Today, the High Court has approved a reduction of TORM plc’s share premium account by USD 900m (the “Capital Reduction”) under section 648 of the Companies Act 2006. The Capital Reduction was approved by TORM’s shareholders at the Annual General Meeting held on 15 April 2020.
The Capital Reduction will not reduce the underlying net assets of the Company but increase the distributable reserves by USD 900m and thereby provide the Company with additional flexibility to undertake future share buybacks or dividend payments, should circumstances make this desirable.
Once the formal order of the Court is received, it will be submitted to the Registrar of Companies, and accordingly take effect on registration of the order and statement of capital. Due to the impact of the COVID- 19, the Registrar of Companies is unable to register the Capital Reduction within normal time. The timing of the registration is therefore uncertain, but expected within a month, and will be available on the website of the Registrar of Companies when the registration has been conducted.
