MELBOURNE, March 27 (Reuters) - South32 Ltd S32.AX said on Monday it would return $500 million to shareholders, rewarding investors who had been waiting for the company to use its strong balance sheet and cashflows on bigger payouts or acquisitions.
The diversified miner, spun off by BHP Billiton BHP.AX BLT.L two years ago, said it would launch an on-market share buyback in Australia targeting 4.5 percent of its share base, which it expected to complete over 12 months, depending on market conditions.
"Our net cash balance continues to build giving us the financial strength and flexibility to invest in our existing operations, pursue opportunities where we can create value and return excess capital to shareholders," South32 Chief Executive Graham Kerr said in a statement.
South32 shares last traded at A$2.72, about triple the value they were at in January 2016 and about 28 percent higher than their launch price in May 2015.