At long last, Apple has announced plans to deplete some of its £61.5 billion cash stockpile.
The firm expects to spend £28 billion over the next three years, by first issuing a dividend of £1.67 per share, which will mark the first time that the company has declared a dividend since 1995. Apple will then look to buy back up to £6.3 billion of its shares starting in the firm's next financial year, which will begin on September 30th, 2012.
"We have used some of our cash to make great investments in our business through increased research and development, acquisitions, new retail store openings, strategic prepayments and capital expenditures in our supply chain, and building out our infrastructure. You'll see more of all of these in the future. Even with these investments, we can maintain a war chest for strategic opportunities and have plenty of cash to run our business. So we are going to initiate a dividend and share repurchase programme." stated Apple chief executive, Tim Cook.
Anyone with some free cash handy ten years ago who was smart enough to invest in Apple must surely be a happy person, as in this time-frame, shares have risen from £6.30 to a value of £376.26, with Apple's repurchase programme likely to drive individual share value up even further, whilst offering the opportunity for many to cash in on their investment.
