Samsung Unveils New Shareholder Return Plan

Struggling Samsung won’t split in two, but it’s throwing investors a bone

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Samsung is taking some pretty major steps to ensure that its business remains profitable in the wake of a pretty abysmal third quarter. While reports that the company would be splitting in two remain, for the moment, untrue, the company will indeed be bringing on independent board members in an attempt to increase share value.

Samsung has most certainly had its fair share of issues over the past few months, including a massive and largely failed recall of the popular Galaxy Note 7, and a recall of 2.8 million washing machines that were in danger of catching fire. On top of that, Samsung’s Seoul headquarters has been raided twice due to a political scandal in South Korea. All this has led investors to grow a little concerned about how Samsung is managed.

While Samsung did not announce that it would split into two companies — including a holding company and an operating company — it did leave the option open, saying that its long-term plans included the “possibility of creating a holding company structure,” as well as listing its shares on international exchanges, such as the U.S. stock market. To determine whether or not these are steps that should be taken, Samsung says that it has hired external advisers to conduct a thorough review of its corporate structure.

So what steps did the company take? Well, for starters, it’s enhancing its shareholder return program, with a hefty 50 percent of its free cash flow in 2016 and 2017 going straight to shareholder returns. Not only that, but it will also review both its capital management and its cash position every three years in order to ensure that it maximizes profits with business and economic developments. Last but not least, as previously mentioned, the company will bring on a few new independent board members.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the company fares over the next few years. After a year of seemingly bleeding money, Samsung will want to seriously reassure both investors and consumers that it’s here to stay.

Updated on 11-28-2016 by Christian de Looper: Included official information from Samsung about its new road map.

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