QUEBEC CITY, Jan. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - EXFO Inc.
(NASDAQ: EXFO) (TSX: EXF) announced today that its Board of
Directors has authorized the renewal of its share repurchase
program, by way of a normal course issuer bid ("NCIB") on the open
market, of up to approximately 2.9% (600,000 subordinate
voting shares) of the public float of 21,075,125 subordinate voting
shares (as defined by the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX")), as of
January 2, 2021. On January 2,
2021, EXFO had 25,684,370 subordinate voting shares
outstanding.
In the course of the ongoing NCIB, EXFO repurchased a total of
138,255 shares at a weighted average price of CA$3.62 (US$2.75) per share, while the number of shares
sought and approved for repurchase was 600,000. The ongoing NCIB
has been effective since January 14,
2020 and will expire on January 13,
2021.
The TSX has accepted a notice filed by EXFO of its intention to
proceed with a NCIB. EXFO may use cash, short-term investments and
future cash flows from operations to fund the repurchase of shares.
Repurchases under the bid will be made on the open market, through
the facilities of the TSX and NASDAQ or via alternative trading
systems, at the prevailing market price. The timing of such
repurchases, if any, will depend on price, market conditions and
applicable regulatory requirements.
The NCIB will become effective on January
15, 2021 and will end on January 14,
2022 or on an earlier date if EXFO repurchases the maximum
number of shares permitted. The average daily trading volume (ADTV)
of EXFO's subordinate voting shares was 9,085, on the TSX and
38,481 on the NASDAQ for the most recently completed six calendar
months. Accordingly, EXFO is entitled to repurchase up to 25% of
the ADTV on any trading day (being 2,271 subordinate voting shares
on the TSX and 9,620 subordinate voting shares on the NASDAQ) or
pursuant to the applicable rules of the TSX. The program does not
require the company to repurchase a minimum number of shares and it
may be modified, suspended or terminated at any time without prior
notice. All shares acquired by EXFO under the bid will be
cancelled.
EXFO believes that the repurchase of some of its subordinate
voting shares is an appropriate and desirable use of its available
cash. Consequently, EXFO believes that the offer is made in the
best interests of the company and its shareholders.
About EXFO
EXFO (NASDAQ: EXFO) (TSX: EXF) develops smarter test, monitoring
and analytics solutions for fixed and mobile network operators,
webscale companies and equipment manufacturers in the global
communications industry. Our customers count on us to deliver
superior network performance, service reliability and subscriber
insights. They count on our unique blend of equipment, software and
services to accelerate digital transformations related to
fiber, 4G/LTE and 5G deployments. They count on our expertise with
automation, real-time troubleshooting and big data analytics, which
are critical to their business performance. We've spent over 30
years earning this trust, and today 1,900 EXFO employees
in over 25 countries work side by side with our customers in
the lab, field, data center and beyond.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and we intend that such
forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created
thereby. Forward-looking statements are statements other than
historical information or statements of current condition. Words
such as may, expect, believe, plan, anticipate, intend, could,
estimate, continue, or similar expressions or the negative of such
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In
addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or
other characterizations of future events and circumstances are
considered forward-looking statements. They are not guarantees of
future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual
results may differ materially from those in forward-looking
statements due to various factors including, but not limited to,
macroeconomic uncertainty, namely the impact of the coronavirus
pandemic on our employees, customers and global
operations, including the ability of our suppliers to fulfil
raw material requirements and services and our ability to
manufacture and deliver our products and services to our customers;
the effects of emergency measures related to isolation periods for
individuals in affected areas, lockdown restrictions imposed by
national governments on businesses in countries where we operate
and have employees, and limitations on travel to attract new
customers and serve existing ones; deteriorating financial and
market conditions as well as a potential recession; trade wars, and
our ability to successfully integrate businesses that we acquire;
capital spending and network deployment levels in the
communications industry (including our ability to quickly adapt
cost structures to anticipated levels of business and our ability
to manage inventory levels with market demand); future economic,
competitive, financial and market conditions; consolidation in the
global communications test, monitoring and analytics solutions
markets and increased competition among vendors; capacity to adapt
our future product offering to future technological changes;
limited visibility with regard to the timing and nature of customer
orders; delay in revenue recognition due to longer sales cycles for
complex systems involving customers' acceptance; fluctuating
exchange rates; concentration of sales; timely release and market
acceptance of our new products and other upcoming products; our
ability to successfully expand international operations and to
conduct business internationally; and the retention of key
technical and management personnel. Assumptions relating to the
foregoing involve judgments and risks, all of which are difficult
or impossible to predict and many of which are beyond our control.
Other risk factors that may affect our future performance and
operations are detailed in our Annual Report, on Form 20-F, and our
other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and
the Canadian securities commissions. We believe that the
expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are
reasonable based on information currently available to us, but we
cannot assure you that the expectations will prove to have been
correct. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements. These statements speak only as of the
date of this document. Unless required by law or applicable
regulations, we undertake no obligation to revise or update any of
them to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date
of this document.
EXFO-C
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SOURCE EXFO Inc.