Prenetics (PRE.US), the world's leading genetic and diagnostic testing company, announced on November 30th that its board of directors has approved its share buyback plan. Under the plan, Prenetics will buy back shares within the next 24 months, totaling no more than $20 million.

Meanwhile, Prenetics announced that it had been included in the MSCI Global Micro stocks Index (Hong Kong), an adjustment that will take effect after the close of US stocks on November 30th.

Start the first share buyback program

According to the Prenetics announcement, the company's board of directors has approved its share buyback plan, and the company will buy back shares within the next 24 months, with a total repurchase amount of no more than $20 million. This is the first time that Prenetics has launched a share buyback since its listing.

Under the buyback program, Prenetics can be conducted through open market transactions, privately negotiated transactions, block transactions or other ways permitted by law, and can be repurchased in a variety of ways at the same time. Prenetics said it planned to use existing cash and cash equivalents or future cash flows as a source of funding for share buybacks.

The announcement shows that the implementation time and specific amount of Prenetics's share repurchase plan will be evaluated according to future market conditions, and will also take into account the company's capital position, stock liquidity, capital position, future financial performance, regulatory requirements and other factors. There is no specific buyback quantity for this repurchase, and the repurchase plan can be modified, suspended or terminated at any time.

Affected by market factors, the recent Prenetics stock price has obviously entered the undervalued range. Yang Shengwu, chief executive officer and co-founder of Prenetics, said, "due to the recent global market fluctuations and the lifting of the stock ban, the recent valuation of the company has been below the book value of $207 million, which shows that the company has been significantly undervalued. The purpose of announcing the share buyback plan is to fulfill our commitment to focus on long-term value and believe that Prenetics will create good returns for shareholders in the future. "

So far, the company has net current assets of $250 million and its balance sheet is very healthy, Mr Yang said. At the same time, the company's business fundamentals continue to maintain strong growth, with total revenue expected to reach $270 million to $280 million in fiscal 2022 and an adjusted EBITDA of $47 million to $53 million.

Include MSCI related index for the first time

Prenetics, founded in 2014 by Yang Shengwu and others, is a global diagnostic and genetic testing company, mainly engaged in prevention, diagnosis and personalized care, currently operating in nine countries and regions, including the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, China, India, South Africa and Southeast Asia.

At the same time as the share buyback announcement, Prenetics also announced that its shares had been included in the MSCI Global Micro stocks Index (Hong Kong). The adjustment will take effect after the close of U. S. stocks on November 30.

MSCI is the world's leading provider of stock indices, and it is widely regarded as a benchmark for global institutional investors, especially passive index funds, to optimize their portfolios. MSCI's indices cover many companies with good performance, and it will also assess indicators such as market capitalization and liquidity of alternative target companies.

The MSCI Global Micro stocks Index covers 299 stocks in 22 developed markets, including Hong Kong, which is made up of 17 Hong Kong-based companies, including Prenetics.

This is the first time that Prenetics has been included in the global major index stocks, is a milestone in the development of the company, but also fully demonstrated the relevant institutions' confidence in the company's long-term growth. Prenetics said it expects the company to be included in other indices in the short term.