Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin Société en commandite par actions (ML) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

[Presentation] Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, we would have liked to have had the pleasure of meeting you face-to-face again, as we do every year. However, in this particular context of this COVID-19 epidemic and in compliance with the government's instructions, we've decided to hold this year's general meeting behind closed doors. Now noting the measures taken to restrict the movement and gathering of the people in connection with the current state of health emergency, the shareholders of Michelin have been informed that this combined general meeting will exceptionally be held behind closed doors and without the physical presence of the shareholders at the company's registered office here 23, Place Des Carmes Dechaux in Clermont-Ferrand. And indeed, pursuant to Ordinance No. 2020-321 of March 25, 2020, extended and amended by Ordinance No. 2020-1497 of December 2, 2020, Decree No. 2020-418 of April 10, 2020, extended and amended by Decree No. 2020-1614 of December 18, 2020, and Decree No. 2021-255 of March 9, 2021. Companies are exceptionally authorized to hold their shareholders' meeting without their shareholders being physically present. Shareholders have been encouraged to vote remotely to give their proxy to the Chairman or a representative and to ask their questions prior to the general meeting. In August, we organized an interactive Q&A session. And as indicated, the notice of meeting sent out on April 16, you've been given the possibility of asking your questions live since 9 a.m. this morning and again until the start of the meeting by e-mail at [email protected], indicating your first and last name and your Michelin registration number. These questions will then be processed and grouped by moderation itself. And as in the case for shareholders' meeting held in face-to-face, the company does its best to answer as many questions as possible. Unlike answers to written questions pursuant to Article R. 225-84 of the French Commercial Code, answers to questions asked at a meeting held remotely will not be published on the company's website. As recommended, the general meeting will be broadcast live in full in French and in English and will also be broadcast afterwards on the company's website. I would like to warmly thank the shareholders who voted remotely and who were connected this morning to follow this general meeting live with all of us. The members of the Supervisory Board and the Chairman of SAGES, the company's Non-Managing General Partner, are attending the meeting by this means. I declare our general assembly open. It is, therefore, in a restricted committee that I will lead at this general meeting in the presence of Mr. Yves Chapot, Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the group; and Benoit Balmary, General Counsel of the group. We're now going to proceed with the constitution of the bureau. As Chairman of the meeting, I appoint as tellers chosen from among the first 10 shareholders, Mr. [ Pierre Michelin ], representing Imagine This; and Mr. [ Alexis Albert ], representing DNCA Finance, who are both present in the room. And the bureau that's constituted appoints Mr. Benoit Balmary here present as the secretary of the assembly. In the particular context of this general meeting, we have made available to shareholders on our website as of Tuesday, May 18 the presentations by the Chairman of the Compensation and Appointments Committee Mr. Jean-Pierre Duprieu on the information pertaining to the compensation of corporate officers and on changes in the composition of the Supervisory Board. And those -- of the members representing employees, Ms. Delphine Roussy and Mr. Jean-Christophe Laourde on their appointment to the Supervisory Board. And on Thursday, May 20, you were informed at the presentation by the company's statutory auditors, Deloitte & Associés and PricewaterhouseCoopers represented, respectively, by Mr. Frédéric Gourd and Mr. Jean Jean-Christophe Georghiou. During this meeting, Mr. Yves Chapot, Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the group, will present to you in a few moments of summary of the group's activity during fiscal year 2020 and future outlooks for 2021. We will then hear a speech by Mr. Michel Rollier, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, on the corporate governance report. He will be accompanied by Mrs. Barbara Dalibard, member of the Supervisory Board. Then a special focus will be given to the high-tech materials activity. And then I will have the pleasure of meeting you again to share with you Michelin's strategic orientations. We'll then have a Q&A session, as I mentioned in the introduction. And finally, Mr. Benoit Balmary will remind us of the purpose of the draft resolution submitted to your vote and will inform us of the results of the votes. Before that, I give him the floor to remind us of the characteristics of this assembly.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, without coming back to the particular context that pointed out by the President, I would like to remind you that this assembly is a meeting on the first notice and is of ordinary and extraordinary nature. The notice of the general meeting was published and the ballot sent to all the shareholders. Shareholders have also been able to consult website dedicated to the general meeting, which includes all the information required by law since March 19. In accordance with the regulations, we've collected your paper votes until Tuesday, May 18, midnight; and electronic votes until yesterday, Thursday, May 20, 3 p.m. I remind you that in order to validly deliberate our general meeting, an ordinary formation must reach the legally required quorum of 1/5. According to the breakdown, we have reached a quorum because out of the total number of shares with voting rights of 178 million, a number of participating shares of 101 million, we've effectively exceeded the legally required quorum of 35,684,000 shares. The quorum required for our extraordinary general meeting is 1/4 of the shares entitled to vote. This represents 44 million shares, which has been largely exceeded since we have over 83 million participating shares. Under these conditions, our 2 ordinary and extraordinary meetings can now validly deliberate on the matters on the agenda set out in the notice of meeting sent to you.

Thank you very much, Benoit. I would now like to give a summary presentation of the financial statements for fiscal year 2020 and the activity of the first quarter of 2021. I give the floor to Mr. Yves Chapot.

Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, good morning. The year 2020 hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic has been an exceptionally trying year for everyone [indiscernible] to the world economy [indiscernible] that have spared no one, affected the health of some and made many people more vulnerable in their daily lives and penalized our customers, our suppliers and, of course, our employees. In this context, Michelin has shown extraordinary responsiveness. The group quickly adapted to ensure that its top priority was to protect its employees regardless of their function wherever they were in the world. We shut down our factories in order to put in place proper procedures to protect our employees. We've also put in place [ tele ] working procedures systematically when possible. And as soon as we were able to do so, our factories restarted their production within a very strict sanitary framework, which I have to be honest, is still has an impact on our industrial productivity. Michelin was also able to adapt overnight its management strategy to respond to the stark fluctuations in business activity. From a market that slumped to a sudden rebound in the demand, strict compliance with a firm pricing policy in all regions and the immediate deployment of an exceptional cost-cutting plan helped to preserve the group's margins and cash generation. Michelin has emerged from the crisis in a stronger financial position. And finally, Michelin has put its know-how and skills to work for local communities with donations of masks and hand gel sanitizers. Our know-how in materials has enabled us to develop and produce protected equipment, visors and masks, where care equipment for hospital adults, and donations in kind, from the tires to fleets of rescue workers and financial donations to support the fight against this pandemic. In this exceptional context, Michelin has been able to protect its employees, ensure the continuity of its activities and put its skills at the service at communities. Michelin has withstood the crisis with more than solid results. We've also put in place specific measures to protect our suppliers and customers, especially those whose size or dependents on Michelin required special attention on our part. In 2020, Michelin's sales declined by 15% from EUR 24.1 billion to EUR 20.5 billion. This stark decline was mainly the result of a 14% drop in our volume in a crisis that took the form of a V. In the first half of the year, an unprecedented fall in demand for tires across all its activities due to several factors. First of all, the lockdown measures stopped consumer mobility for at least 2 months from mid-March to about mid-May. And then air travel has collapsed. Road transport businesses were also penalized, but to a lesser extent, as the transport of the essential goods continued and online purchases enabled some activity to be maintained in the last-mile delivery segment. And then a much stronger recovery than anyone had anticipated in the second half of this year. And this strong rebound is still going on today. But we're not back to 2019 demand levels yet. In this environment of falling demand, Michelin demonstrated extreme rigor in its pricing policy and benefited from the ongoing enhancement of its mix, which reflects the resilience of the Michelin brand as well as sustained growth in the so-called premium 18-inches-plus tires. Operating profit from the sectors fell by EUR 3 billion to EUR 1.9 billion, i.e. 9.2% of sales, which, in the context of an exceptional crisis, is still a robust performance. This performance is the result of the combined effect of the fall in volumes, which accounted for EUR 1.7 billion. As a reminder, our volumes fell by 14%. And additional costs related to the COVID-19 crisis for EUR 98 million, mask, gels that had to be acquired. This was partially offset by a very good steering of the price mix, as we've just seen it before, and a EUR 240 million reduction in general and administrative expenses as a result of cost-cutting measures taken to respond to the crisis. This crisis has strengthened our conviction that the Michelin Group must continue to improve its competitiveness while showing the utmost respect for people and regions, strengthening our competitiveness to be better able to cope with the volatility of an increasingly unpredictable economic world while respecting people and regions because this is really part of Michelin's DNA. This quest for competitiveness, cannot be done without social responsibility. And in recent months, we've seen the ramp-up of our Indonesian plants in Multistrada and Mexican plants in Léon. These plants are designed to support the growth and demand in these regions. At the same time, we closed the Dundee, La Roche-sur-Yon and Bamberg plants in Europe, where our production capacities were oversized in relation to local demand. We made a commitment, and we are sticking to it to revitalize these sites that we are closing in order to maintain an economic activity in the communities we are leaving. We support each individual to help them retrain. By the end of 2020, almost all the employees of the Dundee plant had found a new job. At the beginning of the year, we announced the launch of the simplification and efficiency program in the service and industrial sectors, and the implementation of this program follows an innovative approach of co-construction and social dialogue with the concerned stakeholders. And this is being done in parallel with the development of new high value-added activities in France, especially in the areas of services, sustainable materials, recycling, energy transition, et cetera. In France, Michelin is streamlining its entire business to make it more efficient and is investing in growth activities for the future. The agile management we put in place during the crisis to protect the group's profitability and financial situation enabled us to generate an exceptionally high structural free cash flow of EUR 2 billion for the year. The reduction in investments and the very good management of working capital requirements with, in particular, a strong reduction in inventories have made it possible to fully offset the drop in EBITDA resulting from the fall in activity. As I mentioned before, we have been keen to protect and support all of our stakeholders at the height of this crisis, especially our customers and suppliers. Most of the cash gains related to working capital requirements comes from the management of inventories, which were at an exceptionally low level at the end of 2020. As a result, Michelin will emerge from 2020 with a solid financial structure at a net debt-to-equity ratio of 28% compared with 39.2% at the end of 2019. Michelin's strategy is based on 3 pillars: people, planet and profit. In addition to what we've just seen, I would like to come back to some of the commitments made in 2013 to make Michelin a responsible employer that looks after the well-being and development of all of its employees. First of all, the employee engagement rate. Each year, we measure the commitment of our teams around the world via a questionnaire conducted by an independent institute. This questionnaire covers various topics in the lives of our employees. The answers to the questions are used, among other things, to calculate the Michelin team engagement rate. In 2013, this rate was 72%, and we reached 83% in 2020, i.e. plus 11 points. This strong progression over the last 7 years reflects an improvement in the well-being of our employees within the company. The second pillar, employee safety. In any company, but especially in an industrial company, employee safety is fundamental. We've seen this, to some extent, in the COVID-19 crisis. But structurally, Michelin is committed to reducing accidents in the workplace, both in the factory and in the office. Our progress in this area is measured by the number of occupational injuries and illnesses per 200,000 hours worked. In 2014, this number was 2.8. By 2020, it had fallen to 1.2. This improvement reflects Michelin's constant concern to ensure the best possible working conditions for everyone. And we intend to continue making progress. Lastly, Michelin is committed to increasing the diversity of its management team, especially the number of women. In 2014, the percentage of women in the group's management was 22.5%. Today, it stands at 28%, and we intend to increase it further. From an environmental point of view, the group continued its efforts to reduce the impact of its activities in 2020 despite the crisis. And in this respect, I would like to draw your attention to 3 specific indicators that we are monitoring at group level to assess the results of the measures we are implementing and the intensity of our efforts to make all our activities increasingly sustainable. The first is the rate of sustainable materials. As you know, natural resources exist on earth only in limited quantities. It is therefore our responsibility to constantly innovate to increase the proportion of recycled and renewable bio-based materials in the products we market without ever compromising their quality. In 2020, this rate of sustainable materials was 28% at group level, mainly due to the use of natural rubber in our products. By 2030, our ambition is to increase this to 40% and then to 100% by 2050. In concrete terms, this means that in addition to natural rubber, we plan to significantly reduce our dependence on all petroleum-based products in the coming years. In addition to the material we take from the environment, we also track an indicator that measures the environmental impact of our production sites. This is the Michelin environmental footprint. This indicator takes into account our plants, energy and water consumption, VOC and CO2 emissions in the air and the amount of waste generated. As you can see from the slide, the environmental impact of our sites has been divided by 2 since 2005, reflecting the group's constant and long-term efforts in this area. And these efforts will, of course, be continued. And by 2030, our ambition is to reduce our environmental footprint by a further 1/3 compared to 2020 with a more restrictive monitoring indicator. [indiscernible] a 1/3 of which are independent, such as the company, EcoVadis to ensure that we are supplied by companies that are themselves responsible in 2020. 828 suppliers were tested, 4x more than in 2013. In 2020, the division of value creation in the group among our various stakeholders reflects a search for balance between economic and financial performance, which is absolutely crucial, people and the planet. My slide shows that purchases were more than 50% of turnover, and the staff expenditure was around 28% of sales in a year hit by an unprecedented crisis. Once suppliers and staff had been paid, the debt, EUR 300 million debt interest and our taxes paid around EUR 700 million. The group generated cash flow from operations of around EUR 3.4 billion. Half of this cash was used to pay down our net debt and 38% to maintain essential investment to safeguard the future of our businesses. Dividends and share buybacks accounted for the remaining 12%. As you can see, we want our capital allocation policy to be an equitable balance between investing part of the cash generated in growing the group, keeping the debt at a reasonable level and remunerating our stakeholders. We are therefore offering for fiscal year 2020 a dividend of EUR 2.30 per share, a net income distribution ratio before nonrecurring items of 47% and an increase of the dividend per share of 15% relative to 2019. Remember that in fiscal year 2019, the dividend voted at the shareholders' meeting of 23rd of June was cut by more than 45% relative to the previous period due to the COVID crisis despite the excellent quality of the 2019 results. For fiscal years beyond 2021, we will be offering to increase the distribution rate, again before nonrecurring items, to 50%. This upward trend reflects, of course, the group's resilience, which, as you would have seen, emerges very solidly from a rough 2020. It also reflects our confidence in Michelin's ability to keep on delivering a high level of performance into the future, so over and beyond 2021. Let's look at the first quarter of 2020 and share with you the scenario and guidance for the coming period. Let's start with the major markets over the first few months of the year. Growth figures reflect the fact that the world is exiting the crisis that started in 2020 despite high uncertainties because of the COVID '20 crisis and the numerous upheavals it has produced at the end of March 2021. World passenger car and light truck demand, while growing 9% year-on-year, was still below 2019 levels by 5%, hit by an OE market facing a major supply crisis and replacement markets not yet back at precrisis levels. In truck, however, the 20% growth between 2020 and 2021, fueled by the economic recovery, has returned world demand to its 2019 levels in OE as well as in replacement. Let's turn to specialties. We anticipate a jump in 2021 from 8% to 12% across the sector because of dynamism in agriculture, construction, materials handling, two-wheels and aircraft with a recovery, albeit less swift, in mining. In this context, the group's first quarter 2021 sales stand at EUR 5.4 billion, up 8.3% at constant exchange rate, driven by the recovery in the world economy and yielding a 7.5% rise in volumes over the quarter despite significant upheavals and logistics upheavals and health restrictions. The positive price/mix rise of 0.9% once again shows the rigor with which the group manages its prices against a backdrop of rises in commodities prices and transportation costs. The richer product mix is also continuing with gains in market share for passenger 18-inch tires and upwards. At the end of March, sales in automotive amounted to 49% of group sales. And in road transportation and specialties, sales each stood at 26% and 25% at constant exchange rate. The top line in all sectors is posting growth. Turning to 2021. Here, we forecast growth in our volumes in step with anticipated market growth. Given the huge prevailing uncertainties COVID still causes in some major countries and the consequently large upheavals, we maintain at this stage that relatively long periods of growth can be expected on the markets. We expect to neutralize the extremely negative impact of commodities price rises on our sectorial operating income through strict price management and continued work on our product mix. Taken cumulatively, these 3 effects should prove largely positive as the year progresses. Given current exchange rate levels, we expect to see a highly negative effect on the 2021 income, especially in the first half. All this should enable the group to take operating income beyond EUR 2.5 billion in 2021 at constant exchange rates and structural free cash flow to around EUR 1 billion. To close, let's look at a project we've launched this year and that we're going to continue into the future. It involves drawing value on the group's externalities. The goal, which will become broader with time, is to gain deeper insight into the group's externalities, both positive and negative. So as to better include them when steering our operations in 2020, we began by addressing 3 negative externalities from our activities: our CO2 emissions, our consumption of volatile organic components and our water usage. It's worth mentioning that the CO2 emissions that we worked on were factory emissions called Scope 1; and emissions from power generation that we use called Scope 2; as well as emissions from natural rubber shipments from transporting semi-finished goods out of our factories and from transporting finished goods to distribution networks, that's part of Scope 3. For example, we have valued 1 ton of CO2 at EUR 58. With the current scope of our tire activities, the group is aiming for a 10% cut by 2023 of the 3 aforementioned externalities, and this despite the expected growth in volumes. This ambition requires action along the lines already described. Basically, in order to successfully reduce these 3 externalities, our investments in reducing our products rolling resistance and investments for increasing the ratio of sustainable materials, the group will be investing nearly EUR 300 million a year over the next 3 years to make all these operations more sustainable.

Thank you, Yves. Very clear. I suggest we now look at Mr. Michel Rollier's speech, presenting the report on corporate governance drafted by the Supervisory Board. We will then hear from Mrs. Barbara Dalibard.

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Thank you very much, Michel and Barbara. As you know, on 8th of April, we unveiled to the financial community our new Michelin strategic plan to 2030 called Michelin in Motion. This strategic plan involves expanding our presence in high-tech materials. Fundamentally, these activities require expertise in tires, but also require going beyond the realm of tires. Let's listen to Maude Portigliatti responsible for advanced research at Michelin; and Sonia Artinian-Fredou, member of the Executive Committee and responsible for high-tech material businesses. They will tell you what makes us strong now and in the future for seizing fabulous growth opportunities and value creation.

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Thank you very much, Maude and Sonia. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, thank you once again for joining us for this shareholders meeting held remotely, once again, due to the health context that you and we all know. From the first signs of the crisis detected at the end of 2019, until now, Michelin has held firm safeguarding, first and foremost, its teams ensuring the continuity of its operations and preserving its financial resources. This crisis has strengthened our confidence and resolve. Confidence in our convictions and in the pertinence of our strategy. We are totally mobilized in building your future mission 100% sustainable strategy built on unrelenting research for the perfect balance between 3 pillars: people, our employees; and our entire ecosystem, the planet; and economic and financial performance. People, planet, profit. These are the fundamentals of our strategy, called Michelin in Motion, that I will now show you. We have forged this sustainable growth strategy in order to meet the demands of our times and offer a new dimension to your group by giving full expression to our ability to innovate our expertise as well as all our know-how. Our group operates in an environment upon which everyone can agree wherever you are in the world, our planet is in danger. Mobility and its benefits are often challenged. Fundamental rights to movements can be withdrawn. In parallel, expanding mobility is called into question. A model built on endless growth is also being challenged. Our societies are suffused with social tension fed by 2 evolving factors that are intimately linked to wealth distribution on the one hand and the equal opportunity on the other. Such an outlook may appear gloomy at first glance. Yes, action must be taken, and Michelin will act. We are optimistic, and we are confident. It's in our blood. Michelin is always part of the solution through innovation and technology. We will make sustainability available to all and contribute to preserving our planet. Our future growth lies beyond mobility alone. Since the reach of our expertise, our know-how and our innovations, is much, much broader. Tomorrow's prosperity will either be sustainable or not, becoming 100% sustainable is therefore key for the future. And that future must be built together. Our plan involves getting this optimal balance between the 3 pillars: people, profit, planet, into tangible actions and targets. Set people becoming a world benchmark in employee engagement, safety in the workplace, team diversity and inclusion, being the best-in-class in terms of value creation for our customers. I turn to planet. Our objective before 2050 is carbon neutrality for industry and power, 100% product circularity, 100% sustainable materials in Michelin tires; and finally, be a world benchmark in the environmental footprint of our factories. And then profit, we are going to generate significant growth to guarantee financial value creation over the long term, sustain a high level and pace of innovation in products and services and maintain the power of the Michelin brand everywhere in the world. The growth areas we've selected now. First, obviously, tires. Michelin will continue to grow, invest and innovate in our core business, innovation in automotive, mobility and accelerating electric vehicle development offers a genuine growth opportunity. In Road Transport, the group will focus on selectivity and value creation. In Specialty products, mining, earthmoving, agriculture, aircraft and 2 wheels. Michelin seeks to be the #1 standard, capitalizing, first, on the differentiation of its products, better performance, longer lasting, less compaction farming, soil, low fuel consumption, reduce CO2 emissions and its services on-site auditing and predictive maintenance, real-time performance monitoring and recycling used tires. And beyond tires, we seek to tap new growth areas around and beyond tires, where our know-how and our specific skills can flourish. I'm sure of that. So around tires, already leader in fleet and their customer solutions Michelin -- how Michelin will be creating new value-added services. Thanks to the exponential rise in connected objects. Beyond tires, let's talk about some development examples. That's our group, your group has already undertaken flexible composites other than tires, conveyors, transmission belts, coated fabrics, seals. There are many more examples. In these dynamic markets, the group will be pursuing its strategy for value-creating acquisition and new business incubation. Let's talk about hydrogen. Michelin will be world leader in hydrogen fuel cells, thanks to Symbio, a joint subsidiary with Faurecia. We could also talk about 3D metal printing, additive manufacturing. Michelin is capitalizing on its unique expertise through add up, a co-venture established with Fives, a company offering -- a broader offering for the industry. We can also make reference to the medical field. Thanks to our expertise and our acquisitions, we are already developing high-tech products designed, in particular, for regenerative medicine and cellular therapy. To accelerate our development in the health sector, we have offered an equity stake in our Solesis subsidiary to the fund, Altaris. We will succeed in conquering new growth territories because we can count on all our unique and differentiating advantages. And what are these advantages? Well, engaged teams, tightening it around strong values. Our customers trust in the Michelin brand, our expertise in cutting-edge technology and our powerful innovation. Now to achieve this strategy, we are not only going to use and reinforce our advantages, but also simultaneously launch major internal transformation without which none of this will be possible. So we have selected 6 for meeting with success. The first, and if you just were to remember one, this would be the one, I am Michelin, as we have doubled it. We want everyone to feel responsible and fully empowered in fulfilling an active role in the company. We want the power of our collective intelligence within Michelin to be maximized. And this means and by introducing very broadly, a co-build approach right across the company. Second major transformation, customer focus. With our customers, our entire strategy can never move forward. It's the customer who'll decide whether our strategy is the right one. We want to both customers and staff to see the significant progress already achieved. And we strive to ensure that working with Michelin is ever easier for all our customers so that each decision, each action offers them and experience worthy of the quality and performance of both our products and services. Third major transformation, accelerating innovation, going beyond where we already stand. We want our innovations to always be as powerful in around and beyond tires by deepening further our technical expertise and bringing our energies into greater balance. We want materials to be the focus of our future revolutionary innovations, while maintaining our leadership position, a clear leadership in the field of tires. Fourth, transformation. Here, I refer to agile Michelin. This involves mastering the complexity, the vast complexity inside and outside the group, while optimizing costs. To do so, we must, in particular, master the complexity of our logistics supply chains to deliver the right tire at the right time to the right place. We need to simplify our products, our designs, our processes, et cetera, et cetera, to better respond to the growing market complexity. We need to simplify our decision-making processes and the way we work in the interests of our employees, of our customers, of our ecosystem and our competitiveness. Fifth transformation. This involves better capturing and capitalizing on data. Getting the best out of our data must become our obsession. We will make that data improve our decision-making and offer improved solutions to our customers and partners. And then the last transformation. All marshaled for the environment. We will reduce our environmental footprint and increase our positive impact on the plant. It's a vast area of work. We want to change things for us, Michelin, but for all our ecosystem by targeting particular carbon neutrality. Ladies and gentlemen, your group's road map will enable the company yours and ours to create value for its shareholders for its 124,000 employees dotted around the world and for our planet as a whole. This is truly the meaning of our permanent search for the best balance between the 3 pillars, so people, planet and profit that I mentioned at the beginning of my speech. Seeking and finding this better balance must allow us to meet the legitimate demands of all our stakeholders far from opposing then our strategy aims to highlight their convergencies. And this path, and this is my deep conviction is the only way to generate truly ambitious and sustainable growth. Now as a sign of our confidence in our ability to deliver the strategy. And as we announced on our Capital Markets Day in early April, we will significantly increase the dividend ratio as of next year. And before concluding my remarks, allow me to take a few moments to pay tribute to one of the key architects of your company's success to date. First, as Chief Financial Officer, then is a manager and finally, as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. And here, of course, I'm referring to Michel Rollier, who was with us today, and he was stepping down today as a head of the Supervisory Board after 25 years with Michelin. Faced with the blows of the fate, notably the premature departure of Edouard Michelin, Michel has always been able to protect your work group. He has carried out transformations that are bold and that were necessary to modernize your company, restore its financial health and accelerate its development, especially globally. And thanks to him, the group, your group has truly entered a new phase of conquest. And on a more personal note, I would like to tell you, dear Michel, that over the last 25 years of interacting with you, you have inspired me truly, and I wanted to thank you for that. Together with the Executive Committee, the Supervisory Board and all Michelin employees, I would like to thank you. All of us would like to thank you for everything that you've accomplished for the group and its teams around the world. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, your group is now entering a new decade. We are moving forward with determination strengthened by our assets. And we've already engaged in the necessary transformations. And with your support, we are making and will make Michelin grow. Thank you very much. We're now going to move on to the Q&A session. And I would like to inform you that in accordance with the possibility offered by law, the answers to written questions before the general meeting have been published on the company's website. These questions -- today, we are going to mainly focus on live questions. These are the questions that you have sent us via the specific system that was set up and are grouped together by topic. Before opening this Q&A session, I wanted to talk to you about the reorganization of Michelin's Individual Shareholders' Committee. We've opted for a tighter format by integrating a greater diversity of profiles and experience and our New Michelin Individual Shareholders' committee now has 6 members, including 3 women and 3 men, half of whom are individual shareholders and half our employee shareholders. And its first meeting was held on April 28. Let's now discover the questions that they have put to us.

Just to make it a little bit smoother. I'm going to read out the question. Now as part of the stimulus package, the French President has announced significant support for the hydrogen industry, as a precursor in this field, the Michelin group has confirmed its full commitment to hydrogen powered mobility. In your opinion, what is the time frame for adapting this technology on a large-scale to private vehicles? Do you think it will remain a complementary solution or a more global solution to electric mobility? So thank you very much for this question. And I will answer this question directly. Hydrogen. Hydrogen is a substitution source of energy. It can replace fuel in the future. And we know that we have a whole array of applications. In terms of mobility, hydrogen will mainly be used as a reservoir, especially for electric mobility and more so than as a fuel. And that's something that we have to take into account when talking about mobility. Hydrogen will be not produced in Europe because it is really about promoting the green energies with tidal energy, photovoltaic panels and other as sources of production. So green hydrogen will arrive massively. It will be stored in reservoirs and then a fuel or hydrogen cells will make it possible to turn these energy reserves into electricity for the mobility of our vehicles. And this development is currently speeding up. So we have a few thousands of vehicles. By 2025 -- and then we'll be talking about millions of the vehicles and then hundreds of millions of vehicles as of 2025. So we can see that there will be a real ramp up between 2025 and 2030. So we are talking about an additional solution to the 100% electric solutions. And we believe at Michelin, that the development of electric mobility cannot be taken separately from the development of mobility as a whole because we want this mobility to be sustainable for mankind as a whole. And this development of electric mobility will only be possible with the support of additional sources, for example, hydrogen. So we will see that offers 100% electric with batteries, and then offers with a mix batteries and hydrogen pack. So as to be able to enhance and promote this notion of the electric mobility, but with the support of hydrogen. So this is something that will be developed and hydrogen will also be used as a direct source of energy. For example, to manufacture steel without any fossil content. So we're still in an embryonic phase, but we believe that this will be a substitution solution in the future. Let's move on to the next question now. What are the criteria for determining whether a company is meeting its sustainability goals? Are there measures imposed by an external body? Or is it up to each company to define its parameters? Maybe Yves, do you want to answer this question?

Well, until now, it was up to each company to determine the most relevant indicators in order to measure its progress in terms of sustainable development. With regard to Michelin, we saw this in the presentation on the performance 2020 and the 2030 vision presentation by Florent. For example, the use of sustainable materials. We know that this makes up a huge part of our activities, the transformation, the processing of the raw materials. And of course, we want to improve on that front. But I'd like to point out that for Michelin, as it is the case for any large corporations, we are also assessed by nonfinancial external entities. And of course, they will focus on a large number of criteria. In this respect, today, we have a different rankings. We have some of the companies that use their own criteria. But we know that there's a very strong demand, both from companies and investors in order to be able to assess a company's performance in terms of sustainability goals. In 2021, we took 2 very important decisions. First of all, we wanted to focus on negative externalities, for example, CO2. And Michelin has joined the Value Balancing Alliance, which is a European correlation with the BMW, Nestlé, in order to harmonize the way that we take into account both positive and negative externalities in our companies.

Thank you very much, Yves. With a subscription rate of 50%, the group's bid action 2020 shareholding plan has been a success. What is the Michelin group's ambition regarding employee shareholding? What message would you like to send to midstream group employees and for shareholders or nonshareholder employees, especially in this period of global health crisis? Yves, do you want to tell us a little bit more about this?

Well, first of all, I would like to start by thanking those employees who joined the shareholding plan despite the crisis. There was a capital increase, and we had a huge subscription rate so 50%. Generally speaking, we have over 50% of the employees who are shareholders of the group, and this represents a 2% of the group's capital. And here, I'm not talking about retired employees who might have subscribed when they were still an employee of the company. And now our ambition for the years to come will be to increase both ratios. So the number of shareholders who are active employees and the share of employees in the group's capital.

Thank you very much. Before we move on to another question, I would also like to convey your message to all employees. We know that this health crisis has been going on for close to 18 months now. And I wanted to thank you whether you are a shareholder or a nonshareholder. So you've done a tremendous work. We know that it's been a difficult period of time, and I know that this was the cause of a lot of stress for many of you. Many of you have been directly hit by this global pandemic and despite this, you've been able to stay mobilized and committed. So thank you very much to all of you. And the group is where it is to date, thanks to all your efforts, and thank you to all the shareholders who are continuing to provide us with their full support. And we still need your support today. A new question now. At the last general meeting of shareholders in June 2020, you indicated that you would not buy back shares beyond 2020. However, resolution #5 of this general meeting of shareholders, subject to approval authorizes you to buy back group shares within certain limits until the end of 2022. So what will your share buyback policy be for the next 18 months? Yves, do you want to shed some light on this?

Yes, we did point out in 2020 that we were not going to initiate this buyback -- the share buyback program because of the crisis. During the Capital Markets Day on the 8th of April of this year, we pointed out that we would buy back some shares, but in a limited manner, just to offset the dilution associated with the group's shareholding plan so as to keep a stable number of shares. So we are buying back some shares to this end. And then an opportunistic manner so as to manage our performance. If interest rates remain low as it is the case today, we could actually consider buying back some of the shares so as to maintain a level of debt that we consider is healthy, especially with regard to these low interest rates with maybe less investments or activities, especially in the field of M&A.

And it is important to understand that in this field, we are trying to find a balance in terms of added value. And of course, we then have to manage our cash, taking into account the current situation. But as I pointed out, we really want to place the emphasis on dividends. So let's move on to the next question in the framework of investor days, on the 8th of April, you announced very strong growth ambitions with acquisitive growth operations. How is the Supervisory Board involved in taking these decisions? We have Michel Rollier with us, and I would like to ask you to answer this question?

Well, at the beginning of my presentation, I reminded you of the role played by the Supervisory Board. And of course, this role also applies in the field of external growth and at different stages. The Supervisory Board is involved in defining the group's strategy in any acquisition operation, of course, is a part of a clearly defined strategy. But then I would like to point out that during each session of the Supervisor Board, we conduct a review of all the projects in the pipeline. And as I pointed out earlier on in my presentation, any decision to acquire a company above EUR 50 million, of course, is subject to the prior and formal approval of the Board. And last point, I would like to point out that we on a regular basis, also carry out an analysis afterwards of these different operations carried out. So this is how the Board is involved.

And I can confirm that the Board really challenges us concerning these operations, and it's always extremely useful. Next question. In 2020, Michelin presented a new eco-responsible tire, the Michelin e-PRIMACY. You're telling us that this is the first eco-designed Michelin tire, which covers the entire life cycle of the tire, especially its environmental impact throughout its life cycle. Can you tell us exactly what you mean by this life cycle analysis? And how can this tire reduce our environmental footprint? This life cycle analysis is fundamental in order to understand the overall environmental impact of an activity. So we are going to focus on how the different components of the tire are being produced. And then we will see how these components are then transported, and we will then determine how the manufacturing tools, for example, for the assembly of these components for tire, their impact on the environment. And then we also focus on tire distribution because we have to send these tires to our customers and to our respective markets. And then we also try to assess the impact of this product when in use and the e-PRIMACY tire will be extremely efficient. It's a safer product. It has a very long life span. It uses less material per kilometer covered. And in addition to this, it will enable us to save energy. So whether a fuel, if you're using fossil fuels or it can increase the autonomy of vehicle if you're using an electric vehicle. And we try to assess the entire cycle to determine the environmental footprint of the tire. This is what we call the life cycle analysis, the LCA, and the e-PRIMACY tires, the first tire on the market with these specifications. And we're extremely proud of producing this tire here at Michelin. And next question. Now Michelin is setting up its first tire recycling plant in Chile. Why Chile? And how do you actually recycle this raw material? What about the quality of that is material? Can you recycle the tire forever? And from a financial point of view, is this recycling profitable? Or is it just a window dressing to obtain a good ESG rating? So we're going to answer these questions one after the other. I will ask Yves to answer the second part. So Chile, the characteristic of Chile is that there's lots of raw materials and lots of available raw materials. Among the biggest mines in the world are in Chile. There are some very useful metals for human development, which are taken out of the ground in Chile, vast mines are in Chile. So our tire recycling activity is Enviro, who'll be providing technology that will give us the wherewithal to process these vast tires in order to allow us to offer a solution, to reuse new objects in this case tires. So obviously, quality. If we're using this technology, it's because it's been approved, quality-wise, it's compliant with Michelin's quality standards. But if you look at earth moving tires, for example, these tire, you need to remember. It's -- it can be 3 or 4 tonnes in weight. It's an article that needs to be cut to handle it. So you need to develop specific technology to be able to do that to cut this size of tire to make it easier to handle, easier to transport. And then we hooked up with Enviro, this company to build the pyrolysis, in other words, you heat you're applying massive heat on the tire to make sure that it's decomposes in gas, oil and its fundamental raw material components. So these new fundamental raw materials can be reused as quality components to build new objects. All right. So the last part of your question, can we recycle a tire indefinitely? Indefinitely? Well, this is what we're endeavoring to do. We want to make sure that we are in a cyclical economy, which means that we can redecompose an end-of-life cycle tire. So it becomes a useful raw material for tires or, for that matter, other types of products, which means that the tire will necessarily be regenerated into a tire. It can see a new release of life in a new product, rubber-based product that would be useful. From the financial perspective, perhaps, Yves, hand over to you to address the remainder of the question, Yves?

Yes. So from a financial perspective, the profitability of recycling must always be compared to the cost of the raw material. Obviously, it's our conviction that in a rare resource world, the cost of raw materials will obviously be greater as time goes by. So in the long term, recycling provided, it's used with an efficient process, will prove profitable, currently recycling that we use in tires is relatively low. But with Enviro that partnership, we're making initial steps into earthmoving tire recycling. To also address the last part of your question, it's not a fad. No, we've invested in Enviro. We hold a 20% equity stake in that company. And remember, sitting alongside that technology, a pyrolysis technology, I'll remind you. We've invested in another technology in conjunction with the Canadian entity, which is also designed, intended to work on tire recycling. More broadly, we're investing increasingly in recycling technology, basically to help us, and I reiterate increase the ratio of material of sustainable materials in our tires. So these are either bio source materials or recycled materials.

Thank you very much, Yves. And perhaps a complement to that answer. I'd just like to pick up on 1 or 2 crucial points. Obviously, world demographics is continuing, thanks to technology that has been put together over the last century. So world population is increasing. So this begs a question of growth, which is a crucial question. We need to enable this growing world population that it can access food, that it can have a job, that it can entertain itself, gets culture, access to science. And to do just that, obviously, this requires developing everything to enable this growing world population to access a level of comfort, a degree of development that we see and experience today. So in growth, what's it all about? I mean, growth, it's not all about growth itself. It's the modalities of this growth. In other words, it's how you're going to be using technological progress to see a less prejudicial impact, ecologically and environmentally, whilst having a better societal impact. And I think it's that, which is a driving force behind our initiatives, and which has driven 130 years of progress through our founding fathers, who perfectly understood that and always have driven the company down that road for using a research technology to enable mankind to sustain its growth. Lots of things, of course, aren't at the right levels today, and we should admit it. But I think we're living better at 7 billion, then we were living at less 1 billion people on the earth a few hundred years ago. So these matters isn't just greenwashing. It's in our blood. It's in our DNA. To focus on these 3 pillars: people, planet and profit. And in likelihood, it's one of the reasons why we have been such a long-lasting company. Another question. Still today, many products are transported around the world from the origination to their point-of-sale even beyond the economic impact. What decisions make in terms of sourcing, taking into consideration the environmental impact of transportation. Yves? Perhaps you can shed light on this.

Right. The first point. Systematically, we seek to localize tire manufacturing as close as possible to our customer, local to local strategy. That's what we call it. We do this to minimize transportation costs, yes, but also to improve our responsiveness, our ability to rapidly be at the service of our customers. So that's the first point, written at the heart of our manufacturing policy and which is a long to medium-term -- medium to long term lever that we can put, obviously, they are products that we can only fabricate in one single location in the world for mass production. So obviously, they will have to be shipped from beyond the environmental impact. We have a tool now that enables us to measure the environmental impact of each transportation, be it finished or semi-finished goods. And that's why -- and I think you saw that at the end of my presentation when I laid before you the financial results. This is why we want to draw value from negative externalities, the cost of the CO2 per tonne, EUR 58 is our -- is the price that we put it at. And transportation of finished goods, such as -- in addition, rather to a natural rubber and semi-finished goods and channeling them to our factories is part of all that. So what do we do? We measure the environmental impact of the haulage and its transportation in all its parameters.

And just let me pick up, in fact, on what Yves has just said. Because what's true of Michelin holds true for all businesses. What I mean by that is that if we want to better master a human kind impact on its environment, we must have a better way of measuring the positive and negative externalities of a given activity. And I think there's one point which is setting -- which is important, setting a CO2 price. We've got a replacement price. And we've set the CO2 price for investment purposes. Now it could be for investment or managing flows. But in each case, we track the impact of the externality, these negative externalities. And we've retained an internal price to make sure that we properly take into consideration that particular dimension. Next question. Now for CO2, Just as for CO2, are you going to evaluate the viral impact of our digital activities and reducing or mastering that impact because this is set to balloon in terms of data collection and connected objects. So Yves, perhaps you can provide an answer to that.

Now we have a digital sobriety plan, which is part and parcel of our digital strategy and our digital transformation to become a company which is managed through data because these days, it's impossible to run a company without this type of data. So through this plan, we'll be appraising our environmental impact of those activities. Even though, of course, it's true that we operate data centers very little in-house. So the environmental impact of those digital activities lie more with the suppliers, cloud suppliers or data center operators in particular. But this is now fully built into this digital sobriety plan, if I can put it that way.

Now we have criteria in choosing a service provider in terms of providing service, localization and the CO2 impact that can flow from that. But earlier on, just beforehand, I may mention of positive and negative externality, as you may remember. So thanks to these connected objects, we're also going to be able to better use objects. We're going to be able to better use the functions and features of objects, how they used and how they're developed, focusing particularly on their development. Because let's just take an example, with automotive manufacturers increasingly, we're developing simulation tools in conjunction with these automotives in view of developing a new car. You don't have to, therefore, develop x number of tires to find the tire that suits that new vehicle. Now data usage and connected objects helps us to run simulations to prevent us producing objects that would be more arrogant trial. We want to get to the right product straightaway that we validated for a new vehicle. So that's an example of a positive externality flowing from data uses. Now there is an impact flowing from servers and data transmission -- a CO2 impact, of course. But there are also beneficial consequences. And we always try to make sure that we strike a balance, make sure that the balance of these externalities be the right one. Next question. The concept of a vocation-based enterprise, is it threatened, given what happened with Danon and Mr. Florent, who was the architect of that type of approach, Barbara.

Would you mind simply repeating the question or the beginning?

Yes, the concept of a vocation-based company, is that threatened, given that Mr. Florent Faber has taken the helm, now as regards to Michelin.

Florent Menegaux has described very clearly our strategy, underpinned by people, planet and profit. Everybody within the Supervisory Board subscribe to the idea that we need to work on those 3 dimensions. Your questions also showed your concern as shareholders with regard to the environmental dimension. So it's incumbent upon us in the Supervisory Board to support that approach, Michelin's approach to make sure that everybody has a mobility solutions for the future.

Thanks, Barbara. I would add that as it was mentioned a moment ago by Mr. Rollier. The Supervisory Board is equipped with a dedicated committee. He works in conjunction with the Audit Committee and the appointments and compensation committee. Its vocations to help the Supervisory board in finding this balance that Barbara has just referred to. So today, Michelin doesn't need to establish this vocation-based company. I mean we've got a strategy. We've got 100% sustainable strategy. So we don't need to become a vocation-based company as it's termed, as it's mentioned in that question. Next question. How do you promote men/women equality? And is it difficult to set a trend, such an initiative? And what are the objectives of such an initiative? Yves, you tell us what those objectives are and then perhaps provide 1 or 2 ideas about what we're doing.

All right. So first and foremost, is we do have a target. We want to make sure that there is no pay difference at equivalent responsibility level between men and women. And from that perspective, in France, at least, through a study run by a governmental agency. It was shown that Michelin was very well positioned with the negligible differences in salary within Michelin between men and women. Additionally, we have a very impactful recruitment approach to increase the share of women in the company. I think it stands at 28% now in management positions. So we want to up that to 35% in the coming years. And then there are countries, admittedly, countries where -- or even business lines, where it's more difficult to increase the share of women including at managerial levels. Now we have action plans, however, that are borne up by our regional directors. And these regional directors are responsible to -- responsible for ensuring they meet with diversity targets that meet into consideration social and cultural factors. We have a -- we see more women in the headcount for cultural and historical reasons in some countries as opposed to others. But this is all part and parcel of the objectives that are allocated to each of our regions.

Thanks very much, Yves. And just to reiterate that in terms of diversity. We don't only work on the men/women share, but we also address cultural differences, age differences, ethnic differences, all types of differences. Michelin is a company, which has a world presence. As such, we need to reflect our various markets. So always, we try and heal as closely as possible in terms of Michelin's lifeblood. We try to be as close as possible to the local reality, the reality of the markets in which we operate. Perhaps we can take one last question. That was the last question. My apologies. So I think we finished them with the Q&A. Thanks very much for all your questions. And as Barbara said a moment ago, through these questions, it is clear, the pertinence of making this choice. It's been our decision for the last 130 years. We never want to pit planet profit and people one against the other. And I think that's the secret of our long-lasting success. All right. So the Q&A is now closed. And I turn to Benoit Balmary, who will review the resolutions to be put to the vote and will announce the results of the votes.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Here is a summary of the resolutions. They're full text or appears in the official legal bulletin. The full text of the resolutions with the detailed reports from the Managing Director and the Supervisory Board, were also circulated on our website as from 19th of March and sent to each shareholder with a meeting notification of this meeting is a combined shareholders' meeting, comprising resolutions, both ordinary and extraordinary. After presenting the resolutions, I will announce the results of the votes. The voting breakdown will be available on our website today from 3:00 p.m. So first, the ordinary meeting resolutions. The first resolution is the approval of the annual accounts for fiscal year 2020 with a net income of EUR 1,010,644,000 for the parent company, Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin. The second resolution. We seek your approval for a dividend payout of EUR 2.30 per share, representing a distribution ratio of 47% of net consolidated income, excluding nonrecurring items. The dividend will be paid on 27th of May 2021, to avoid any share value dilution. We make no offer of a payment in shares. The third resolution is the approval of the Michelin -- Michelin Group's 2020 consolidated financial statements with net income at EUR 625,442,000. In the absence of related party agreements during fiscal year 2020, the fourth resolution proposes to formally recognize there are no related party agreements to approve. And now the results of the votes for these 4 resolutions are as follows. First, resolution for 99.98%, the resolution is approved. Second resolution for 99.63%. The resolution is approved. Third resolution in favor, 99.98%. The resolution is approved. And fourth, resolution in favor, 99.98%, here, again, the resolution is approved. The fifth resolution concerns the renewal of the authorization given to the company for a period of 18 months to trade in its own shares with a maximum purchase price of EUR 180 per share in a maximum amount of less than 10% of the company's share capital. A description of this new program is available in Chapter 657 of the 2020 Universal Registration Document. The implementation during fiscal year 2020 of the existing repurchase authorizations resulted in the cancellation and a corresponding reduction in capital of 1,097,540 shares, a detailed description can be found in Chapter 656B of the 2020 Universal Registration Document. The proposal authorization could not be used during a public offering period. The results of the votes. Fifth resolution in favor, 97-point -- 97%, the resolution is approved. Since 2018, the Supervisory Board prepares each year together with the general partners for the part concerning management, it's a report on corporate governance and presents it to the annual general meeting a policy on the compensation of the executive directors. For fiscal year 2020, this policy is included in Chapter 3.4 of the 2019 Universal Registration Document. In 2021, the general partners and the Supervisory Board of the company shall submit to the approval of the ordinary general meeting, the remuneration policy of the managing partners on the one hand sixth resolution and the Supervisory Board, on the other hand, seventh resolution. The main features of this policy are detailed in a corporate government report in Chapter 33 of the 2020 Universal Registration Document. The results of the votes for these 2 resolutions are as follows. Sixth resolution, in favor, 90.68%. The resolution is approved. And seventh resolution in favor, 99.84%. The resolution is approved. Since 2014, the general partners and the Supervisory Board of the company have submitted several draft resolutions through the ordinary general meeting each year concerning the remuneration paid or awarded to executive directors. In 2021, the general partners on the Supervisory Board of the company shall submit it to the approval of the ordinary general Meeting. And the eighth resolution, the information relating to the remuneration of corporate officers paid during financial year 2020. And then the ninth, 10th and 11th resolution deal with the individual compensation paid during the financial year 2020 were awarded in respect to that here to the company's executive directors in respect of the office held during that year. These resolutions respectively confer Mr. Florent Menegaux, General Manager; Mr. Yves Chapot, non-General Manager; and Mr. Michel Rollier, Chairman of the Supervisory Board. These compensation components were established in accordance with the principles described in the compensation policy presented in 2020 and the corporate governance report Chapter 3.4 of the 2019 reference document. Results for these fourth -- for these 4 resolutions. Eight resolution in favor, 99.63%. The resolution is approved. Ninth resolution in favor, 97.63%. The resolution is approved. And 10th resolution in favor, 96.13%. The resolution is approved. And 11th resolution in favor, 99.85%. The resolution is approved. Mr. Michel Rollier, Chairman of the Supervisory Board detailed in his presentation to the meeting, the activities carried out by the Board and its various committees in 2020 in accordance with the company's bylaws, only the Supervisory Board, which is a wholly non-executive body with nearly 78% of its members being independent, may recommend to the general meeting, the members who will represent the shareholders on the Board. As an essential guarantee of the separation of powers, none of the general partners is involved in these choices or it can take part in the vote on appointments at the general meeting. The shares they hold being excluded from the quorum for each resolution. In the context of the 12th and 13th resolution, Mr. Michel Rollier as presented the candidates recommended by the Supervisory Board for appointment for Jean-Michel Severino for the remaining term of its predecessor and for Mr. Wolf-Henning Scheider for a term of 4 years. The process for reviewing and selecting candidates and the presentation of the candidates as detailed in the Supervisory Board's report on the draft resolutions and Chapter 721 of the 2020 Universal Registration Document. At the end of this process, the Supervisory Board decided to unanimously recommend with interested members abstaining and requested Chairman of the Management Board to propose to the general meeting. And the 12th resolution, the ratification of the cooptation of Mr. Jean-Michel Severino, now following the resignation of Mr. Cyrille Poughon in October 2020. This ratification is proposed for the remaining term of office of his predecessor until the end of the general meeting called to approve the financial statement for the year ending 31st of December 2021. And in the 13th resolution, the appointment of a new member, Mr. Wolf-Henning Scheider. This appointment is proposed for a term of 4 years. Mr. Jean-Pierre Duprieu, Chairman of the Compensation and Nomination Committee, in his presentation to the meeting, which has been posted on the company's website since the Monday, May 17 presented the proposed ratification of the cooperation of Mr. Jean-Michel Severino and the appointment of Mr. Wolf-Henning Scheider, whose presentation speeches have been previously broadcast. The results of the votes for these 2 resolutions are as follows. 12th resolution in favor, 99.92%. The resolution is carried. 13th resolution in favor, 99.68%. The resolution is approved. With regard to extraordinary resolutions, the 14th resolution authorizes the managers or one of them to reduce the company's capital by canceling shares acquired under an authorized share buyback program. This allegation replaces the identical resolution granted by the combined general meeting of June 23, 2020. The implementation of which during fiscal year 2020, allow for the cancellation and corresponding reduction in capital of 1,097,540 shares. Detailed description can be found in Chapter of 656-B of the 2020 Universal Registration Document. The result of the votes are as follows. 14th resolution in favor, 98.5%. The resolution is approved. The purpose of the 15th and 16th resolutions is to amend Articles 30 and 12 of the company's Articles of Association with the agreement of the general partners in order to modify the characteristics of the directors fees or bonuses intended for the general partners of the company, in particular, simplify their calculation formula, provide that's the portion due to the managing general partners will be determined by reference to sectors previously set by the Supervisory Board to limit the shares due to the non-managing general partners suggest and specify that the managing partners will be granted free shares. The resolution of the votes for these 2 resolutions are as followed. 15th resolution in favor 98.39%. The resolution is approved. 16th resolution in favor, 98.37%. The resolution is approved. The 17th resolution relating to the powers to carry out the formalities associated with this combined general meeting does not call for any particular comments. The results of the votes for this resolution are as follows. 17th resolution in favor, 99.99%. The resolution is approved. Thank you very much for your attention.

Thank you very much, Benoit that was extremely efficient. Thank you for reminding us the content of these resolutions and the results of the vote. So thank you very much. So there are no further businesses. The meeting is adjourned. Thank you for attending Michelin's 2021 Annual Meeting. And we look forward to seeing you again next year with a more traditional format. So thank you very much for your trust, take care. Bye-bye. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]