Celltrion has decided on another share buyback worth 50 billion won ($38.7 million).

Celltrion said Thursday it held a board meeting and decided to repurchase 314,466 shares of its common stock. It will be the company’s third share buyback, following February and March.

Based on Wednesday's closing price, the expected purchase price is 50 billion won. Celltrion plans to acquire these shares through over-the-counter purchases for the next three months from Thursday until Sept. 22.

Celltrion will have acquired 971,820 shares this year after the share buyback. Last year, Celltrion repurchased 1,555,883 shares worth about 253.5 billion won.

In addition, Celltrion emphasized that it has tried to stabilize its share price and enhance shareholder value through its decision on simultaneous cash and stock dividends.

“Our confidence in the growth of Celltrion’s business and our commitment to enhancing shareholder value has prompted us to conduct our third share repurchase this year,” a company official said. “We will continue to strive to strengthen our business competitiveness, preserve corporate value, and enhance shareholder value through the acquisition of shares, as well as securing a diverse product pipeline and future growth engines.”

However, some shareholders pointed out that the buybacks have not produced a significant share price boost because they have not led to incineration.

In March, Celltrion Honorary Chairman Seo Jung-jin also admitted this.

“We recognize that there are shareholders who want to defend share prices through their buyback and incineration,” Seo said. “But it’s more beneficial for the company to do M&A through a share swap than to have the share price go by a couple of percent (through buyback and incineration).”

Meanwhile, on the same day, Celltrion said that it is currently adjusting the timing of the merger considering the global financial markets and the business progress of the group companies and plans to proceed with share repurchases in light of the overall situation.