L'Air Liquide S.A. (AI) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

[Presentation] Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, I'm very pleased to welcome you for our shareholders general meeting of your group. For the second consecutive year, this AGM will be held behind closed doors, owing to the health situation that has been affecting us for every year now. We're all unable to interact face to face, and we regretted all them also in the shareholders' meeting is a high point of our shareholder democracy, more broadly of the life of your company, conditioning important decisions, which are taken in this context. My thoughts with all those who have been particularly affected by this pandemic. And I, of course, hope that you, your family and close ones are in good health. Faced with the necessity of going behind closed doors, we have chosen to innovate by opening the doors of our Paris Innovation campaign, which is the group's largest innovation facility. It's an important symbol, one of a group -- fundamentally forward-looking. Let me add that like last year, an amount equivalent to attendance fees will be donated to the Air Liquide Foundation, thereby contributing to funding its initiatives to combat COVID-19. So it's in a very restricted committee that I shall be chairing this meeting in the company of Fabienne Lecorvaisier, Executive Vice President and CFO. The directors of your company are usually present like you this year following the AGM remotely. The notice of meeting for this combined general assembly was published on the 24th of March in the [Foreign Language]. All holders of registered shares and the auditors were duly convened by letter to this meeting. You were great many in voting by correspondents either through the paper form or online by the voting. I welcome that because every vote counts. As Chair of the Board, I will chair this AGM. Scrutineers have been appointed by the Board, which convened this meeting behind closed doors in accordance with prevailing regulation. They are of BNP Paribas Asset Management represented by Michael Herskovich and [ Amundi ] represented [Foreign Language]. They are both present in this room. With the agreement of the scrutineers, Madam Fabienne Lecorvaisier will act as secretary to the meeting. The bureau is now established. I remind you that since the AGM is being held in closed session, all voting will be by correspondent. We collected all your paper bulletins up to April 30 midnight and your online votes up to yesterday 3rd May 3 p.m. in accordance with regulations. The vote was thus closed, and the result will be made known to you at the end of the question-and-answer session. The result is the number of total shareholders amount to 113,729 shareholders for a total of 271,316,445 shares of the 471,000,919 shares with voting rights. That's 57.49%. Each shares opens the right to vote. We have a quorum, and so we can validly deliberate. The agenda for the meeting is displayed on the screen. Given this information, I declare the AGM open. All documents required by the legislation were placed on the desk. In addition, all prior documents were made available to shareholders via the shareholder department and on the website as rules and regulations. No shareholder has availed himself as a right to place items on the agenda or table draft resolutions. The Social and Economic Committee received in a timely manner the documents and information put to the AGM and did not use his right concerning the placing of items for resolutions on the agenda. As with every year, I suggest that we dispense with reading the reports of the Board, the highlights of which are presented below. As part of the preparations to this meeting, we conducted a survey, polling over 7,100 shareholders who responded, and my thanks to that. This was very useful to identify the topics that you'd like to see addressed. Hydrogen topping the list of subjects. I propose we begin with an overview of 2020 and its operational highlights. Then, Fabienne Lecorvaisier, CFO, will present the results for 2020. I'll then present a strategic overview and outlook for the group. And to comply with health restrictions, these 2 interventions were recorded a few days ago. Next after, a testimonial from Jean-Paul Agon, Lead Independent Director, a short video outlining the work of the Board in 2020 will be shown, and I'll return to the new composition of the Board at the end of this meeting. Then I'll hand over to Xavier Huillard, chair of Remunerations Committee, who will present the remuneration of corporate officers. Consistent with current health constraints, the recording was also made a few days ago. Lastly, you will hear the prerecorded summary of the statutory auditor's report. We will then open the Q&A session, during which I'll answer live the questions you have submitted to the company's website. You may also put questions live from the dedicated platform to be found on the streaming page of this AGM. And then lastly, I'll deliver the results of the vote on the resolutions before closing this annual general meeting. Let us now discover by video the main achievements of our operations. [Presentation]

Fabienne will now present the 2020 results.

Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, the year 2020 which for reasons with which you're familiar was out of the ordinary, allowed your group to once again demonstrate the remarkable robustness of its business model, relying on the balance of its portfolio between growth and resilience activities. You'll see this through 4 indicators: good sales resilience; significant improvements in operating margin; net profit growth; and lastly, very high level of investment decisions. Regarding solid sales performance, we ended 2020 with sales over EUR 20 billion, up in the fourth quarter, pretty much stable on a comparable basis full year in the context of a global health and economic crisis. By comparison, global industrial production declined by 5% over the same percentage. Global gas and services, representing 96% of our sales, displayed good resilience. The activity was sustained by strong sales in health care and electronics. On the geographic front, the sales increased in Europe and dynamics in the China offset the relative weakness in North America. For the other group's activity, consolidated sales, engineering and construction is down 23% for the year but recovered strongly in Q4 with an increase of 24%. Lastly, global market and technology grew on a comparable basis of 6% in 2020, was particularly dynamic and biogas with the starting of new units. In this regard, let me take this opportunity about being present on the innovation campus in Paris. To say that we're continuing to innovate, we have set up a pilot bio-digest. This pilot research project is designed to improve the efficacy of methanization. Let's turn now to your group's performance, particularly solid. The operating margin of Air Liquide improved by 80 basis points in 2020 excluding the price of energy, reaching 18.5%, a record level in the group's history, whereas revenue remained. Operating income recurring was up 4% on comparable basis, nearing EUR 4 billion. The 3 main drivers were once again the generation of structural efficiencies of EUR 441 million, way above the annual target set at over EUR 400 million. Active price management and that of the asset pools further added to that were exceptional cost reduction measures that we put in place to confront the economic crisis, benefiting from the good maintenance of operations, but also the capital gains linked to the disposal of short term. Net profit group share stood at EUR 2.4 billion from the pandemic. That's an increase of 9% on a reported basis, 11% excluding currency. Cash flow from operation reached a record, 24% of sales, significantly reducing the group gearing. Net debt-to-equity stands at 56% at the end of the year as against 64% a year earlier. We now have a gearing level equivalent to the -- preceded the acquisition of Airgas. The strength of the group's balance sheet is reinforced. Recurring return on capital employed at 8.6% is stable versus 2019 in spite of the drop in activity linked to the health crisis. Turning to our investment. They remain particularly dynamic in spite of a very uncertain context. Like in 2019, our investment decisions topped the EUR 3 billion mark. And for its path, the portfolio opportunities of 12 months continued to strengthen, a EUR 3.1 billion increase to 45% by energy transition projects. This dynamic highlights the good position of the group on key markets: health care, energy transition and digital technologies. We can therefore envisage the future confidently as well as our growth prospects. As regards to our nonfinancial performance, our 3 main indicators grew in 2020, be it safety, gender diversity or carbon intensity in 2020. The group has demonstrated the solidity of its business model, the validity of its strategy, sustained by its global geographic footprint, the diversity and balance of its portfolio by delivering once again profitable but also responsible growth. I'd now like to say a few words about our first quarter sales. The gradual recovery continued, and group sales grew almost 4% on a comparable basis. All our businesses are back on a growth trend. Sales of medical oxygen is still above normal and offsetting the impact of bad weather in the United States. Furthermore, performance remains very solid against the backdrop of limited local lockdown measures in H1. Recovery in the second half, your group is confident in its ability to once again increase its operating margins and deliver an increase in recurring net income at constant exchange rates in 2021. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your attention.

Thank you very much, Fabienne. And now I would like to give you the strategic overview for the group. In other words, how the group will continue to confront the crisis while preparing... [Presentation]

Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders. 2020 will go down in history -- in collective history because it upsets the whole world but also each and every one of us, and it affected the course of our lives. More than ever, we realize to what extent our destiny as individuals, companies or communities are interwoven. They are dependent on the health of each of us, on the health of the economy as well as that of the planet. In Air Liquide business, raw materials, such as oxygen or hydrogen, are the essential molecules for life, matter and energy. The nature of the crisis, which we have gone through, be they health crisis, economic or climate crisis, clearly show that our core business and our products are at the very heart of human progress, and therefore, of our shared future. The COVID-19 crisis was no exception to this and revealed our contribution on a health -- from a health standpoint and our potential in environmental terms. We are more than ever aware of the responsibility and the economic and the societal impact that we will have tomorrow. At the time when we can look forward to a gradual exit from the pandemic, thanks to vaccines and to an upturn in global growth, we are going through the next phase, which takes us to the future. I'm convinced that nobody will succeed alone and that no company will emerge as a winner over the long term if it is the only one to prosper. It is by acting here and now collectively by producing results in the present and preparing the future that we will be able to have a positive impact on tomorrow's society. So what path should we follow in order to invent this shared promising future for our group and all its stakeholders? Specifically, how can we at Air Liquide act in the interest of all? And this is what I would like to share with you now. Acting for the benefit of all means learning from our recent past. And this is how we will be able to take the right decisions. So what should we learn from 2020? First of all, the confirmation of the strength of our model and the strength of our businesses. 2020 results were particularly positive in these exceptional circumstances. First quarter results were also extremely encouraging. Thanks to our presence internationally in almost 80 countries, our presence in virtually all sectors of the economy and to our tried and tested model, we have been -- we have remained particularly resilient. Looking beyond the structural components. We have made in the recent past choices which bear out our capacity to resist and our agility. Starting off with a decentralized organizational structure on a network basis based on collaboration and responsibility, which ensures both agility and adaptability. When this is put of the service of the client, it reinforces the creativity and increases the satisfaction of customers which ensures stability. We have also proved that our teams know how to mobilize. In 2020, it was the group's men and women who made the difference, all committed to the battle of the pandemic. And once again, I would like to thank them warmly because this was a long, hard struggle. Over this period, while attention is focused on our day-to-day business, we must not, however, forget and lose sight of the future. And that's why we continue to innovate. We continue to innovate to prepare the future. And this is what happened here [Audio Gap], the innovation campus of Plateau de Saclay and also by mobilizing everybody's energy. And I would like to show this to you with this video. [Presentation]

Acting for the benefit of all means mobilizing our strength in order to capture the markets of the future and to meet our societal commitments. The history of Air Liquide, first and foremost is a history of growth. Today, in order to sustain this growth, we have to exploit opportunities on the markets -- on the most dynamic markets along those that contribute to the benefit of all. And this is why we decided to focus on 3 major markets: energy and climate transition, health care and technology. So the first of these markets is energy transition and climate transition. Over the past 12 months, we have seen a fundamental shift by stepping up for companies the awareness of the impact of climate and environment on their business. This is an economic struggle, and it is also a societal struggle. Many sectors are confronted with the need to act in order to reduce their carbon footprint. It is as much a matter of reducing their own greenhouse gas emissions as finding new solutions or new processes in order to enable the emergence of a low-carbon society. Regarding your group, Air Liquide, on the 23rd of March, we announced, as part of our sustainable development goals, our ambition to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 consistent with the Paris Agreement and to reduce our emissions by 33% in absolute value by 2035. This is an extremely ambitious goal for an industry that is using as much energy as our own. And it is through the modernization of our assets, carbon capture or by using renewable energy that we will be able to achieve these goals. As part of these goals, hydrogen will play a major role. As you know, it is the fascinating subject but is also an intriguing one because hydrogen will unquestionably be a decisive element for the implementation of a low-carbon society. In 2050, approximately 18% of global energy demand can be met by hydrogen. Your group is a leader in hydrogen and has been so for over 50 years and controls the whole of the value chain and its applications. In recent decades, we have played a key role in order to promote and develop this solution. The establishment of the World Hydrogen Council in 2017 played in this respect a key role. At present, over 100 global companies are represented on the council. In order to face global warning, hydrogen represents hope and a specific, realistic solution. The post-COVID recovery plans of major industrial countries have included hydrogen on a massive scale. Over EUR 60 billion will be spent around the world over the next few years in order to favor the emergence of the hydrogen sector. France will spend EUR 7 billion; and Germany, EUR 9 billion. For our part, by 2035, we will invest approximately EUR 8 billion in the low-carbon hydrogen value chain. And our goal is to develop a competitive low-carbon hydrogen offering on a large scale. This represents both huge growth potential and a very significant contribution to the development of a sustainable society. By 2035, our revenue from hydrogen will triple, rising from EUR 2 million to over EUR 6 billion. Of course, carbon prices or tax will govern the rise of this sector. But clearly, the use of hydrogen will enter our daily lives in many different ways: for heating, for lighting and of course, for transport. The first markets in mobility will probably be those of large vehicles for business use or public transport, such as trains, boats, buses, for which hydrogen represents a very interesting alternative and a competitive one. Aircraft will then follow. Why do we start off with heavy vehicles? Because hydrogen is usually associated with private vehicles. Well, this is because as part of heavy transportation, supply and energy are conducted from fixed points. A bus, a ferry, a train make the same trip in a repetitive manner and often cover large distances. Supply in hydrogen with only stock storage at the departure and arrival point is therefore highly suited. And ultimately, this will lead to 0 emission professional mobility and 0 noise professional mobility. Hydrogen will, therefore, become part of our daily lives. And I would now like to show you the testimony of Philippe Croizon, who is an extraordinary individual, who now includes hydrogen in his activity as a high-level sportsman. [Presentation]

So the first question is to -- how to produce liquid hydrogen in large quantities for mobility. This will be the case in our future plant in Nevada, which will provide hydrogen to California, where there are already over 10,000 hydrogen vehicles. The second question, of course, is producing carbon-free hydrogen. And for this purpose, electrolysis is a key technology. Based on its experience and its position, your group has already established several partnerships in this area. For example, the partnership with Hydrogenics in North America and more recently with Siemens Energy in Europe for large sizes, contributing to our shift to large scale. And we plan to install 3 gigawatts in capacity by 2030. The production of decarbonated hydrogen by electrolysis is already a reality. As you can see on these pictures, in Canada, Bécancour, we recently inaugurated the biggest proton exchange membrane electrolyzer of -- with a capacity of 20 megawatts. And finally, in France, we announced the H2V project, Normandy, which will ensure the construction of a complex of electrolyzers with a capacity reaching 200 megawatts. Now let's look at how we can accompany our clients who, like us, are confronted with the challenge of reducing their carbon footprint. And I'm referring in particular to large industries, clients, chemical companies, refineries, steel producers who come to us almost every day. In order to meet their expectations, Air Liquide now has a very broad offering of solutions, ranging from low carbon gas, oxygen and hydrogen, in particular, which are low carbon and all the way to carbon capture or liquefaction technologies. In the steel industry, for example, we announced a partnership with ThyssenKrupp in order to inject hydrogen into the blast furnaces as partial replacement for pulverized coal. More recently, a memorandum of understanding was concluded with ArceloMittal to develop the use of low carbon hydrogen and carbon capture technologies for CO2 in order to reduce the emission size. In other instances, some of our clients have decided to entrust us with the management of their assets in order to optimize costs and reduce emissions. This applies, for example, to Sasol in South Africa, where we will soon be taking over the biggest oxygen production plant in the world with the goal being to reduce its CO2 emissions by 30% to 40%. As you can see, climate and energy transition open up unprecedented business prospects for your group. However, these are not the only ones. I'd now like to dwell on our second market of the future, which is health care. Against the backdrop of a health crisis coming on top of the increase in chronic disease and the aging of the population, very clearly, the issue of health is not only crucial, but universal. In hospitals, medical oxygen and nitric oxide have demonstrated their great usefulness during the pandemic. Oxygen therapy at high capacity enabled the care for patients to be looked after the most serious cases. The use of these techniques will go well beyond the crisis, and new gas medicine may prove very, very useful in the years ahead. In home health care, our ambition is to improve health and the quality of life of the most severely ill patients, be they patients suffering from respiratory disease, diabetes or Parkinson, in particular using digital technology. Digital technology will transform the whole situation, enabling the personalization and the monitoring of treatment. Remuneration of our service depending on how closely the patient follows the treatment enables the cost of health care to be correlated with the results achieved. And in tandem, in countries -- low-income or medium-income countries, we have committed to facilitate access to medical oxygen, in particular in rural areas. And I now come to technologies market. The first group here is electronics, which is an expanding sector. You can see next to me, a silicon wafer, which is the support for semiconductors. These microstructures are made up of a series of nanometric levels. This is what you see on the model by enlarging the scale quite significantly. The old generation included 30 layers, and the new generation of semiconductors now have over 250. This technological feat has been made possible by the precision of etching gas developed by Air Liquide. And in electronics as well, our offering includes an environmental dimension. For example, Air Liquide is working with TSMC in Taiwan to equip in hydrogen and a very pure oxygen and low carbon a new plant of the latest generation. And it's from this plant that will emerge the 3-nanometer chips, which will be 10% to 15% better performing and included in smartphones, computers and tablets that will be on sale from 2022. Another key market is the digital market. With over 1 billion of data collected and processed per day, it is present in all new offerings. This enables us to ensure growth, operating and environmental efficiency and client satisfaction, and to increase, therefore, our added value. This applies also to large industries with plants that are remotely operated. It applies also to the cylinder gas business, which is becoming smart and connected, hence the optimized logistics. And of course, this also applies to health care where patient care and digital technology go hand in hand. And finally, a few words on the very high technology markets, such as space, deep cryogenics and quantum technologies. These are rapidly developing markets synonymous of an extraordinary future for the group around the world. Acting for the benefits of all also means establishing a working environment and keeping with the group's values and the evolution of society as a whole. Our employees, of course, are our first source of wealth. We are fully convinced that human potential knows no boundary that each and every one of us can exploit his talents and reinvent him and herself. And this is the spirit of our organization of career path. What we want, and this is a priority for us, is to provide a safe, inclusive, stimulating working environment. And to achieve this, we have set several objectives, such as the promotion of inclusion and diversity, enabling 35% of women to be among managers and professionals by 2025 as well as the establishment for all employees of a common basis with health coverage, with, for example, a basic maternity leave of 14 weeks all around the world. Also providing our employees or enabling them to take part in local projects online, consistent with our goals for sustainable developments and the foundations work. And permanently -- establishing on a permanent footing here and now, 2 days of homeworking per week by the end of the pandemic. And finally, in terms of corporate governance, the group will continue to establish best practices. We will see this illustrated a little bit later on. Coming now to you, dear shareholders, acting on the benefit of all, clearly, of course, means growing on a regular basis but remaining close to you and moving forward together. We are very proud throughout this crisis to have been able to maintain the close ties that we have with you, our shareholders. And these close ties, of course, have had to be reinvented completely with a remote Shareholders Committee, with the stepping up of our digital communication, with the full mobilization of our shareholder department advisers and with the modernization of the personal shareholder space online. Becoming a shareholder of Air Liquide now can be done simply with quick -- in 3 clicks. Alongside major institutional shareholders, there are now 470,000 of you individual shareholders in Air Liquide, of which 50,000 new shareholders whom we were delighted to welcome in 2020. But we want to go even further. And in this spirit, we launched in early April, a communication campaign on the social media in order to welcome new shareholders in the 30- to 45-year age group. And here is the clip. [Presentation]

So to all present and future shareholders who have remained faithful, and I'd like to emphasize the policies of our shareholders. Now coming to the dividend payment proposed for this year. Reflecting the strong performance of 2020, it will be at EUR 2.75 per share at 1.9%. Furthermore, the Board has decided on the principle of allocating a new free share for every 10 shares held, which is envisaged for June 2022. Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, this year more than ever, I wish to thank you very warmly for your confidence and faith and your loyalty. And we want to deserve this even more each day. And in concluding, what I would say is that this crisis and the challenges that lie ahead are an encounter with history and with our own history. Financial performance and sustainable development are at the core of our growth model. Performance, therefore, has to become global. It has to be financial, industrial, societal, human and environmental. All of these themes are in inter-sociable. The history that we will write together will be made up of transformation, innovation as well as cooperation and success. It will be the encounter between the individual, the company and society. We have a meeting with our own future, and we are ready to seize this with all the uncertainty but with the many opportunities that lie ahead. And we have every confidence in the group's capacity to act on -- for the benefit of all. So more than ever, we must invent our future and use it to achieve shared success. So now I would like to move on. And I'd now like to discuss some of the key points of the report on corporate governance issued by the Board. Let's begin by hearing from Jean-Paul Agon, Lead Independent Director, who addresses the mobilization of your Board during this year like no other.

Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, as Lead Independent Director, I'd like to briefly review the work of your Board during this unprecedented year. You know how much we're staunchly committed to complying with the highest standards of the governance. The current crisis this year spurred this on even more. The Board meetings and those of its committees were all held in optimum conditions in spite of the lockdowns and travel restrictions. Digital tools allowed us to meet virtually by maintaining intact of quality and free-flowing discussions. A meeting devoted to hydrogen with numerous outside interactions and panel session, which prompted substantive discussions was held last September from Paris Innovation Campus thanks to video conferencing. We set about successfully onboarding a new female Board member. In spite of distance, the collegiality of the Board's work was thus preserved. But of course, we look forward as you do, to meet again in person when the health crisis will at last be behind us. Our work was very substantive and will be presented to you later on. Let me just stress that in 2020, your group not only assumed fully as well as a corporate citizen in the fight against the pandemic, demonstrating outstanding agility and confronting the health crisis, prepare the future, set about setting ambitious nonfinancial targets to act for a sustainable future. Your Board remains fully committed, in support of management and all employees, in contributing to the group's performance in these kinds of crisis.

Thank you, Jean-Paul. Let's now return to the composition of your Board and the work performed throughout the year. [Presentation]

At this -- the end of this shareholders' meeting, the terms of office of 2 directors are due to expire, those of Thierry Peugeot, Xavier Huillard. Concerning Mr. Thierry Peugeot, the Board upon recommendation of the Appointments and Governance Committee, agreed with -- Mr. Peugeot who observe as a Board member for 16 years, agreed within the framework of good governance that the renewal of his term of office would not be submitted to the AGM. We'd like to express on behalf of our Board, our sincere appreciation for his contribution to the work of the Board, which he has served on since 2005 in the Audit and Accounts Committee on which he served since 2012. His experience of markets and mobility was particularly appreciated. Personally, I'd also like to acknowledge and warmly thank Thierry for his loyalty and his tireless commitment in serving the interest of the group in all circumstances. Resolution 5 proposes the renewal for 4 years of Xavier Huillard, an Independent Director, Chair of the Remunerations Committee and member of the Nominations Committee. He'll continue to bring to the Board his experience as the head of a large international company and his perfect knowledge of construction and service businesses. Since the first of October 2020, your Board members -- a new female Board member representing employees, Fatima Tighlaline, appointed by the European Works Council and who's been welcomed to the Board. Resolution 6, 7 and 8 concerns the appointment proposals of 3 new company directors, Mr. Pierre Breber, Aiman Ezzat and Bertrand Dumazy who will introduce themselves. [Presentation]

During my over 30-year career at Chevron, I've led large global businesses, lived on 3 continents, travel to the others and currently act as CFO. Having worked extensively with Chevron's Board of Directors, I understand what makes an effective director: listening with an open mind, curiosity about the business and its people and a willingness to contribute at the right times. To the Board of Air Liquide, I'll bring a global perspective from an American vantage point, experience with stakeholder expectations for both financial performance and societal benefits, insights from another industry critical to the world's economy and a dedication of strong governance of this great company. I've admired Air Liquide, my whole life. It's an extraordinary company with a track record of success in a vital industry. For me, it's a dream come true to be nominated to the Board. What motivates me is the opportunity to build on the legacy of all who have made Air Liquide a world-class company and help Air Liquide continue to make the world a better place, for all of its stakeholders. I'm honored to be considered for this Board. And if elected, I will assume my duties with great care and commitment.

What I'd like to bring to the Board of Air Liquide is my great digital experience, technologies and the transformation of organization. It's also my knowledge of a great many sectors that are dear to you such as health care industry and hydrogen. I believe I can bring a lot through my global experience and through my vision as the head of a large international corporation. I'm very honored to have been proposed for this position on the Board of Air Liquide to serve your interest. Air Liquide is a fascinating company. Its environmental project that is ambitious clearly resonates with my own personal convictions and my commitment for the group that I head up. Air Liquide is also a company with a very high ethical standard, promotes engagement over the long term. These values are close to my heart. I'm impatient to join the diversified group that the Board of Air Liquide makes up. Thank you for your attention, and I hope to see you soon.

[Foreign Language]

At the end of this meeting and subject to these resolutions being approved, your board will comprise 15 members, including 5 different nationalities and 6 women. This composition reflects the diversity and complement entirety of profiles, experience, expertise and cultures sought by the Board. I'd now like to give the floor to Xavier Huillard, Chair of the Remunerations Committee, who will present the resolutions pertaining to remuneration.

Hello, everybody. Shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, your AGM is invited to vote on 4 resolutions regarding the remuneration of the corporate offices. The detailed information on this is to be found in the universal registration document. First of all, Resolution #10 on the remuneration paid in 2020 or attributed for 2020 to your CEO. Consistent with the policy that you approved last year, this remuneration includes a fixed portion of EUR 1.325 million, unchanged since 2018, a variable share of approximately EUR 1.46 million, down approximately 29% on 2019. This decline reflects the impact of the health crisis, the objectives of the financial criteria which are dependent on earnings per share and revenue set in early 2020 before the emergence of the crisis were not fully reached. On the recommendation of the Remuneration Committee, your Board nevertheless decided not to do adjustment in order to reflect exactly the reality of the past year. Regarding the qualitative objectives, the Board noted the quality of the results obtained by your CEO in the area of CSR, in particular with the pursuit of the rollout of the sustainable development strategy, the organization and human resources and individual performance, which was exceptional in an unprecedented context of crisis. The remuneration finally includes an allocation of performance shares in the amount of approximately EUR 2.25 million. There, again, stable since 2018. And the 11th resolution like last year calls on you to vote -- through a global vote for the remuneration of all the corporate officers, including the directors. Among the information provided in the universal registration document, you will find the remuneration of your CEO compared to the average or median remuneration of the employees of the company. In 2020, the relevant ratio stood, respectively, at 49 and 70. You were also provided information on the compared annual variation of remuneration and performance over the past 5 years. In average annual growth compared over 5 years, the increase of growth indicators for consolidated sales and of net profit was significantly above that of the CEO's remuneration. This information is provided in Pages 171 and 172 of the universal registration document. The remuneration of the nonexecutive directors appears on Pages 178 and 179 of the universal registration document. This year, you are called upon to vote on the remuneration policy through 2 resolutions. The 12th resolution is on the remuneration policy of the corporate officers and the 13th resolution is on the remuneration of Board members. The remuneration policy of the corporate officers is unchanged from that which we approved in 2020. And the annual -- the global target of annual remuneration for 2021 will remain unchanged. The remuneration of the nonexecutive directors appears on Pages 178 and 179 of the universal registration document. This year, you are called upon to vote on the remuneration policy through 2 resolutions. The 12th resolution is on the remuneration policy of the corporate officers. And the 13th resolution is on the remuneration of Board members. The remuneration policy of the corporate officers is unchanged from that which you approved in 2020. And the annual -- the global target in annual remuneration for Benoît Potier in 2021 will remain unchanged. The variable portion criteria on an annual basis are unchanged and dependent on earnings per share and revenue. Personal criteria include CSR objectives and organizational and human resources goals. The condition -- the performance conditions applicable to LTI are unchanged and are based on ROCE, total shareholder return and carbon intensity. These criteria the company's strategy associating economic performance and sustainable development. The remuneration iteration policy was also drawn up taking into account working conditions and remuneration of employees. Moreover, the pension scheme contract approved last year has been maintained. We should have further to the PACTE law. Defined contribution, pension schemes for all employees and senior executives has been transferred to a PERO, which is a mandatory corporate pension savings scheme. Moving on now to the section regarding Board member remuneration. The policy here reflects the continuance of past practice with propendent share of variable remuneration and depending on the participation and attendance of each of the Board member in the meetings. What we're proposing, however, our is to remunerate online participation in the meetings in the same way as in-person presence. Board members were governed by the requirements to work online for meetings in 2020, and the Board was able to note the quality of this method of work, thanks notably to digital tools that have been established. This change will take effect from -- took effect from September 2020 [Audio Gap] It does not into question the Board's preference for in-person attendance whenever this is possible. And finally, the 9th resolution solution will enable you to note that the special report of the statutory auditors does not show any new regulated-related party agreement. Thank you very much.

[Interpreted] I suggest we now move to the report of the statutory auditors.

[Interpreted] Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, good afternoon. On behalf of the Board of all L'Air Liquide, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young , I'd like to report our audit assignment on the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020. Our report on annual consolidated financial statements, related party agreements and resolutions on capital were made available by the company to be found in the shareholders' registration document 2020, drawn up in the complex and changing context linked to COVID-19. I, therefore, propose, as usual, to summarize the terms. Firstly, our report on the annual financial statements of Air Liquide S.A. to be found on Pages 290 to 292 of the document. Drawn up under French GAAP, we certified these accounts with an unqualified opinion. We considered that the assessment of equity investments was a key audit matter. Turning now to our report on the group's consolidated financial statement, drawn up under IFRS, as adopted by the European Union. The report is to be found on Pages 273 to 276 of the document. We certified these financial statements with an unqualified opinion. A key audit matter with the following 3 items concerning significant estimates: firstly, large industries, the qualification of contracts and means for booking; sales and then the duration of amortization of production assets and assessing the recoverable value; lastly, the implementation of goodwill impairment [Audio Gap] We remind you that the prime purpose of our assignment is to obtain reasonable assurance ensuring that the financial statements are true and fair and are free of material misstatements. Our approach is tailored to the group's various activities and businesses as well as its international organization. We focus on auditing both general transactions as well as specific events and conducted our procedures in accordance with French professional standards. We also ensure that the management report concerned -- it included the consolidated report. On nonfinancial performance, we issued our report on related party agreements on Page 374. We have not been advised of any new related party agreements. The agreement covering the life insurance contract for Mr. Potier, previously authorized by your AGM during prior years, remained in force last year. Lastly, under the extraordinary part of your AGM, we issued full report on Pages 375 to 378 concerning the resolutions authorizing transactions that may have an impact on the share capital of your company. That is share capital reduction issue [Audio Gap] of securities and other securities maintaining preferential subscription right [Audio Gap] issue of equities securities, giving access [Audio Gap] to the capital to employees and categories of beneficiary. These reports do not contain any specific reference [Audio Gap] will draw up additional reports if and when the Board uses these authorizations. Thank you for your attention.

[Interpreted] So we've reached the end of the presentations, and we are now moving on to the question-and-answer session.

[Interpreted] So consistent with provisions made by the law, the answers of the Board to written questions before the AGM were published on the company's website. In order to emphasize insofar as possible the live answers to the many questions from Internet, I will not go over them in detail. There were 17 questions on the themes of energy transition and societal matters. The Board's answers are available on our website under the AGM section. In order to maintain the spirit of dialogue, which are so keen on, as you know, we have set up the following structure. A platform was opened on airliquide.com 10 days ago, and you've been able to put your questions there. And the past 20 minutes, moreover, you have been able to ask your question live. Question-and-answer session will, therefore, draw on both of these channels. I should add that as we cannot check remotely your status as a shareholder, these questions are not included as part of the legal debate in the draw. So I suggest that we start off immediately with some questions asked a few days ago, over 350 of them. And unsurprisingly, hydrogen is the most popular theme, followed by shareholder policy and the group's mobilization against the pandemic. Let's take the first question immediately.

[ Interpreted ] Hello, my name is Stephan Gale. Here is my question. I read on LinkedIn that Air Liquide has been supporting India in the struggle against the pandemic. Could you say -- tell us more about this?

Yes. Thank you for the question. Indeed, and sadly, this is a very topical question for all of us. Air Liquide in India, who's only had a presence 15 to 20 years in the country, we have a modest activity mainly in the north and the west of the country. We have few oxygen production plants there. In the present situation, the key issue is production. And the first response of Air Liquide was to mobilize 24/7 all of the teams in India, approximately 550 persons, in order to produce and deliver oxygen in the best possible conditions to all the hospitals. We are mainly delivering oxygen to hospitals and far less to industrial customers. But of course, that's not enough. And what we've also done is that we have established a logistical structure outside of India via the group's network in conjunction, of course, with the French government which mobilized to help India through a chain of solidarity. And since we had production chains -- units available in the Middle East in Qatar, we reorganized our chain between Europe with containers that were booked in Europe, conveyed to Qatar, filled with liquid oxygen and then sent on by ship to India. And in the first phase, they will provide approximately 300 tonnes of oxygen, which is the quantity required in order to care for 10,000 patients a day. Now of course, that's not enough. As you can see, we're talking about far more cases in India. But in the weeks ahead, we're going to try to significantly strengthen this setup by involving other assets and seeing what we can produce from all the plants which are relatively close to India, namely Europe and, of course, the Middle East. So looking ahead, we should be able to double, triple or quadruple the quantities of oxygen and, therefore, save as many lives as it is possible to do so in India. So that's main contribution of Air Liquide. It is an unprecedented mobilization by the teams in order to face the pandemic in India. So next question, please.

[Interpreted] Chairman, what is your knowledge -- or what will be your knowledge of the market share in Europe and around the world of liquid hydrogen in 2030? And if it's significant on the work form, could it -- could Air Liquide intervene in the market?

[Interpreted] Well, there we are. We're at the heart of the hydrogen subject. Thank you for that question. Well, your question concerns, of course, private vehicles, private cars. I'd just like to come back in time a little bit. As you know, these large hydrogen markets are broad markets, in fact, because we're talking here about mobility, and this includes private vehicles, but other markets. And we're thinking of the energy markets, producing, storing, providing electric power, industrial heating, construction, and of course, markets where hydrogen is a raw material as in steel or refinery. So the mobility section, which is approximately 20% of the overall market. Now looking, say, ahead to 2050 -- you're talking about 2030, sir, but in fact, we went as fast 2050. And what we feel is that the penetration rate of hydrogen in the private car market could be as high as 25%, but more in the market for small -- for medium or large-sized vehicles. So upmarket vehicles. We think that small vehicles will probably remain electric or battery powered. Now broadening the discussion somewhat, if this 25% can be reached, we have penetration rates, which will, in fact, be better regarding buses, trains, vans. And the penetration that we're considering here is 35% to 40% by 2050. 2050 is a long way ahead, but what you have to bear in mind is that this development will be done in phases. The first phase that we're aiming for is 2030. We have goals there. We were specific about that. And then after 2030, 2040, I think we'll see a significant ramp-up of the hydrogen market. So that's what I can say. And I think that I will come back to this. Now of course, you're talking about the role of Air Liquide. We'll be present across the whole chain, and the chain has to be conveyed from production -- conveying logistics, distribution and applications. And of course, this is what Air Liquide is doing at present. We are able to provide, all the way from production to implementation, the supply of hydrogen. Thank you so much. Next question.

[Interpreted] Hello. My name is [ Miriel ], and here's Charlie. I'm an Air Liquide shareholder since my first pay. Recent news, a lot about space conquest. Here's my question, what role will Air Liquide play in space conquest? Do you want to go to space, Charlie?

[Interpreted] Hello, [ Miriel. ] Hello, Charlie. Thanks for that question. It's true that, here, we're in an innovation facility. So we're bound to think space. What is the history of Air Liquide in space? Well, in fact, the history started on earth, a long time ago, when Air Liquide teamed up for the manufacture and the fuel of the Ariane Rocket, the European rocket. And we're still one of the main suppliers of oxygen and hydrogen necessary to power that rocket. But that's not all. For some years now, we're in the world of satellites because to propel satellites to send them into space, well, we need our product, xenon, very heavy, to be very refined in piloting the satellite. And we have to cool them. We have the best refrigerators in the world that do cold to take photographs of the universe. That's the second presence of Air Liquide. That's in the present. Let's look to the future. What does the future look like? Well, it's the Moon and maybe even Mars. So what's that all about? What can we do? Well, you need to know that in space, there are 2 key products. There's water, and there's oxygen. Water, because water is obviously necessary to life. We need to drink water, but water is also the source of hydrogen and oxygen. Separating water to make hydrogen and oxygen gives you the fuel, the hydrogen and oxygen. Oxygen is the life of the astronauts. So we could very well have stations that would resupply the rockets between earth and moon. But further out, Mars. On Mars, the atmosphere is made up of CO2, 95%, a bit of hydrogen, nitrogen and other compounds. The big challenge will be to separate the CO2 into carbon and oxygen. The day we can do that, then we can envisage life on Mars. So you see history in space the past. It's all Air Liquide's experience. The present because, today we're present, but it will also be the future with the Moon and Mars. And I hope we'll be able to welcome Charlie at Air Liquide. Next question.

[Interpreted] So the next question is a written question, the costly obstacle to the -- for hydrogen for vehicles and density distribution. What's Air Liquide and others doing to take part actively on that?

[Interpreted] Well, I believe that's a question that has a key financial component to it. I'll ask Fabienne to illustrate what we're doing from the financial standpoint in order to assist in distribution.

[Interpreted] Well, it's clear that the development of the network distribution, network service stations for mobility is one of the issues, not the only one. We need a full supply chain liquefaction, transportation, distribution to the point of sale that doesn't exist today, with low-temperature requirements, those of liquid hydrogen security, safety that are not easy to manage. We consider Air Liquide that our jobs more the upstream part of the hydrogen chain, and we must focus our investment capacity on production, liquefaction and transportation through to the distribution point. How to ensure that in parallel, the service stations networks continue to grow. We took part in pilot projects, small partnerships with automakers, such as Toyota. We did that on the East Coast of the United States and Japan. And there are some bigger consortia that were forged combining both automotive manufacturers, energy supplies, industrial gas providers and public players. We saw that in Germany for service stations on the O2 bonds, and we're seeing lastly, new funding flows, investment funds for hydrogen infrastructures that are growing. You may have seen some announcements in the press. There will be others. So we consider that these investment funds will contribute to a swifter distribution of the downstream distribution networks. Furthermore, the support plans from governments in the EU that Benoît mentioned in his presentation. We'll, of course, assist in developing these networks through the allocation of subsidies in the various regions.

[Interpreted] Thank you, Fabienne. Next question.

[Interpreted] As part of the hydrogen production plans through hydrolysis, we're going to see joint production of hydrogen as well as oxygen in electrolyzers important quantities of additional oxygen could be available on the market. Now these additional quantities, are they going to disrupt or even unsettle the current oxygen market? And these new quantities available, are they likely to open up markets that would not be accessible at normal affordable conditions for traditional oxygen?

[Interpreted] Yes. Thanks. That's an interesting question. A bit technical, but it's interesting because it illustrates the impact -- the massive development of hydrogen can have on another product, on oxygen. So maybe a bit of technology just to place the debate in context. In water, this hydrogen and oxygen, 8x more oxygen than hydrogen. When we generate 2 grams of oxygen, we're generating 8 grams of hydrogen. So you're right, every time we produce hydrogen through electrolysis, we produce oxygen. That oxygen is very pure. That's its main characteristics. That's very good. But when we look in greater detail, well, the energy that's necessary to separate that water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen, this energy is quite significant. That's what makes hydrogen relatively expensive today, but that cost is set to decline over time. So depending on whether we allocate more or less energy to oxygen production, it's totally free or not so free. And it's a comparison that's interesting to make because you need to realize that today, we've reached in a century a maturity in the oxygen production technology through our distillation. That's what we're doing at Air Liquide today because the scale effects allowed us to produce this oxygen with very low energy, so at a very competitive price. Let me just give you a figure [Audio Gap] In the presentation of the strategy earlier, you saw illustrations of the Sasol facility in South Africa. Well, on that site, you have oxygen units, 500 tonnes a day in output, 5,000 tonnes a day of oxygen. That's the equivalent, 325,000 tonnes of hydrogen. If it's done through hydrolysis, and to produce this hydrogen and the associated oxygen, well, that's in answer to your -- we need 1,450 megawatts. It's about a nuclear trial. So you see that energy that's necessary to produce all this oxygen and this associated hydrogen is very considerable. So I don't see short term, that is the next 10 years, any specific threat on our business of oxygen. But of course, we'll remain vigilant. We'll adapt and adopt all possible synergies. That's to answer your question. So let's take the next question.

[Interpreted] Hello. I'm representing the association for individual shareholders. How are you fighting against opportunistic competitors who are increasing in number in hydrogen mobility? Are you leader of the entry barriers is a place for consolidation? Is it in the offering?

[Interpreted] Well, we're still on the same questions of the markets of the future. How to address them? What Air Liquide's position is? Who are the competitors? You cited hydrogen, notably our position versus major utility. Well, let me just perhaps put things in context, utilities for the power production sector, do electricity for the oil sector, oil and gas. So these are 2 sectors that indeed can be concerned by hydrogen, but not the only ones. In fact, if you look closely, you also have chemistry. Well, chemistry consumes and produces hydrogen. And as we discussed at length, mobility. So we have a number of sectors which are potentially sectors that can use or produce hydrogen. What's specific to Air Liquide is that it's at the crossroads of all these sectors, and Air Liquide is positioned today and has been for decades on the full value chain. That is to say we can produce, as you know, either through natural gas or electricity, hydrogen. So we can address all sectors through this production. And we're quite unique with a few other gas and industry players to be able to purify it, liquefy it and transport it. And that's fundamental to bring this hydrogen to the markets. That's truly our core business. We spoke earlier with [ Ariane, ] the distribution of service stations, and that's a new business, a business in which Air Liquide is not present today, but where we have skills. We've already sold 120 such stations worldwide. So we plan to team up with partners on this. And downstream markets of this distribution, we have skill sets on how to store, how to use, how to manage the safety of hydrogen. So we have value-added throughout the chain whilst remaining at the crossroads of all these sectors. So I think that the positioning of Air Liquide today and going forward is very strong and compelling that we will be able to maintain and leverage. Thank you. Next question.

[Interpreted] For the sixth year, I have been a shareholder of Air Liquide, and I'm extremely happy with that. I simply wanted to know, of course, given the events that we're all aware of. And I think it's in next September, whether you will continue to pay out free shares.

[Interpreted] Well, just a small correction to what you've said. What we've said is that with the Board, we made a decision in principle to allocate 1 free share for 10, but in June 2022. So it's a bit later than September of this year. And this has to be put into perspective given the 2 years of the pandemic. We've been very happy last year to be able to maintain dividend payments. You'll remember all the debates that were held over this in France and elsewhere in Europe regarding dividends. We maintained our dividend payment, and that's what we're doing this year as well, of course. And we have looked to the future. We have made forecasts. We've published our forecasts. And with all of these items, we felt that this year, we were in a position to commit for next year. But it won't be in September of this year, it will be in June 2022. Now regarding the principle of allocating free shares. Well, of course, we place great importance on this. Why? Because this is a way of growing the number of shares that you hold. And this number multiplied by the value of the share when we distribute the share produces an unchanged value. But over time, the value of the share grows. And what this provides for you, the shareholders, is an increase in value terms of your dividend each time there is a distribution of free shares. And this principle is an important one. It is a demanding principle for us because it compels us to increase the dividend and, therefore, to be in a logic of performance in terms of results since the results have to grow every year. We are greatly attached to this. We know all our individual shareholders place great importance on this. So there's no reason to call into question this principle and the pandemic, which has caused disruption. And some principles -- has certainly not done anything calling into question the principle of distributing free shares. So we will continue, but the timing will be adapted, and this is what we're doing -- adjusted. This is what we're doing this year. Next question, please, Fabienne.

[Interpreted] This is a written question. Is there a succession plan regarding Mr. Potier? And when do you expect it to be implemented? Thank you in advance for your precise answer.

[Interpreted] Well, of course, at Air Liquide, succession plans are drawn up from day 1. And I will refer to what Edouard de Royere, who was the CEO of Air Liquide, that upon taking up his position, he set about establishing who would be his successor. And I think Alain Joly, who was also a CEO of Air Liquide was -- also did this very same when he was appointed, so as part of that tradition. And we have looked after this. I have looked after this myself. And as you can see, I've certainly been here for a few years, and I've been considering the matter for some years now. Of course, what we want to do with the Board, with the appointments committee is to prepare the succession that of the corporate offices, but also that of the teams. And we work on this every year with the executive committee, regarding our senior management committee and with the appointments committee, regarding the Board. In terms of timing, well, as soon as we will be ready, as soon as the plan will be on the agenda, then we will communicate on this. That's the rule. And that's what we will be very happy to do vis-a-vis all the stakeholders. And this, of course, includes the shareholders, first and foremost. But the time has not yet come. Thank you very much. Next question, please.

[Interpreted] Good afternoon, Mr. Potier, I'm [ Mr. Xavier ]. I've been a shareholder of Air Liquide for many years. Here's my question. We know the revenues generated by the Asia Pacific group, around 22%, but what we don't know is the sales generated in China. Given the importance of this country for global growth in the years ahead, do you have a specific plan for China? And do you intend to step up your investment in that part of the world? Thank you for shedding light on this.

[Interpreted] Thank you for the question. I will ask Fabienne to provide you with some detail on the importance of China.

[Interpreted] Well, sir, to be precise, the group, through its businesses, has approximately EUR 2 billion in sales in China, which is approximately 10% of our business. It is a country in which we have significantly invested over the past 15 years. We've invested approximately EUR 3 billion, and we intend to develop all of our businesses and to become market leaders with the Tier 1 clients. In other words, the top-quality clients, be they international clients in China or local clients. Regarding large industries, we've developed a base in strategy, where we're trying to strengthen our presence in the key industrial basins. We are accompanying, of course, the development of electronics in China, which is moving ahead more rapidly than on average around the world, with strong support from the local government. We're also working with international clients and local champions. Regarding industrial merchants, we are developing a strategy, which draws significantly on that of Airgas, which is the company that we bought in the United States in 2016, with small acquisitions in order to gradually bolster our market share and to develop the cylinder market using a capillary logistics to deliver directly to the smallest clients. And also, the hydrogen activities and mobility activities are developing in China as well. And we're establishing partnerships with -- to develop everything concerning heavy vehicles, vehicle fleet and captive fleets, such as buses. So China represents 50% of large industries, 25% of electronics and 25% of industrial merchant. Health care is also developing. It's still a small business because it's very difficult in China for a non-Chinese company to obtain the required licenses and authorization in health care. We have approximately 5,000 employees. We have increased our sales in 2020, notwithstanding a very difficult first half of the year because of the pandemic, since our growth exceeds 3%. And in the first quarter, we stood over 13% with a strong recovery of the -- Chinese recovery and growth going up to 30% in some of our industrial merchant activity. So yes, indeed, we have a strong presence in China, and we still intend to invest in this country to support the development of our international clients and local players.

[Interpreted] Thank you, Fabienne. Well, as you can see, those EUR 2 billion in revenue in China will increase even more strongly. Next question, Fabienne.

It's a written question. So does Air Liquide have biomethane activities in France? If so, what is the percentage in relation to Air Liquide's overall business? And do you have plans?

[Interpreted] Well, biomethane is indeed an interesting topic. We talked about this earlier in one of the videos. And it's here at the Les Loges-en-Josas Innovation Center that we are developing, growing our knowledge in the upstream part, which is the digesters. What does this represent in France? It's quite small. It's less than 1% of revenue in France. However, it's a growth activity. It's an interesting business. And why is Air Liquide present in biomethane? Well, at the beginning, we had the purification technology of biogas, which is -- emerges from the digesters. Digesters are those sort of reactors into which you put the matter, the hydrogen that comes from agriculture, which ferments with the bacteria and which produces a gas. And this gas is a mixture of biomethane, of natural gas and of CO2 nitrate. So you have to purify it. And to purify it, we have Air Liquide technology, which is the membrane technology. And this is the source of Air Liquide business in biomethane. So we have a business which is modest in percentage terms of our revenue, but which is growing. We have operations in France, and we're in the process of developing new projects, several new projects. And to give you an idea of this. There are approximately 20 projects that are ongoing biomethane around the world, 90 service stations, gas service -- biomethane gas service stations. They are used to provide energy supply for heavy transport, buses and lorries, which come to refuel in biogas -- natural biogas. It's a very interesting business for the future that we can combine with hydrogen because combining hydrogen with biomethane is, by definition, low carbon. So we have plans in France, in Europe, in the U.K., Italy and Northern Europe, and also, in the United States, where we've developed significantly. So this is an interesting activity, which has future in some countries -- in developed countries, for the most part, including France. We'll take our next question, Fabienne.

[Interpreted] A written question. How far is it reasonable to go down the hydrogen road? I traveled in a Volvo-powered hydrogen 20 years ago with the tank in the trunk, and I wasn't reassured. That's an important question. It concerns safety.

[Interpreted] Well, let me tell you that for 3 years now, every morning, I go to the office with a hydrogen-powered car with the tank in the trunk, so I have no worries in that for a long time. Why? Because the technology used today as compared to those that you are referring to, sir, 20 years ago come a long way. Today, the tanks are made of carbon fiber immersed in resin, technology from the aerospace industry, very tried, proven robust technology. The tank is one thing. It's high-pressure tank. You also have to put the fuel cell -- the hydrogen, the fuel cell, but all those technologies are quite well mastered. On the subject of this, in response to your question about safety, I have to say that we, Air Liquide, experts in the field are working, but with a number of other industrialists in the sector and other sectors at reinforcing underlying safety and rules and regulation so that tomorrow when hydrogen is rolled out, that we can guarantee safety for all. In this regard, I have to say that the role played by -- or that used to be played by professional association and by the Global Hydrogen Council, is multi-sectoral with all main industries automotive, chemistry, refining, technologies, et cetera, and all these industries come together to work together on a number of issues, including safety. So by bringing the best skills around the table, we'll be able to guarantee hydrogen safety because at watch point, because hydrogen remains an industrial product that needs to be managed, manipulated with all requisite precautions. That's in answer to your question. Next question.

[Interpreted] Hello, Mr. Potier, I'd like to speak to you as a great humanist and a remarkable businessman for results of the -- in the shareholders document, you discussed a new health care approach based on value. What is this value fee mean for you and your teams whom I'd like to acknowledge?

[Interpreted] Thank you, madam, and thanks for joining us live because we've had a number of net users who had difficulty in placing their video online. So we're very pleased that you were able to do that and you're able to ask your question live. Yes, you're right. In the area of health care, of course, we could simply, as we don't just supply compounds to the health care sector as we do in other industries. But for many years now, we developed activities in home health care at the patient's side. And as we move closer to patients, we move closer to the human factor. Today, home health care is a job of relations, interactions between a health care professional and a patient. So it has to raise from values and those values that Air Liquide considered, of ethics, a professionalism of humanism because behind our product, our equipment there's a man, a woman in the difficult situation because you need medical support and the patient is dealing with a health care professional. We define these values, and we rely on a number of principles of action that are disseminated to all employees for this relationship. But there's also economic value, and it's the second meaning of value because we can also say to ourselves that the purpose of Air Liquide, the company such as ours, is to make a profit. And in the health care fee, we must maximize profit. What we want to say today, we strive to ensure that this value be a value that is recognized by the patient in the quality of care provided today. We're in a momentum with health care authorities to be paid based on the true value, the genuine medical value and quality of life that is brought to the patient, and we use digital tech to measure that value increasingly. So that's what we mean by value, value in ethical terms, value -- but also the economic value. And I believe that going forward, it's on those 2 pillars that we will rely. Thank you, and bravo. Well done.

[Interpreted] Thank you, Madam. We will now move to the last 2 questions, an penultimate question.

[Interpreted] Hello, Mr. Potier, thanks for this Q&A session. Mine concerns, Air Liquide foundation against the backdrop of a global pandemic and your teams have rallied. Does the foundation also contribute to this inclusive commitment? And if so, more globally, what are the actions and initiatives are rolled out in terms of local development because it seems that the foundation can act and be involved everywhere? Thanks.

[Interpreted] Yes. Thank you, madam. It gives us an opportunity to talk about the foundation that's worked long and hard during the pandemic. I'll ask Fabienne to illustrate this effort by the foundation over the past 12 months and going forward.

[Interpreted] Well, you know that our foundation supports a great many projects throughout the world, 365 since it was established back in 2008, with 2 key themes: researching scientific education on respiratory diseases and local community development through professional inclusion of young people. So it was quite natural that as part of the pandemic, the Air Liquide foundation should develop a specific initiative. And the foundation committed EUR 2 million to support scientific projects and emergency social assistance against the backdrop of this crisis. Ten scientific projects aimed at gaining a better understanding of the virus, its transmission, improve its management and identify its long-term effects on the respiratory system. And 21 emergency assistant project championed by a partner or associations of the foundation across continents, supplying food aid, PPE initiatives, aimed at fostering closer ties during this bit of isolation. This initiative is set to continue into 2021 with research projects linked to what's known as long COVID. Patients who still have symptoms a long time after they've contracted the disease and in the field of social assistance projects that will be linked to the economic consequences of the crisis. Those are the projects of the foundation with, of course, an initiative this year that's very specific linked to COVID-19.

[Interpreted] Thank you, Fabienne. Thank you, madam, for that question. And we're now going to take the last question.

[Interpreted] Hello, Mr. Potier. I'm an IT engineer. I'd like to know how you incorporate digital tech in your industrial policy. Thanks.

[Interpreted] Thank you for that question. Well, what better than digital tech to wrap up this Q&A session. Well, digital -- well, here, where we are, this innovation center, we have a number of teams working on digital. So this theme will resonate like music. There is -- digital is widely pervasive in transactional, all the transactions with our clients, be it in e-commerce in the various networks, communications. Today, we want to order by phone, end it on a PC, to track it on the tablet. All these channels need to be connected. It's also information sharing for traders and customers. It's also present in the operational sphere, as we've illustrated. We have 96 sites, plants in the world that are managed by SIO, smart innovate operations, devised and designed by Air Liquide to run the plants. We have 7 large of these piloting centers in the world. We can do preventive and predictive maintenance to avoid the equipment breaking down and generating additional costs. We have all the logistics -- the bulk logistics, and we're putting in place the cylinder supply chain. It's in health care because we have patients who are connected. We have a chronic connect program which is already connecting a number of patients. We have already 2,400 patients directly connected to the Air Liquide teams. And all our corporate functions, be it the shared service centers, finance, be it for training for managing human resources, surveys, polling clients or employees, for communication, for outreach to you as shareholders, for all our financial management, we use digital tech. So you see that over and above the word digital, we're, in fact, extremely well equipped and digital is already a reality in the group. That's what I wish to say to you about digital and Air Liquide. Thank you very much for your many questions. As time moves on, we're not going to be able to answer all of the questions, but do bear in mind that answers will be given on our website on those subjects which we could not cover during the AGM. So now, I would like us to move on to the results of the votes on resolution. Given the exceptional circumstances, I recall that this AGM is being held in closed session, and many of you have voted by correspondence and many thanks for that again. Now we will give you the results of the votes for each of the resolutions. Given that these resolutions are to be found in the documents that were sent to you before the meeting, we will not read out in full, the text of the resolutions. We will, therefore, give you the summary, which will be displayed on the screen. First of all, the ordinary resolutions, Fabienne?

[Interpreted] First resolution, approval of the company financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.

[Interpreted] 99.47%, and the resolution is, therefore, adopted.

[Interpreted] Second resolution, approval of the consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.

[Interpreted] In favor, 99.47%. Resolution adopted.

[Interpreted] Third resolution, appropriation of 2020 earnings, setting of the dividend.

[Interpreted] In favor, 97.69% -- 97.81%. Resolution adopted.

[Interpreted] Fourth resolution, authorization granted for the Board of Directors for a period of 18 months to allow the company to trade in its own shares.

[Interpreted] In favor, 97.69%, resolution adopted.

[Interpreted] Fifth resolution renewal of the term of office of Mr. Xavier Huillard as Director.

[Interpreted] In favor, 98.2%. Resolution adopted.

[Interpreted] Sixth resolution, appointment of Mr. Pierre Breber, as our Company Director.

[Interpreted] In favor, 99.58%. Resolution adopted.

[Interpreted] Seventh resolution, appointment of Mr. Aiman Ezzat as Company Director.

[Interpreted] In favor, 99.39%. Resolution adopted.

[Interpreted] Resolution #8, appointment of Mr. Bertrand Dumazy, as Company Director.

[Interpreted] In favor, 63.08%. Resolution adopted.

[Interpreted] Ninth resolution, special statutory orders report on agreements covered by the articles of the French Commercial Code.

[Interpreted] In favor, 99.97%. Resolution adopted. .

[Interpreted] Tenth resolution, approval of the elements of remuneration paid during or awarded in respect of the fiscal year ended 31/12/20 to Mr. Benoît Potier.

[Interpreted] In favor, 91.78%. Resolution adopted.

[Interpreted] Resolution #11, approval of information relating to the remuneration of corporate offers stated in Article L 22-10-91 of the French Commercial Code.

[Interpreted] In favor, 92.65%. Resolution adopted.

[Interpreted] Resolution #12, approval of the remuneration policy applicable to executive officers.

[Interpreted] In favor, 91.47%. Resolution adopted.

[Interpreted] Resolution #13, approval of the remuneration policy applicable to directors.

[Interpreted] In favor, 99.42%. Resolution adopted.

[Interpreted] Now the Extraordinary General Meeting resolutions follow: 14th resolution, authorization granted to the Board of Directors for a period of 24 months, who will use the share capital by cancellation of treasury shares.

[Interpreted] In favor, 99.29%. Resolution adopted.

[Interpreted] Resolution #15, delegation of authority granted to the Board of Directors for a period of 26 months in order to increase the share capital by the issuance of ordinary shares or marketable securities confirm entitlement with retention of shareholder preferential share subscription rights for a maximum par value amount of EUR 470 million.

[Interpreted] In favor, 97.75%. Resolution adopted.

[Interpreted] 16th resolution, authorization granted to the Board of Directors for a period of 26 months to increase the same amount of equities secured or marketable securities in the event of oversubscription.

[Interpreted] In favor of 97.03%. Resolution adopted.

[Interpreted] Resolution #17, delegation of authority granted to the Board of Directors for a period of 26 months to perform share capital increases with cancellation of preferential subscription rights reserved for members of a company or group savings plan.

[Interpreted] In favor, 99.2%. Resolution adopted.

[Interpreted] 18th resolution, delegation of authority granted to the Board of Directors for a period of 18 months to perform share capital increases with cancellation of preferential subscription rights reserved for a category of beneficiaries.

[Interpreted] In favor 99.07%. Resolution adopted.

[Interpreted] And finally, moving on to the resolution of the Ordinary General Meeting, Resolution #19, powers for formalities.

[Interpreted] In favor, 99.97%. Resolution adopted. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, I would like to thank you for your trust in us. I declare the meeting adjourned. It's 16:55. Thank you for following this entirely digital general meeting. And for those of you who wish, we will -- we're showing you a short video on the Paris Innovation Campus. Just stay connected. I hope to see you all again very soon. And until then, ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, look after yourselves, your families and your nearest and dearest. Thank you all so much. See you soon. [Portions of this transcript that are marked [Interpreted] were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]