| Dividend paid for year | Number of shares that received dividends(1) | Dividend per unit (in euros) | Total payout (millions of euros) | Share price at December 31 (in euros) | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dividend paid for year 2015 |
Number of shares that received dividends (1)222,234,679 |
Dividend per unit (in euros) 1.60 |
Total payout (millions of euros) 355.6 |
Share price at December 31 (in euros) 61.38 |
Yield 2.61% |
Dividend paid for year 2016 |
Number of shares that received dividends (1)223,642,509 |
Dividend per unit (in euros) 1.85 |
Total payout (millions of euros) 413.7 |
Share price at December 31 (in euros) 65.55 |
Yield 2.82% |
Dividend paid for year 2017 |
Number of shares that received dividends (1)227,064,967 |
Dividend per unit (in euros) 2.00 |
Total payout (millions of euros) 454.1 |
Share price at December 31 (in euros) 56.65 |
Yield 3.53% |
Dividend paid for year 2018 |
Number of shares that received dividends (1)232,480,960 |
Dividend per unit (in euros) 2.12 |
Total payout (millions of euros) 492.9 |
Share price at December 31 (in euros) 50.08 |
Yield 4.23% |
Dividend paid for year 2019 |
Number of shares that received dividends (1)240,437,061(1) |
Dividend per unit (in euros) 1.15(2) |
Total payout (millions of euros) 276.5 |
Share price at December 31 (in euros) 40.36 |
Yield 2.85% |
(1) Number of dividend-bearing shares after deducting treasury shares, except for the 2019 appropriation, which includes treasury shares existing as at December 31, 2019.
(2) The Supervisory Board has decided, on the recommendation of the Management Board, to reduce the proposed dividend to be paid for financial year 2019 from €2.30 to €1.15 per share, as part of an exceptional measure related to the Covid-19 pandemic. It should be noted that the consolidated financial statements, approved by the Management Board on February 3 and reviewed by the Supervisory Board on February 5, show a proposed dividend of €2.30 per share (6.6 note 19), corresponding to the dividend initially proposed and therefore do not reflect the 50% reduction decided by the Group’s Supervisory Board on April 10, 2020.
The dividends will be time-barred after five years. They are then paid to the French state. In 2014, the Company raised its medium-term payout ratio commitment, set at 35% until that point, to 42%, reflecting its determination to reach the average payout ratio for its industry. In order to honor this commitment, the dividend in respect of 2014, 2015 and 2016 was euro 1.20, 1.60 and then 1.85 per share, which represents a payout ratio of 33.0%, 36.4% and 41.5% respectively of diluted earnings per share.
With the aim of further increasing the payout ratio in line with competitor practices, a proposal was made to increase the dividend to euro 2.00 per share for 2017, which represents a payout ratio of 44.4% of diluted headline earnings per share and an increase of 8.1% over the previous year. As part of the “Sprint to the Future” plan, the Groupe undertook to maintain a payout ratio of around 45%. The proposed dividend of euro 2.12 per share for the year 2018 reflects this. Up 6%, it represents 44.9% of diluted headline EPS.
In 2019, it was initially planned to propose a dividend of euro 2.30 per share, representing a payout ratio of 45.8% of diluted headline earnings per share. However, in view of the global crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, it was decided to reduce the dividend planned for 2019 to euro 1.15 per share. Subject to the approval of the General Shareholders’ Meeting of May 27, 2020 and in line with the proposals for the six previous years, the dividend will be paid in cash or in shares, as the shareholder chooses.
