You are asked in the 1st and 2nd resolutions to approve both the Company and consolidated financial statements of Air Liquide for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, as presented in Chapter 4 of the 2023 Universal Registration Document.
(Approval of the Company financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023)
The General Meeting, deliberating according to the quorum and majority required for Ordinary General Meetings, having noted:
approves the Company financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023 as presented, and approves the transactions reflected in these financial statements or mentioned in these Reports.
The General Meeting determines the amount of net earnings for the fiscal year to be 977,202,213 euros.
(Approval of the consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023)
The General Meeting, deliberating according to the quorum and majority required for Ordinary General Meetings, having noted:
approves the consolidated financial statements for the year ended, December 31, 2023, as presented.
In the 3rd resolution, the Board of Directors asks you to approve the distribution of a dividend of 3.20 euros per share, representing growth of +8.5% compared to the previous year. In addition, an allocation of free shares at the rate of one free share for 10 shares held, as well as the application of a loyalty bonus, are planned for 2024.
A loyalty dividend of 10%, i.e. 0.32 euros per share, is granted to shares which have been held in registered form since December 31, 2021 and which remain held in this form continuously until May 22, 2024, the dividend payment date. As of December 31, 2023, 27.71% of the shares making up the share capital are likely to benefit from this loyalty dividend.
With an estimated pay-out ratio of 56% of the Group’s published net profit, the dividend proposed to the Meeting is an integral part of Air Liquide’s policy to reward and grow Shareholder portfolios over the long term.
The ex-dividend date will be May 20, 2024. The dividend will be paid on May 22, 2024.
(Appropriation of 2023 earnings; setting of the dividend)
The General Meeting, deliberating according to the quorum and majority required for Ordinary General Meetings, having noted that, considering the fiscal year 2023 earnings of 977,202,213 euros and the retained earnings of 3,671,836,412 euros as of December 31, 2023, distributable earnings for the fiscal year amount to a total of 4,649,038,625 euros, approves the proposals of the Board of Directors regarding the appropriation of earnings. The General Meeting hereby decides to appropriate distributable earnings as follows:
| Legal reserve | 586,579 euros |
|---|---|
| Retained earnings | Retained earnings 586,579 euros 2,923,495,707 euros |
| Dividend (including the loyalty dividend) | Dividend (including the loyalty dividend) 586,579 euros 1,724,956,339 euros |
