Republic Airways Board Approves $75 Mln Plan For Shareholder Returns

(RTTNews) - Republic Airways Holdings Inc. (RJET) announced that its Board has authorized company management to utilize up to $75 million of unrestricted cash to buy back common shares and/or early retire convertible debt during the next 12 months.

Under the $75 million authorization, the company said it may repurchase up to $50 million of common shares and early retire up to $50 million of convertible notes, or any combination thereof.

"While the lack of additional growth prospects is disappointing, our near-term financial outlook will significantly improve. A reduction in forecasted operating expenses for the remainder of 2014, combined with fewer dilutive shares going forward, will have a meaningful positive impact on our 2014 earnings per share. We look forward to sharing updated guidance for 2014 during our first quarter earnings call," said Tim Dooley, Republic's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.