Aurobindo Pharma to consider first-ever share buyback on July 18

Aurobindo Pharma Ltd., the Hyderabad-based drugmaker, said on Sunday it will hold a board meeting on Thursday, July 18, to consider a share buyback. The share buyback could be done either through a public offer or through the open market.

According to data available on the Bombay Stock Exchange, this is the first instance where the company is considering a buyback of its shares.

Earlier, in 2011, Aurobindo Pharma had split its stake of face value of ₹5 into shares of face value of ₹1.

After that, in 2015, the company issued one bonus share to shareholders for every share they held, a ratio of 1:1.

Since then, the company has not issued any bonuses and shares cannot be split. In the meantime, Aurobindo Pharma has paid interim dividends to shareholders, which have ranged from ₹1 to ₹4.5 per share, with the latter, paid in 2022, being the highest on record, at least for the available data.

Shares of Aurobindo Pharma ended 0.7% higher at ₹1,326.85 on Friday. The stock has gained 22% since the beginning of 2024, which is in line with the Nifty Pharma index, which has also gained a similar amount.

However, the stock has outperformed over a 12-month period, rising 80% compared to a 47% rise for the Nifty Pharma index.