shares
currently held by BHP Billiton Limited 0
Issued Share Capital
(Excluding shares held as treasury shares and shares in BHP Billiton Plc held by BHP Billiton Limited)
BHP Billiton Limited (as at 31 Oct 2007) 3,358,359,496
BHP Billiton Plc (as at 7 Feb 2008) 2,207,007,544
5,565,367,040