Treasury shares held at the end of the year, including those owned under the liquidity contract, are deducted from the share capital.
The portfolio of treasury shares showed the following movements in 2021 and 2022:
| Number of shares | |
|---|---|
| Treasury shares held on December 31, 2020 | Treasury shares held on December 31, 2020Number of shares2,191,259 |
| Disposals (exercise of stock options) and deliveries of free shares | Disposals (exercise of stock options) and deliveries of free shares Number of shares(814,401) |
| Buybacks of treasury shares | Buybacks of treasury shares Number of shares2,500,000 |
| Movements as part of the liquidity contract | Movements as part of the liquidity contract Number of shares(14,958) |
| Treasury shares held on December 31, 2021(1) | Treasury shares held on December 31, 2021(1)Number of shares3,861,900 |
| Disposals (exercise of stock options) and deliveries of free shares | Disposals (exercise of stock options) and deliveries of free shares Number of shares(1,546,529) |
| Buybacks of treasury shares | Buybacks of treasury shares Number of shares- |
| Movements as part of the liquidity contract | Movements as part of the liquidity contract Number of shares4,424 |
| Treasury shares held on December 31, 2022(1) | Treasury shares held on December 31, 2022(1)Number of shares 2,319,795 |
(1) Including 57,924 shares held as part of the liquidity contract on December 31, 2022, and 53,500 on December 31, 2021.
/ Dividends proposed and voted
| Per share (in euros) |
Total (in millions of euros) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Dividends paid in 2022 (for the 2021 financial year) | Dividends paid in 2022 (for the 2021 financial year) Per share (in euros)2.40 |
Dividends paid in 2022 (for the 2021 financial year) Total (in millions of euros) 603(1) |
| Dividends proposed to the General Shareholders’ Meeting (for the 2022 financial year) | Dividends proposed to the General Shareholders’ Meeting (for the 2022 financial year) Per share (in euros)2.90 |
Dividends proposed to the General Shareholders’ Meeting (for the 2022 financial year) Total (in millions of euros) 737(2) |
(1) Amount fully paid in cash.
(2) Amount for all shares outstanding on December 31, 2022, including treasury shares.
The Groupe’s policy is to maintain a solid capital base in order to maintain the confidence of investors, creditors and the market and to support future activity development. The Groupe’s management pays particular attention to the debt-to-equity ratio, which is defined as net debt (financial debt less cash and cash equivalents) divided by equity (including non-controlling interests) and has calculated that the ideal debt-to-equity ratio is less than 0.80. As at December 31, 2022 the debt-to-equity ratio, taking lease liabilities into account, was 0.20. At December 31, 2021, it was 0.25.
Management also monitors the dividend payout rate, which is defined as the ratio between the dividend per share and the diluted headline earnings per share. Given the dividend amount (euro 2.90 per share) which will be proposed at the General Shareholders’ Meeting, the rate will be 45.7% for the 2022 financial year compared to 47.8% for the 2021 financial year.
