THE
INFORMATION WITHIN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT
IS DEEMED BY THE COMPANY TO CONTAIN INSIDE INFORMATION AS
STIPULATED UNDER THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) NO 596/2014
AS IT FORMS PART
OF UK DOMESTIC LAW PURSUANT TO THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT
2018, AS AMENDED. UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS
ANNOUNCEMENT VIA REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INFORMATION
IS CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
11 November 2024
Kainos Group plc
("Kainos"
or the "Company")
Share buyback
programme
Kainos Group plc, a UK-headquartered
IT provider with expertise across three divisions - Digital
Services, Workday Services and Workday Products, announces that,
from today, it has appointed Investec Bank plc ("Investec") to
manage a non-discretionary share buyback programme to purchase
ordinary shares of £0.005 each in the capital of the
Company ("Shares") within certain pre-set parameters, for up to a
maximum amount of £30 million (excluding expenses) (the
"Programme").
The Company has authorised the
Programme to continue until the earlier
of: (i) the date on which the maximum aggregate
consideration payable by the Company has been reached and (ii) 11
May 2025.
The sole purpose of the Programme is
to reduce the Company's share capital, and any Shares purchased for
this purpose will be cancelled.
Rationale for Buyback Programme
As detailed in our half year results
published this morning, Kainos has a strong unlevered balance sheet
and continues to generate significant operating cash flow, with a
net cash and treasury deposit balance of £151.6 million as of 30
September 2024.
The Programme is consistent with the
Company's capital allocation policy, to enhance the growth of the
business, both organically and through acquisition, and to reward
shareholders through growth in earnings alongside our progressive
dividend policy, while retaining a robust capital base. Where there
is surplus cash over and above that needed to fund organic and
inorganic growth, the Board will consider additional one-off
returns of capital to shareholders.
In the context of the strong balance
sheet position, the Board believes a share buyback to be an
attractive use of capital to drive shareholder value alongside the
significant ongoing organic investment.
The Board will continue to keep the
capital allocation policy and further distributions to shareholders
under review, with consideration of future buybacks and other
potential uses of capital that may drive value for shareholders
over the medium term.
The Programme will be conducted by
the Company in accordance with and under the terms of the general
authority granted to the Board by the Company's shareholders at the
Company's annual general meeting on 24 September 2024 (the "General
Authority") and, in line with the General Authority, will
not exceed 12,584,171
Shares.
The Programme will be executed in
accordance with Chapter 9 of the UK Listing Rules and the terms of
the General Authority. The Programme will also be conducted within
the parameters of the UK version of the Market Abuse
Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 596/2014) as incorporated
into UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018. Investec will act as principal
for the simultaneous on-sale of such shares to the Company and will
make its trading decisions concerning the timing of the purchases
of the Shares independently of the Company. Any purchase of Shares
made in relation to the Programme will be carried out on the London
Stock Exchange.
The Company will make further
announcements following the completion of any purchases. There is
no guarantee that the Programme will be implemented in full or that
any Shares will be purchased by the Company.
The person responsible for arranging
the release of this announcement on behalf of Kainos is Grainne
Burns, Company Secretary.
Ends
For
further information, please contact:
Kainos
via FTI Consulting LLP
Russell Sloan, Chief Executive
Officer
Richard McCann, Chief Financial
Officer
Investec Bank plc
+44 20 7597 5970
Patrick Robb / Nick Prowting / Ben
Griffiths
FTI
Consulting
LLP
+44 20 3727 1000
Dwight Burden / Kwaku
Aning
About Kainos Group plc
Kainos Group plc is a
UK-headquartered provider of sophisticated IT services to major
public sector, commercial and healthcare customers. Our expertise
spans three divisions: Digital Services, Workday Services, and
Workday Products.
· Digital
Services: We develop and support
custom digital service platforms that transform service delivery in
public, commercial, and healthcare sectors. Our solutions ensure
security, accessibility, cost-effectiveness, and improved user
outcomes.
· Workday
Services: Specialising in deploying
Workday, Inc.'s Finance, HR, and Planning products, we are a
respected partner in Europe and North America. Experienced in
complex deployments, we are trusted to launch, test, expand, and
support Workday systems.
· Workday
Products: Our established product
suite, incorporating Smart Test, Smart Audit, and Smart Shield,
complements Workday by enhancing system security and compliance.
Our Employee Document Management product, launched in October 2023,
improves document generation and storage within Workday while
supporting an organisation's global compliance requirements. Over
500 global customers use one or more of our products.
Our people are central to our
success. We employ more than 3,000 people in 20 countries across
Europe, Asia and the Americas.
We are listed on the London Stock
Exchange (LSE: KNOS) and you can discover more about us at
www.kainos.com.
