JOIN US iPad maker Apple, which is sitting on cash reserves of nearly USD 100 billion, today announced a quarterly dividend of USD 2.65 per share and a share buyback of up to USD 10 billion.
Apple in a statement said it will be using USD 45 billion of cash in the first three years through its plans to initiate a dividend and share repurchase programmes.
Shares of the world's most valued company jumped by 1.18 per cent to USD 592.49 on Nasdaq in early trade.
Subject to approval by the Board of Directors, Apple plans to initiate a quarterly dividend of USD 2.65 per share sometime in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2012, which begins on July 1, 2012.
Additionally, the company’s Board of Directors has authorised a USD 10 billion share repurchase programme commencing in the company's fiscal 2013, which begins on September 30, 2012.
The repurchase programme is expected to be executed over three years, with the primary objective of neutralising the impact of dilution from future employee equity grants and employee stock purchase programmes.
"We have used some of our cash to make great investments in our business through increased research and development, acquisitions, new retail store openings, strategic prepayments and capital expenditures in our supply chain, and building out our infrastructure. You’ll see more of all of these in the future," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a conference call.
"Even with these investments, we can maintain a war chest for strategic opportunities and have plenty of cash to run our business. So we are going to initiate a dividend and share repurchase programme."
Apple's CFO Peter Oppenheimer said that taking into account the dividends and share repurchases, the company will be utilising approximately USD 45 billion of cash in the first three years of the programme.