VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Sept. 28, 2016) - TELUS Corporation (TSX:T)(NYSE:TU) (TELUS) has received approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) for a new normal course issuer bid (2017 NCIB) commencing on September 30, 2016 to purchase and cancel up to $250 million in shares over the next 12 months. TELUS will purchase common shares only when and if the company considers it advisable, subject to any purchases that may be made under an automatic share purchase plan.
In addition, TELUS' 2016 NCIB concluded on September 14, 2016 with the company purchasing and cancelling 9,691,400 shares or 1.6 per cent of its outstanding shares for $379 million over the 12-month period. With the conclusion of the 2016 NCIB, TELUS has purchased and cancelled 66 million shares for $2.4 billion since its multi-year share purchase program began in 2013, reducing shares outstanding by 10.1 per cent. Cumulative dividend savings have been $261 million since the program began and TELUS will save approximately $120 million in annual dividend payments going forward.
The new NCIB will permit the purchase of up to 8 million TELUS shares, 1.4 per cent of outstanding shares as at September 16, 2016, for an aggregate purchase price of up to $250 million from September 30, 2016 to September 29, 2017 through the facilities of the TSX, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and alternative trading platforms or otherwise as may be permitted by applicable securities laws and regulations. Other than as noted below, all shares purchased by TELUS will be cancelled. Subject to regulatory approval, an employee benefit plan trust for non-executive TELUS employees may purchase up to 25 per cent of the shares under the NCIB for distribution to non-executive TELUS employees.
Pursuant to TSX rules, the maximum number of shares that may be purchased during the same trading day on the TSX is 260,356 shares (being 25 per cent of the average daily trading volume of TELUS shares for the six months preceding the date of notice to the TSX on September 27, 2016, which was equal to 1,041,425 shares), subject to certain exceptions for block purchases. As of September 16, 2016, TELUS had 591,390,531 shares issued and outstanding.
Shares will be purchased at market price at the time of acquisition for any shares purchased under the NCIB through the TSX, the NYSE or alternative trading platforms. TELUS may also purchase shares privately from time to time after obtaining exemption orders from applicable securities regulatory authorities. Any such private purchase made under an exemption order issued by a securities regulatory authority will generally be at a discount to the prevailing market price as provided in the exemption order.
TELUS may enter into one or more automatic share purchase plans (ASPP) with a broker for the purpose of permitting TELUS to purchase shares under its NCIB during internal blackout periods when TELUS would not be permitted to trade in its shares, including regularly scheduled quarterly blackout periods. Such purchases would be pursued at the sole discretion of the broker based on parameters established by TELUS prior to any blackout period in accordance with TSX rules, applicable securities laws and the terms of the agreement between the broker and TELUS. Subject to TSX approval, the ASPP may be implemented on September 30, 2016, and from time to time thereafter. All other purchases under the NCIB will be at the discretion of the company.
TELUS' Board of Directors believes that such purchases are in the best interest of TELUS and that such purchases constitute an attractive investment opportunity and a desirable use of TELUS' funds that should enhance the value of the remaining shares.
Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains statements about future events and plans at TELUS (the Company) that are forward-looking. By their nature, forward-looking statements require the Company to make assumptions and predictions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that the forward-looking statements will not prove to be accurate. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release describe the Company's expectations at the date of this news release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a number of factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the assumptions and predictions expressed in the forward-looking statements. Specifically, there can be no assurance that the Company will maintain its dividend growth program through to 2019 or as to how many shares, if any, will ultimately be acquired by TELUS under its 2017 NCIB. Accordingly, this news release is subject to the disclaimer and qualified by the assumptions, qualifications and risk factors referred to in the second quarter 2016 Management's discussion and analysis, in the 2015 annual report, and in other TELUS public disclosure documents and filings with securities commissions in Canada (on SEDAR at sedar.com) and in the United States (on EDGAR at sec.gov), including factors such as the competitive environment, economic performance in Canada, the Company's earnings and free cash flow, the Company's levels of capital expenditures and spectrum licence purchases, and regulatory decisions and developments, all of which, in addition to the factors outlined in this news release, may affect the Company's ability to sustain the dividend growth program through 2019, and the ability to sustain and complete multi-year share purchase programs through 2019. Except as required by law, TELUS disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements, and reserves the right to change, at any time, at its sole discretion, its current practice of updating annual targets and guidance.
About TELUS
TELUS (TSX:T)(NYSE:TU) is Canada's fastest-growing national telecommunications company, with $12.6 billion of annual revenue and 12.5 million subscriber connections, including 8.4 million wireless subscribers, 1.6 million high-speed Internet subscribers, 1.4 million residential network access lines and 1.0 million TELUS TV customers. TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services, including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video, and is Canada's largest healthcare IT provider.
In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed $440 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered more than 6.8 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Created in 2005 by President and CEO Darren Entwistle, TELUS' 12 Canadian community boards and 5 International boards have led the Company's support of grassroots charities and have contributed more than $54 million in support of over 4,900 local charitable projects, enriching the lives of more than 2 million children and youth, annually. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.
For more information about TELUS, please visit www.telus.com .
