Baycorp Advantage will return A$90 million ($108 million) to its shareholders - compared with the A$100 million expected.
Chairman Glenn Barnes told a special meeting in Sydney yesterday that shareholders would receive the money through a special dividend and on-market buybacks.
Media reports last week suggested A$100 million - the
proceeds of the sale of Baycorp's debt collection business - would be returned to shareholders.
The lesser amount would be returned through a return of share capital of 35Ac per share, comprising about A$79 million.
An existing A$35 million on-market share buyback of up to 5 per cent of the company's issued share capital, to about A$11 million, would also be reinstated, to start after the company's full-year results in August, Barnes said.
Baycorp shares closed down 4c at A$3.91 after the meeting yesterday.
Shareholders also approved the A$97 million sale of the debt collection business to Trans Tasman Collections, allowing Baycorp to focus on its credit rating services.
"The divestment of the collections business is a key element of the company's strategy to focus on developing its information services businesses, and on the vision of positioning the company as the leading provider of business intelligence services in our region," said Barnes.
Managing director Andrew Want said Baycorp expected revenue for the year to June 30 of about A$200 million and a net profit in line with or slightly above A$40 million.
Dividends would be maintained at between 70 per cent to 90 per cent of available profits.
The company also sold the Baycorp brand because it had become synonymous with debt collection services in New Zealand.
New name and branding options were being explored for the business intelligence services business and would be presented for shareholder approve at the company's annual meeting in October.
The dividend
* Baycorp Advantage will return A$90 million to its shareholders in two ways:
* A return of share capital of 35Ac per share, comprising about A$79 million.
* An on-market share buyback of up to 5 per cent of the company's issued share capital to about A$11 million.
