Avon Announces New $2 Billion, Five-Year Stock Buyback Program
October 11 2007 - 4:19PM
PR Newswire (US)
NEW YORK, Oct. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Avon Products, Inc.
(NYSE:AVP) today announced that its Board of Directors authorized
the repurchase of $2 billion of the company's common stock over a
five-year period following completion of its current program.
Through September 30, 2007, Avon purchased 26 million shares at a
total cost of $904 million under the existing program begun in late
2005. Avon has had a share repurchase program since 1994. Under the
new authorization, Avon's annual share purchase volume will depend
on the company's operating performance. Repurchases may take place
from time to time, depending on market conditions, and the shares
may be purchased in open-market or privately negotiated
transactions. As of September 30, 2007, the company had
approximately 429 million shares outstanding. Andrea Jung, Avon's
chairman and chief executive officer said, "We're very pleased to
commit to this new, larger stock repurchase program. Today's
announcement is indicative of the long-term health of our business
and our ongoing commitment to enhance shareholders' return on their
investment in Avon." Avon, the company for women, is a leading
global beauty company, with almost $9 billion in annual revenue. As
the world's largest direct seller, Avon markets to women in well
over 100 countries through over five million independent Avon Sales
Representatives. Avon's product line includes beauty products,
fashion jewelry and apparel, and features such well-recognized
brand names as Avon Color, Anew, Skin-So-Soft, Avon Solutions,
Advance Techniques, Avon Naturals, Mark, and Avon Wellness. Learn
more about Avon and its products at http://www.avoncompany.com/.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT FOR PURPOSES OF THE "SAFE HARBOR" STATEMENT
UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995
Statements in this release that are not historical facts or
information are forward-looking statements within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as
"estimate," "project," "plan," "believe," "may," "expect,"
"anticipate," "intend," "planned," "potential" and similar
expressions, or the negative of those expressions, may identify
forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are
based on management's reasonable current assumptions and
expectations. Such forward- looking statements involve risks,
uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual
results, levels of activity, performance or achievement of Avon to
be materially different from any future results expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements, and there can be no
assurance that actual results will not differ materially from
management's expectations. Such factors include, among others, the
following: -- our ability to implement the key initiatives of and
realize the projected benefits from our global business strategy,
including our multi-year restructuring initiatives, product mix and
pricing strategies, enterprise resource planning, customer service
initiatives, product line simplification, strategic sourcing
initiative, zero overhead growth and cash management, tax, foreign
currency hedging and risk management strategies; -- our ability to
realize the anticipated benefits from our multi-year restructuring
initiatives or other strategic initiatives on the time schedules or
in the amounts that we expect, and our plans to invest these
anticipated benefits ahead of future growth; -- the possibility of
business disruption in connection with our multi-year restructuring
initiatives or other strategic initiatives; -- our ability to
realize sustainable growth from our investments in our brand and
the direct selling channel; -- the inventory obsolescence and other
costs associated with our product line simplification program; --
our ability to achieve growth objectives, particularly in our
largest markets and new and emerging markets; -- our ability to
successfully identify new business opportunities and identify and
analyze acquisition candidates, and our ability to negotiate and
consummate acquisitions as well as to successfully integrate or
manage any acquired business; -- the effect of political, legal and
regulatory risks, as well as foreign exchange or other
restrictions, imposed on us, our operations or our Representatives
by governmental entities; -- our ability to successfully transition
our business in China in connection with the resumption of direct
selling in that market and our ability to operate using the direct
selling model permitted in that market; -- the impact of
substantial currency fluctuations on the results of our foreign
operations; -- general economic and business conditions in our
markets, including social, economic and political uncertainties in
Latin America, Asia Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe and the
Middle East; -- the risk of disruption in Central and Eastern
Europe associated with a change to a more rapid selling cycle with
more frequent brochures; -- a general economic downturn,
information technology systems outages, disruption in our supply
chain or manufacturing and distribution operations, or other sudden
disruption in business operations beyond our control as a result of
events such as acts of terrorism or war, natural disasters,
pandemic situations and large scale power outages; -- the risk of
product or ingredient shortages resulting from our concentration of
sourcing in fewer suppliers; -- the quality, safety and efficacy of
our products; -- the success of our research and development
activities; -- our ability to attract and retain key personnel and
executives; -- competitive uncertainties in our markets, including
competition from companies in the cosmetics, fragrances, skin care
and toiletries industry, some of which are larger than we are and
have greater resources; -- our ability to implement our Sales
Leadership program globally, to generate Representative activity,
to increase Representative productivity, to improve Internet-based
tools for our Representatives, and to compete with other direct
selling organizations to recruit, retain and service
Representatives; -- the impact of the seasonal nature of our
business, changes in market trends, purchasing habits of our
consumers and changes in consumer preferences, particularly given
the global nature of our business and the conduct of our business
in primarily one channel; -- our ability to protect our
intellectual property rights; -- the risk of an adverse outcome in
our material pending and future litigations; -- our access to
financing and ability to secure financing at attractive rates; and
-- the impact of possible pension funding obligations, increased
pension expense and any changes in pension regulations or
interpretations thereof on our cash flow and results of operations.
Additional information identifying such factors is contained in
Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2006, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission. We undertake no obligation to update any such
forward-looking statements. DATASOURCE: Avon Products, Inc.
CONTACT: MEDIA: Sharon Samuel, +1-212-282-5322, or Jennifer Vargas,
+1-212-282-5404; INVESTORS: Renee Johansen, +1-212-282-5320 Web
site: http://www.avon.com/ Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/079575.html
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