CSL to conduct another $900m buyback

In an address to shareholders at the company's annual general meeting today, CSL chairman professor John Shine revealed the company will buy back up to $900 million worth of its own shares in on-market transactions over the next 12 months.

The buyback will be CSL's sixth since 2005. The company is in the final stages of completing another $900 million buyback which commenced in October 2011.

To date, CSL has bought back nearly 20% of its shares on issue through these programs. The latest buyback will cover 4% of the remaining shares on issue.

Shine also re-affirmed its forecast for the current financial year, first made in August, that profit will grow around 12% over the prior year based on FY12 exchange rates.

This will be the first year that CSL reports its annual results in US dollars. Shine reiterated that the company is making the change to comply with the global pharmaceutical industry's standard reporting currency, and “reflect the increasing predominance of CSL's worldwide sales... in US dollars.”

To help the transition the company soon plans to publish its full financial statements for FY12, as well as historical key financial data from the last five years, re-stated into US dollars.

CSL in August announced that CEO Brian McNamee will step down in July 2013. He will be replaced by Paul Perrault, the curent president of the company's plasma subsidiary CSL Behring.

Shine thanked McNamee for his “extraordinary contribution to the company,” noting that he had been “instrumental” in transforming CSL into the multinational business it is today.

CSL (ASX:CSL) shares were trading 1.93% higher at $47.640 as of around 2pm on Wednesday.