CEZ AS (BAACEZ.PR), a central European power company based in the Czech Republic, aims to launch another share buyback program by the end of this year, the company's chief financial executive said Thursday.
"We'd like to do it this year but we may not manage it," Martin Novak said at a press conference, adding that the company must first cancel the shares it has bought over the past twelve months.
CEZ has bought just under 10% of its own shares from the market.
The company must cancel these shares in order to buyback additional shares. According to Czech and European law, a company can hold a maximum of 10% of its own shares.
"Canceling the shares bought in the previous share buyback will take several months," Novak said, adding that CEZ estimates the cancelations will be complete in three to six months.
Earlier in the day, CEZ said its net profit in the first quarter rose 22% on the year to 15.52 billion Czech koruna ($963.8 million) in the three months ended March 31, from CZK12.68 billion in the same period a year earlier.