Henry Schein announces increase to share repurchasing scheme

Henry Schein has expanded its current share repurchase programme, underlining its commitment to generating improved value for shareholders.

The company's board of directors has authorised the repurchase of up to $300 million (190.99 million pounds) of shares of the firm's common stock, based on the strength of its recent fiscal performance.

This is in addition to the $300 million repurchase programme announced in December 2013. As of this month, the older scheme has approximately $10.5 million remaining authorised for future repurchases.

According to figures from September 27th 2014, the firm has approximately 84 million shares outstanding, with this new authorisation representing approximately three percent of shares outstanding at the current stock price.

Stanley Bergman, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Henry Schein, said: "Our strong balance sheet provides us with the financial flexibility to return capital to shareholders while continuing to invest in our business and maintaining our ability to capitalise on our growth opportunities."

Henry Schein achieved a record-breaking sales total of $2.6 billion in the third quarter of 2014. Based on its performance so far this year, it has raised the low end of its 2014 financial guidance.