Prague  - The shareholders of the Czech power giant CEZ agreed Wednesday to extend the firm's buyback programme by another 10 per cent, the company said.

The state-controlled CEZ also received shareholders' green light for cancelling 9.15 per cent of company shares that the utility had bought back previously, spokeswoman Eva Novakova said in a statement.

The power producer has said earlier it spent 67.3 billion koruny (4.22 billion dollars) on buying back roughly 9.8 per cent of its shares.

The shareholders also approved board's proposal to pay out 21.3 billion koruny in dividends, including 15.2 billion koruny to the state, the company said.

CEZ is the Czech Republic's most profitable company and has been on an investment spree across the former Eastern bloc in recent years. (dpa)