Shortly after disclosing a record-breaking earnings report for the fourth quarter of last year, Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it would buy back shares worth 9.3 trillion won ($8 billion) and offer 3.8 trillion won in dividends.

The 9.3 trillion won is the sum of the remaining amount of shareholders’ return resources in 2015 and 2016. The South Korean tech giant plans to repurchase and cancel the shares over three to four phases.

The South Korean company said earlier in the day it had posted 7.1 trillion won in net income during the final three months last year, compared to 3.2 trillion won a year earlier. 

The board of directors at Samsung Electronics also approved releasing 3.8 trillion won in year-end dividends, which works out to 27,500 won per common share and 27,550 won for preferred shares.

The figure is close to the 4 trillion won cash return plan announced as part of Samsung’s shareholder value enhancement policy in November, according to market watchers, noting the tech giant appears to have satisfied market expectations.

About half of the 3.8 trillion won will be returned to foreign investors who hold more than 50 percent of shares in the world’s largest manufacturer of smartphones, computer chips and TVs.

The ownership family, including Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee and his only son Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, will take 190 billion won in cash.

The announcement meant to raise shareholders’ value was delivered a day after a lengthy press conference held to release findings on the cause of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones catching fire. The tech giant’s de facto leader Lee Jae-yong has also been facing a high-profile probe over his alleged involvement in a massive influence-peddling scandal that involves President Park Geun-hye.

In a conference call, a Samsung executive expressed concerns over the ongoing probe and its impact on the company’s business operations in the long term.

“I believe that business activities by a top executive are important to seek future engine growth amid lingering uncertainty over a change in global environment and (Samsung’s) corporate restructuring,” said the official. “But if such activities will be limited (due to the probe), then we might face concerns in the long term.”

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)