Reservation system - non-Canadian buyers of common shares
Under federal legislation, total non-Canadian ownership of common shares of Canadian telecommunications companies, including TELUS, is limited to 33.3 per cent. A reservation system controls and monitors this level. This system requires non-Canadian buyers of common shares to obtain a reservation number from Computershare by calling the Reservations Unit at 1-877-267-2236 (toll-free). The buyer is notified within two hours if common shares are available for registration. There are no ownership restrictions on non-voting shares.
In order to view elements of this site, you need to activate JavaScript and have Adobe Flash Player installed on your computer.
You can download the latest Flash Player for free from Adobe's website.
Dividend developments
In November 2006, TELUS announced a 36 per cent or 10 cent increase to its quarterly dividend, bringing it to 37.5 cents per share payable on January 1, 2007 or $1.50 on an annualized basis.
The increase is consistent with the forward-looking dividend payout ratio guideline, set in 2004, of 45 to 55 per cent of sustainable net earnings. The guideline provides investors with greater clarity and is a framework to assess the potential for future dividend increases.
As defined in the draft legislation dated June 29, 2006, all common and non-voting share dividends paid during 2006 are eligible dividends. Under this proposed legislation, individuals resident in Canada may be entitled to enhanced dividend tax credits that would reduce the income tax payable.
Normal course issuer bid
On December 20, 2006, TELUS implemented a third normal course issuer bid (NCIB) to repurchase up to 12 million of its outstanding common shares and up to 12 million of its outstanding non-voting shares for up to a 12-month period. As of December 31, 2006, TELUS had repurchased 186,723 shares for $9.8 million under this program. The previous NCIB, which expired on December 19, 2006 for the purchase of up to 24 million shares, resulted in 17.4 million shares being purchased for $848 million.
TELUS believes that such purchases are in the best interest of TELUS shareholders and constitute an attractive investment opportunity and a desirable use of TELUS' funds that should enhance the value of the remaining shares. In total, since December 2004, we have repurchased 39.4 million shares for $1.77 billion.