The A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price was a strong performer in November.
During the period, the infant formula company's shares rose almost 18%.
This means the A2 Milk share price is now in positive territory for 2022 with a year to date gain of 12%.
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Why did the A2 Milk share price smash the market in November?
There were a couple of key catalysts for the strong A2 Milk share price performance in November.
The first was news that the US Food & Drug Administration has granted A2 Milk approval to import, sell, and distribute infant formula products in the US market.
Due to the timing of the agreement, management doesn't expect any impact in the first half of FY 2023. However, it estimates that it will ship 1 million cans of infant formula to the country during the second half.
The company also notes that it has capacity to supply upwards of 9 million cans in the future if required. So, this could be the beginning of something much greater if all goes to plan.
A2 Milk's CEO, David Bortolussi, commented:
We are increasing our supply to respond to this situation, while importantly ensuring that we continue to meet the needs of our other IMF consumers and trade partners in China and other markets. If the US requires further support over an extended period, we have the proven ability to scale up significantly.
What else?
Also supporting the A2 Milk share price was the company's ongoing NZ$150 million on-market share buyback.
After commencing on 8 November, the company was regularly dipping into the market to buy shares and then retire them. So much so, according to its 1 December buyback notice, A2 Milk had bought 7,159,019 shares during the month since the buyback began.
This represents in the region of $43 million in buyback, which means there's still plenty more to come in December and beyond.
