RE:RE:VIEMED HEALTHCARE ANNOUNCES SHARE REPURCHASE PROGRAMThe last share repurchase program of the company was announced on November 26, 2018. It commenced on November 29, 2018, the Company was able to commence making purchases of up to a maximum of 1,875,575 common shares, which represented approximately 5% of the Company’s issued and outstanding common shares at the time.
For the period ended December 31, 2018, the Company re-purchased and cancelled 410,703 common shares pursuant to the NCIB at a cost of $1,595,000.
The Company’s share capital was reduced by the average carrying value of the shares repurchased for cancellation. The excess paid over the average carrying value of stated capital was $1,594,000 and was recognized as a reduction to retained earnings. It appeared to be a sustained repurchase program.
The average price of the shares repurchased up to Dec 31, 2018 was $3.89 US. (Note: That repurchase program was done on the TSX before VMD was listed on Nasdaq.)
Leading up to the NCIB was a TSX trading halt on Nov 19, 2018 due to a significant decline in share price. The shares dropped 46% in value in the course of a few days. The company issued a news release stating: "The Company suspects that the activity could be related to a recent report that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is considering adding various codes to the next round of the Competitive Bidding Program (CBP), one of which is ventilators. The Company will be submitting comments to CMS in the normal course of business. Comments are due to CMS by December 3, 2018. The Company does not believe that ventilators should be included in the CBP. Additionally, the Company is aware that the CBP has been temporarily suspended starting January 1, 2019, therefore, any changes should not be effective until January 1, 2021, at the earliest."
Now in 2022, we don't have that sort of event. Instead we have had a long-term steady decline in share price, likely due to the selling of two of the largest investors. Furthermore, we have just had an earnings surprise annoucement and the pandemic appears to be over. There is the uncertainty over inflation, interest rates and the European conflict.