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Shareholders' equity
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12 Months Ended |
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Dec. 31, 2012
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| Equity [Abstract] | |
| Shareholders' equity |
8. Shareholders’ equity The Company had 106.9 million, 115.8 million, and 117.8 million common shares outstanding at December 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010, respectively. In December 2004, the Company authorized 7.5 million preference shares at $0.002 par value. The 7.5 million authorized preference shares remained unissued as of December 31, 2012. Preference shares may be issued from time to time in one or more series, each of such series to have such voting powers (full or limited or without voting powers), designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights and qualifications, limitations or restrictions as determined by the Company’s board of directors. Dividends The declaration of future dividends is subject to the discretion of the Company’s board of directors and will depend upon various factors, including its earnings, financial condition, Herbalife Ltd.’s available distributable reserves under Cayman Islands law, restrictions imposed by the Credit Facility and the terms of any other indebtedness that may be outstanding, cash requirements, future prospects and other factors deemed relevant by its board of directors. The Credit Facility permits payments of dividends as long as no default or event of default exists and the consolidated leverage ratio specified in the Credit Facility is not exceeded. During the second quarter of 2007, the Company’s board of directors adopted a regular quarterly cash dividend program. The Company’s board of directors authorized a $0.10 per common share cash dividend each quarter from the adoption of the program through the second quarter of 2010. On August 2, 2010, the Company announced that its board of directors approved an increase in the quarterly cash dividend to $0.13 per common share, an increase of $0.03 per common share from prior quarters. On May 2, 2011, the Company announced that its board of directors approved an increase in the quarterly cash dividend to $0.20 per common share, an increase of $0.07 per common share from prior quarters. On February 21, 2012, the Company announced that its board of directors approved an increase in the quarterly cash dividend to $0.30 per common share, an increase of $0.10 per common share from prior quarters. The aggregate amount of dividends paid and declared during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010, was approximately $135.1 million, $85.5 million, and $53.7 million, respectively.
Share Repurchases On April 17, 2009, the Company’s share repurchase program adopted on April 18, 2007 expired pursuant to its terms. On April 30, 2009, the Company announced that its board of directors authorized a new program for the Company to repurchase up to $300 million of Herbalife common shares during the following two years, at such times and prices as determined by the Company’s management as market conditions warrant. On May 3, 2010, the Company’s board of directors approved an increase to this share repurchase program from $300 million to $1 billion. In addition, the Company’s board of directors approved the extension of the expiration date of this share repurchase program from April 2011 to December 2014. On May 2, 2012, the Company entered into an agreement with Merrill Lynch International to repurchase $427.9 million of its common shares, which was the remaining authorized capacity under this share repurchase program at that time. Under the terms of the repurchase agreement, the Company paid $427.9 million on May 4, 2012 and the agreement expired on July 27, 2012. The Company received 5.3 million and 3.9 million of its common shares under the repurchase agreement during June 2012 and July 2012, respectively. The total number of common shares repurchased under the agreement was determined generally upon a discounted volume-weighted average share price of the Company’s common shares over the course of the agreement. On July 27, 2012, the Company completed this share repurchase program upon the final delivery of common shares repurchased under the repurchase agreement. On July 30, 2012, the Company announced that its board of directors authorized a new $1 billion share repurchase program that will expire on June 30, 2017. This share repurchase program allows the Company to repurchase its common shares, at such times and prices as determined by the Company’s management as market conditions warrant, and to the extent Herbalife Ltd.’s distributable reserves are available under Cayman Islands law. The Credit Facility permits the Company to repurchase its common shares as long as no default or event of default exists and the consolidated leverage ratio specified in the Credit Facility is not exceeded. As of December 31, 2012, the remaining authorized capacity under this share repurchase program was $950.0 million. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company repurchased 11.0 million of its common shares through open market purchases at an aggregate cost of approximately $527.8 million, or an average cost of $47.78 per share. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company repurchased 5.5 million of its common shares through open market purchases at an aggregate cost of approximately $298.8 million, or an average cost of $54.27 per share. During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company repurchased 5.7 million of its common shares through open market purchases at an aggregate cost of approximately $150.1 million, or an average cost of $26.13 per share. The Company reflects the aggregate purchase price of the common shares repurchased as a reduction to shareholders’ equity. The Company allocated the purchase price of the repurchased shares as a reduction to retained earnings, common shares and additional paid-in-capital. The number of shares issued upon vesting or exercise for certain restricted stock units and SARs granted, pursuant to the Company’s share-based compensation plans, is net of the minimum statutory withholding requirements that the Company pays on behalf of its employees. Although shares withheld are not issued, they are treated as common share repurchases in the Company’s consolidated financial statements, as they reduce the number of shares that would have been issued upon vesting. These shares do not count against the authorized capacity under the share repurchase program described above. |