COWAY Enhances Shareholder Value with 40% Payout Ratio (KRW 247.3B) and 1.14M Share Cancellation in 2025, Continues Governance Improvement
Dividend and Share Buyback/Cancellation: COWAY allocated KRW 247.3 billion (40% of 2025 consolidated net profit of KRW 617.5 billion) to shareholder return, consisting of KRW 137.3 billion in cash dividends (KRW 1,957 per share) and KRW 110.0 billion in treasury share acquisition and cancellation (approximately 1.14 million shares), enhancing shareholder value.
Share Cancellation Scale: In February 2026, the company cancelled all 1,141,707 treasury shares (approx. KRW 80.8 billion value) and entered into a new KRW 50 billion trust contract for treasury share acquisition, continuing the shareholder return policy.
Quarterly Dividend Introduction and Articles Amendment: At the March 2026 general shareholders' meeting, articles were amended to allow quarterly dividends, with implementation starting from Q1 2026, improving dividend predictability.
Corporate Value-up Plan Implementation: After disclosing the value-up plan in 2025, COWAY reported 2025 consolidated sales of KRW 4.96 trillion (+15.2% YoY), Net Debt/EBIT of 2.1x, and a governance core indicator compliance rate of 74% in its February 2026 evaluation disclosure.
Governance Improvements: Introduction of lead independent director system (2026), establishment of an internal transaction committee (all outside directors), compensation committee, and expansion of outside director ratio to 66.7%, strengthening independence and transparency.
Shareholder Communication: Received and reviewed three shareholder proposals from Align Partners, responded to public letters, and maintained transparent communication through regular domestic/international NDRs and earnings calls.
[AI Summary]COWAY's solid 2025 performance enabled it to faithfully execute a 40% payout policy (dividends + share cancellations), sending a positive signal for shareholder value. The cancellation scale (1.6%) and introduction of quarterly dividends support medium-term price stability, but the low major shareholder stake (26.19%) and lack of electronic voting remain governance areas for improvement.