AECOM Unveils Capital Allocation Policy Incl. $1 Bln Stock Repurchase Program

(RTTNews) - AECOM (ACM), a premier, fully integrated global infrastructure firm, announced late Thursday a formalized capital allocation policy. This includes the authorization by the Board of Directors of a new $1 billion stock repurchase program.

The capital allocation policy's key features include allocating substantially all free cash flow to debt reduction until achieving net debt-to-EBITDA of 2.5x, which is expected to occur by the end of fiscal year 2018.

Upon achieving this, the Company intends to return substantially all free cash flow to investors through the new $1 billion stock repurchase authorization as part of the longer-term capital allocation framework.

Acquisitions are expected to be limited to strategic, niche targets that will not adversely impact the Company's 2.5x net leverage target.

The company said additional details of its capital allocation policy will be provided on its fourth quarter earnings conference call and at its annual Investor Day in December.

Michael Burke, AECOM's chairman and chief executive officer, said, "We have made substantial progress with $1.4 billion of debt reduction over the past several years. We will continue to focus on debt reduction."

"We have a track record of generating industry leading cash flow and consistent operating performance, including $1.9 billion of free cash flow over the past three years and a forecast for at least $3.5 billion of cumulative free cash flow from fiscal years 2017 through 2021," added Troy Rudd, AECOM's chief financial officer.