Company aims to boost shareholder value
EQB Inc., the parent company of EQ Bank, has announced its plan to renew a stock buyback program aimed at repurchasing up to 2.3 million of its common shares for cancellation. The program has been approved by the Toronto Stock Exchange and will run until January 5, 2026, a BNN Bloomberg report highlighted.
The proposed repurchase represents approximately 8.4% of the 27.3 million common shares currently held by the public. As of December 23, the company reported a total of 38.4 million issued and outstanding common shares.
Stock buybacks, also known as normal course issuer bids, are a common strategy employed by companies to return capital to shareholders while potentially boosting share prices by reducing the number of outstanding shares.
Andrew Moor, president and CEO of EQ Bank, discussed last month the company’s fourth-quarter earnings and provided guidance. EQB Inc. reported record financial results for the fiscal year ending October 31, 2024, driven by a 9% growth in loans under management, increased non-interest revenue, and a rise in EQ Bank customer accounts, which surpassed 500,000. The company raised its dividend and issued strong growth guidance for fiscal 2025, projecting a 15%+ return on equity (ROE).
Despite strong earnings, Q4 results were affected by higher credit provisions in the equipment financing portfolio. Looking ahead, EQB expects easing monetary policy to drive loan growth and further enhance its competitive position in Canadian banking.
This announcement was first published by The Canadian Press on January 2, 2025.
