The General Shareholders’ Meeting called to approve the 2021 financial statements on May 25, 2022, will be asked to appropriate distributable earnings, which consist of:
I.e., a total of euro 608,309,781.60 distributed to shareholders (based on a dividend of euro 2.40 per share and 253,462,409 shares, including treasury shares, as at December 31, 2021).
| Dividend paid for the financial year | Number of shares that received dividends (1) |
Unit dividend (in euros) |
Total payout (in millions |
Share price at (in euros) |
Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2017 Number of shares that received dividends (1)227,064,967 |
2017 Unit dividend(in euros) 2.00 |
2017 Total payout (in millions 454.1 |
2017 Share price at (in euros) 56.65 |
2017 Yield 3.53% |
| 2018 | 2018 Number of shares that received dividends (1)232,480,960 |
2018 Unit dividend(in euros) 2.12 |
2018 Total payout (in millions 492.9 |
2018 Share price at (in euros) 50.08 |
2018 Yield 4.23% |
| 2019 | 2019 Number of shares that received dividends (1)240,437,061 |
2019 Unit dividend(in euros) 1.15 (2) |
2019 Total payout (in millions 276.5 |
2019 Share price at (in euros) 40.36 |
2019 Yield 2.85% |
| 2020 | 2020 Number of shares that received dividends (1)247,769,038 |
2020 Unit dividend(in euros) 2.00 |
2020 Total payout (in millions 495.5 |
2020 Share price at (in euros) 40.76 |
2020 Yield 4.91% |
| 2021 | 2021 Number of shares that received dividends (1)253,462,409 |
2021Unit dividend (in euros) 2.40(3) |
2021
Total payout (in millions |
2021
Share price at (in euros) 59.20 |
2021 Yield 4.01% |
(1) Number of dividend-bearing shares after deducting treasury shares, except for the 2021 appropriation, which includes treasury shares existing as at December 31, 2021.
(2) The dividend to be paid in respect of the 2019 financial year was reduced from euro 2.30 to euro 1.15 per share, as part of an exceptional measure related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
(3) Submitted to Shareholders’ vote during the General Shareholders’ Meeting of May 25, 2022.
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. 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 committed to a payout ratio of around 45%. This resulted in a dividend of euro 2.12 per share for 2018, an increase of 6% and representing 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. In respect of
2020, the Groupe paid a dividend of euro 2.00 per share, i.e., a payout ratio of 46.8%, a level higher than that observed before the pandemic.
On the occasion of its annual results for 2021, the Groupe proposed to increase its dividend payout ratio, which will be between 45% and 50%. Accordingly, a dividend of euro 2.40 per share for 2021 will be proposed to shareholders at the General Shareholders’ Meeting on May 25, 2022. This dividend corresponds to a payout ratio of 47.8% of diluted earnings per share.
