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

Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, I am delighted as Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the group to welcome you here at the Palais des Congrès after 2 years marked by the COVID pandemic and by recent geopolitical events. I'm very happy to be able once again to have a direct discussion with you, the shareholders, rather than through screens. I'm very happy to see you here in the room in order to share the Air Liquide strategy with you and to answer your questions during our general meeting that we've at last been able to convene here. Before we officially open the general meeting, I would like to say a few words about current events. The harsh dramatic reality of the war in Ukraine has [indiscernible] itself on our daily lives for more than 2 months. I would like to share with you a thought for all the victims of this awful conflict. In dealing with this humanitarian disaster, the group has mobilized in order to help the refugees in Ukraine from laboring countries and also through our foundation. Our activities in Ukraine have stopped for several years, and only 15 Ukrainian employees are still working in Ukraine on engineering before the beginning of the conflict. In Russia, we have a limited presence. It accounts for less than 1% of group sales with 700 employees, the vast majority of whom are Russian. However, the situation has become difficult to manage because apart from the production of industrial gas, we provide nitrogen for safety to industry and to hospitals, which to whom we provide medical oxygen. Now against this backdrop, we are, of course, applying very stringently the international sanctions and all investments and new development projects of the group in Russia have been stopped. We're now considering withdrawing from major projects and from electronics. And subsequently, all scenarios are being considered. We will, of course, remain extremely vigilant in the months ahead. And now I would like to welcome all the members of the Board of Directors. I have to my right, Jean-Paul Agon, who is the Lead Director. And to my left, Francois Jackow, the Executive Vice President, whom I will be introducing a bit later on. I also have seated to my right, Madam Fatima Tighlaline and Mr. Philippe Dubrulle who are the directors representing the employees. Madam Anette Bronder, Madam Kim Ann Mink, Madam Sin Leng Low, Madam Siân Herbert-Jones; to my left, Mr. Xavier Huillard, Madam Annette Winkler, Madam Geneviève Berger, Mr. Aiman Ezzat and Mr. Bertrand Dumazy. You are gathered here in the general meeting, which has been convened via the published on the 20th of March 2022, and also in the journal of legal announcement published on the same day. All shareholders have registered with register stakes as well as the statutory auditors have been officially convened in writing to this meeting. There have been more than 461 of you who have asked for an admission card to the shareholders meeting. I would like to inform you that the discussions are being broadcast live via the Internet. I'm happy to welcome those who are listening to us through this means of communication. I draw your attention to the fact that this is a public meeting and that we have journalists with us in the room. I recall that it is not allowed to -- filming is not allowed and no photos to be taken without the company's authorization. You have been given the voting tablet, and we will explain how it works when it comes to the vote. Now we will establish the Bureau of the General Meeting. As the Chairperson of the Board of Directors, I will chair the bureau and I recommend that we appointed scrutineers Mr. Edward [indiscernible] representing BNP Paribas. These are the 2 members of the general meeting who have the greatest number of votes and who have agreed to be scrutineers, they're sitting in the front row. With the permission of the scrutineers, Madam Lecorvaisier, who is the secretary for the Board of Air Liquide and sitting in the front row will be the secretary for the bureau. So we now have the bureau. We're looking at the attendant sheet, 957 shareholders owning 1,302,734 shares are either attending or officially represented and the 87,140 shareholders owning 260,462,408 shares voted by postal votes or through the Internet. The total number of shareholders present or represented stands at 88,097 shareholders, representing a total of 261,765,142 shares out of a total number of 472,973,959 shares with voting rights, which is 54.34% of the shares. And I recall that each share has 1 voting right. The general meeting has over 1/4 of the shares with voting rights. This means that we have the quorum and the general meeting can therefore be held. I declare this general meeting open. The agenda which was published is displayed on the screen. The documents required under future regulations has been submitted to the bureau. Furthermore, all the preliminary documents have been provided to the shareholders by the shareholder services department at head office as well as on the company website. No shareholder has exercised his or her rights requesting agenda items or draft resolutions. The Social and Economic Affairs Committee has received, in a timely manner, the documents and information submitted to the general meeting. It has not exercised its right regarding the tabling of draft resolutions on the agenda. Like every year in order to allow more time for discussion, I suggest that we do not ask the orders to read out the report of the Board of Directors, the main aspect of which we are presented hereafter. As part of the preparation for this general meeting, we conducted a survey with 4,400 shareholders who responded, and I would like to thank the shareholders. This has been very useful to -- for us to understand the topics that you would like to see covered, namely hydrogen and the outlook for 2022, which is top of the list. So we will start now with a presentation of the financial statements for 2021 with Jérôme Pelletan, who is the Group CFO. And this year, we are able to go back to our tradition of welcoming a special speaker. This will be [indiscernible] and I will make a strategic review on the outlook for the group and Francois Jackow will present the strategic plan for 2025. Then we will continue on governance with -- by Jean-Paul Agon, the Lead Director and Chair of the Appointment Committee, I will then give floor to Xavier Huillard who is the Chairperson of the Remuneration Committee. And finally, the statutory auditors will summarize their reports. And we will then move on to questions and answers with the room that is with yourself. You'll be able to take the floor. And for those who so wish, you can from now and up until 4:00, send your questions via a text message, using the number that you see displayed on the side of the room and which is also on your voucher. I should add that this method will ensure full confidentiality and that we do not have access to your phone data. And finally, we will close the general meeting by voting on the resolutions using the tablet that was given to you when you signed the attention report. And I will now give the floor to Jérôme Pelletan. Jérôme, over to you.

Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, in 2021, your group achieved excellent financial results based on all criteria. This performance was all the more remarkable that since the year was marked by the pandemic, a return of inflation and a strong rise in energy prices in the second half. I will go through these results, emphasizing 4 key points. First of all, the strong growth in sales. Next, a further significant increase in the operating margin. Furthermore, a further strengthening of our balance sheet. And fourthly, a very high level investment decisions. In 2021, we achieved record sales in excess of EUR 23 billion. This is up sharply by 14% on a published basis and by more than 8% like-for-like, excluding the impact of energy prices. I emphasize that compared to 2019 before the pandemic, sales were up 6% on a comparable basis. The strong increase at the end of the year of energy prices, in particular, natural gas boosted our published sales by 8%. I recall that in large industries, our sales prices are impacted on energy prices. Now looking at gas and services, which account for 95% of our sales, they are up sharply by 7.3% on a comparable basis. This growth was sustained throughout all geographies and all of the group's businesses. Moving on to our other businesses. Consolidated sales in Engineering & Construction rose by 55% in 2021. The order intake for this business was in excess of EUR 1 billion for the first time since 2014. They were driven in particular by projects associated with the energy transition and by the surge in the Asian market. Looking at the Global Markets & Technologies, sales were up 18%, driven by the biogas activity with new production units. Regarding the operational margin, it was up strongly again in 2021, standing at 17.8%, up 70 basis points excluding the energy impact. At EUR 4.2 billion, the operational results is on a comparable basis, up by 12.7%. This is well above the increase in sales. The increase in margin reflects several aspects. First of all, a price policy that was adjusted in Industrial Merchant activities. Next, efficiencies, which came to EUR 430 million in 2021, which is well above the annual target of EUR 400 million. Finally, the dynamic management of the asset portfolio. In 2021, we bought the oxygen production site of Sasol, which is the largest in the world in Secunda in South Africa. The strong rise in sales and the further improvement in margins enables us to achieve recurring net profit up by 13.3%, excluding currency impact to stand at EUR 3.6 billion. Furthermore, the balance sheet was further strengthened. Cash flow up 9%, excluding currency impact enabled us to continue to reduce our debt load while financing our investment and paying out the dividend. The net debt ratio of the group is now below 50%, standing at 48%. I recall that for the past 2 years, our net debt is below that, which we had before the acquisition of Airgas. Finally, the ROCE at 9.3% is close to our 2023 objective of over 10%. The strong financial situation of the group has enabled us to finance many investments. Our investment decisions were particularly strong in 2021 and reached EUR 3.6 billion, including the acquisition of the oxygen unit of Sasol. Furthermore, the portfolio of investment opportunities to 12 months has continued to rise to stand at EUR 3.3 billion at the end of 2021. Over 40% of this is driven by projects based on the energy transition, mainly in Europe but also in Asia and in the Americas. This dynamic growth emphasizes the strong position of the group on markets of the future in order to respond to the challenges, in particular, global warming. These challenges represent opportunities for Air Liquide. We have full confidence in our future and our growth prospects as set out when we announced the strategic plan in March. Furthermore, the results communicated a few days ago on the first half -- first quarter of 2022 confirm these excellent trends with over 8% increase in comparable sales. This further illustrates the resilience of the group against the background of economic and geopolitical turbulence. And I will conclude with the outlook for 2022. In the absence of any significant disruption in the economy, Air Liquide has full confidence in its ability to further improve its operating margin and to achieve growth in its net income. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Jérôme, and we just been talking about climate change, which has become the main thrust for our group. This is a fascinating subject, and we will be going back to this throughout the general meeting. And first of all, I will ask Bertrand Dumazy, who is a pioneer on climate and environmental issues to come and talk to us about this. Thank you very much, Bertrand, for accepting our invitation.

Thank you, Benoit. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'm not here with you today because I went around the world nonstop in the balloon, even though Air Liquide provided the helium to pump up the balloon. I'm not here either because I went around the world in a solar airplane even though Air Liquide provided me with the oxygen I needed to survive throughout this journey. But I'm here because I know that there are solutions to protect the environment. We have these solutions today. They are economically profitable. They create jobs, and they can boost our global economy. And we see that we can change the whole narrative regarding the environment until now the environmental discourse was not particularly stimulating. We were told that it would be very expensive, requiring many sacrifices that we would have to live with less comfort, less mobility, less economic growth. Now this really didn't give rise to a lot of enthusiasm, and this is perhaps now why we still have more CO2 emissions than we did when the green parties peers. So I think we need to change the narrative. We need to show that environment can create jobs. It can be profitable, but it provides new industrial economic opportunities, which are very encouraging. And this is what we have sought to display with the solar impact foundation and our partners, including Air Liquide. We've sought to identify, all around the world, over 1,000 solutions that are existing, environmentally friendly solutions. I was told that this was impossible. I love being told that things are possible because this really stimulates the team. On the 13th of April, last year, we went over the 1,000 mark, and we now have 1,400 solutions. What are these solutions? These systems, products, materials, sources of energy, which exists here and now, which protect the environment in water, construction, mobility, energy, agriculture and industry. Part of these solutions, of course, come from Air Liquide such as the production of biomethane as a fuel or the use of CO2, carbon oxide, for water cooling towers and, of course, hydrogen, as Benoit Potier explained earlier. Hydrogen is now considered as a decarbonated energy vector. It has become an essential vector when we about the energy transition. Benoit Potier and Air Liquide was 1 of the pioneers. And I remember a visit that we made together to the auto show, I think, 7 or 8 years ago. And at the time, there was significant interest in hydrogen vehicles. So now it goes further because we have to -- we're talking about using hydrogen to manufacture decarbonated -- steel decarbonated fertilizers. These are fascinating areas, fascinating industrial opportunities. Now I'm saying all this for a very specific reason, which is that all this will enable us to get out to resolve the dilemma that we are being told about constantly, which is meant to be intractable. In other words, this was presented as a choice between reducing growth, which would lead to social chaos, lack of means for health, education, pensions, if we go into that kind of model. And the other part of the dilemma is so-called limited -- unlimited growth, which also provides chaos through environmental disasters and chaos. Now if both aspects of this equation are not acceptable then we need to reject both of them, and we need to go down a third road. And this is what I call a quality growth -- qualitative growth where we develop the economy, replacing what pollutes by what protects the environment. In other words, we're going to be able to get out of this document, which we've had, whereby economic development was based only on the quantity of production, quantity of consumption, quantity of waste, quantity of the pollution and to move into a quality-based, efficiency-based model. Because when we become efficient, when we reduce the use of energy sources in order to achieve even better results, then very clearly, be it a company or an individual, then we are going to achieve financial savings, which will enable us to boost spending power and also to pay back the initial investments. And this is extremely interesting because it clearly enables us to reconcile environmental concerns and the economy. Now quality growth will involve innovation, technology and with innovation and technology, that means that we're not basing this on hypothetical development for the future and doing nothing now. No. Not at all. I'm very encouraged when I look ahead to the future to see the major companies such as Air Liquide are already doing a very great deal in providing solutions in terms of investment, reconversion, diversification, new products, in a word, solutions in order to improve the quality of life on this planet. And therefore, in this kind of general meeting, I would like to say well done, and thank you.

Thank you, Bertrand, for that inspiring and fascinating presentation. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, we have entered for some time now already, notably with the COVID pandemic, the crisis in Ukraine in a world dominated by uncertainty. However, it's once again to the future that we would like to turn. We have prepared ourselves. And today, we feel ready for tomorrow's world. We prepared ourselves by focusing steadfastly on innovation. No position is acquired forever and ideas are often the result of painstaking work as well as in depth knowledge. This is a formula that could summarize our 120 years of history. We prepared ourselves by strengthening our resilience through our ability to adapt, to anticipate and being agile on the ground. It's rather our DNA because since our foundation, we have weathered and overcome all sorts of crisis, 2 world wars, oil shocks, economic crisis and more recently, the financial crisis in 2008, COVID and Ukraine. We prepared ourselves by deepening our businesses so that they can constantly respond through appropriate solutions to the major societal challenges such as climate change, energy transition, health or supporting industry in its march to progress to really make a difference through our know-how. That's what drives us. Now tomorrow's world will see a radical reshuffling of the cards and questions are already raised because the economic catch-up of emerging countries in the face of mature countries that was the driver of global growth, will it remain as powerful in the years to come? Globalization of activities, resting on world trade and offshore production will still remain topical. Optimization of production cost, organization of supply chains, as we know them today, will they exist post-COVID? The trade tensions between China and the U.S. and war in Ukraine at what pace will digital tech form part of industrial commercial operations? Having conquered the world of communication, how will the health care will transform itself post-COVID? In the medical front, significant breakthrough, such as RNA messenger. At what extent will global energy equation be upended by reduction in consumption of fossil fuels and global commitments to reduce CO2 emissions? What place will hydrogen take? And lastly, how will we be able to live with inflation returning to worrying levels for the global economy and social stability? All these questions, we have asked them, and we have included them in the scenarios that served as a basis for our strategic plan that Francois Jackow will present in a few moments. These questions are as many opportunities when we have prepared ourselves and our teams are ready. If we're ready for tomorrow's world, it's not just by pure chance. Over 20 years, the group has modernized itself deeply and confirmed its need in terms of product offering, services, technology and industry is in health care. In 20 years, we've more doubled in size and considerably strengthen the international scope of our activities, acquisitions of some of the activities in 2004. And Airgas in 2016 contributed significantly to that. And over 20 years, we doubled the number of our employees and quadrupled the number of our customers and patients. Over 20 years, we've moved from a market capitalization of EUR 14 billion in 2001 to over EUR 75 billion today. This success as much to your loyalty because it enabled us to focus on the expansion and management of the group. It owes much to the quality and professionalism of the group's teams, whose commitment I should like to acknowledge and their ability to address the challenges to invent the future. Their talent, their mobilization, in my view, are unequaled, and I'd like to thank them warmly before you. And because images often speak louder than words, let's take a look together at a short video shows how far we've come. [Presentation]

Being ready for tomorrow means also being ready for tomorrow's growth, and I'd like to focus on this topic for a few moments because it's absolutely central to our vision of the future. So group story is a story of growth and has been an enduring success. This growth over time has been nurtured by science, technology, market development, product or usage, innovations and, of course, the work and expertise of motivated women and men. Today, sustainable development is at the heart of our growth model. It's both a collective ambition and a reality that is at the heart of our businesses. Our goals in terms of sustainable development announced in March 2020, one of the most ambitious in our sector. Let me remind you what they are to act against climate change, to reach carbon net-0 by 2015, reduce by 1/3 our CO2 emissions in volume by 2035 and begins a decrease of our volume emissions around 2025, also to improve the quality of life of chronic patients at home and to promote access to medical oxygen in the most disadvantaged areas. And lastly, to guarantee through trust and confidence, a positive and inclusive work environment and the best-in-class corporate governance practices in a world. We're committed to serve what we call comprehensive performance that combines financial performance and the nonfinancial targets of sustainable development. Now how was this position reflected as of 2021? Well, 2021, as we saw, was an excellent year, whatever the financial performance metrics are and already reflects from the operational standpoint, our sustainable engagement strategy. This trend will be extended through Q1 2022 with strong sales growth and continued investment momentum. The 3 major characteristics of 2021, the dynamism of health care activity, the climate issue for our industrial clients and the impressive acceleration of hydrogen. I'll start with health care. 2021 was characterized by an outstanding level of activity in health care, in a context where we have to continue to rally the teams in the fight against the pandemic and guarantee the best quality of life possible to chronic patients at home, those who are suffering from respiratory conditions, diabetes or Parkinson's disease. 2021 was another year of combating COVID. Let's not forget that and the group contributed to establishing an air bridge to supply oxygen to Indian hospitals at the height of the pandemic in the spring of 2021. At the same time, emergency oxygen supplies were shipped to the French, Tunisia, South Africa, Brazil and Madagascar. And I'd like to salute here the remarkable effort of the health care teams of the group who wore the Air Liquide colors proud and contributed to saving lives. 2021 also reflects the importance of technology and the growing interest of decarbonization for industrial clients. The dynamism of electronics now be in the United States and Asia is one of the highlights of the year. We signed major contracts with big names in semiconductors throughout the world. In China, for example, with BOE, the global leader of flat screens and specialistic of Internet of Things in Asia with a major producer of flash drives and recently in Japan with investments of the order of EUR 300 million. In terms of energy and the environment reduction in CO2 emissions, the transition and now energy sovereignty have become strategic themes for all our clients that allow us to move forward together towards carbon neutrality. Of course, the major contracts we signed in 2021 don't just focus exclusively on decarbonization project, but many of them comprise a carbon component. Good example is the acquisition of the largest oxygen production site in the world in South Africa. We're going to reduce by 30% to 40% CO2 emissions associated with oxygen production over the next 10 years. And that, of course, in agreement with the client. And what 2021 also demonstrated is decarbonizing existing facilities is the #1 concern of the industry before they convert their processes to hydrogen or oxygen. That's why we're acting on 3 levers, supply gas produced from low-carbon sources and then by capturing and sequestrating carbon in existing plants, our own or those of the clients to provide solutions to convert oxygen to hydrogen, the production processes of our clients, so thereby reduce their CO2 emissions on the first component progress in terms of low-carbon industry processes in gas, in China with a new air separation unit in a steel plant for a new generation of systems in the United States. We're the largest biomethane unit in the world, Belgium, the Netherlands with supply of renewable energy to several sites in the merchant business, 48 on-site contracts in 2021, a new record year. Let me remind you that once integrated and optimized, thanks to digital, these contracts reduce energy consumption as well as the kilometers traveled. And second part, carbon capture. We planned with the German company, BASF, to develop the world's largest cross-border project of carbon capture and sequestration to significantly reduce emissions of the Port of Antwerp. This project received a few days ago, funding from the European Innovation Fund. And the third segment agreements were signed with large industrial corporations for the production of low-carbon cement or steel in the [indiscernible] region. Turning now to hydrogen. That's at the heart of the energy transition. 2021 confirmed the progress on the hydrogen front. Everyone is referring to it. Everyone wants to produce it. The hydrogen plant is full of about EUR 60 billion devoted worldwide to the emergence of the value chain via public as well as private initiatives. For our part in 2021, we launched with international partner companies, the world's largest global fund devoted to decarbonized hydrogen infrastructure. What a way we've come. I recall that 5 years ago, we created the Global Hydrogen Council with 13 partner companies. This council today numbers 130 members amongst the most prestigious global corporates. Hydrogen is viewed today as a genuine solution in the energy transition and offers an alternative to the question of energy independence that has become more topical than ever. Our strategy is clear, accelerate to develop as soon as possible, a competitive offer of low-carbon hydrogen, large scale, targeting industry and mobility markets, starting with industrial areas and heavy transportation. They get there by 2035, we'll be investing around EUR 88 billion in the low-carbon hydrogen chain. And by 2030, our sales linked to hydrogen will treble going from EUR 2 billion to over EUR 6 billion. What are our strengths? First and foremost, our experience in hydrogen. That's a molecule that we know that we produce and have been distributing for over 50 years. Now next, our leadership in terms of technology and hydrogen security, be it hydro electrolysis, vapor reforming, liquefaction or hydrogen transport, our expertise is the most complete in the market. In large scale, electrolysis necessary to produce decarbonized hydrogen. Competitively, our objective is to grow to 3,000 megawatts of production capacity by 2030. We signed with Siemens Energy an MOU in 2021 to develop a large scale membrane electrolysis in Europe and to strengthen our position in Air Liquide last launched the world's largest membrane electrolysis unit of 20 megawatts of Bécancour in Canada, on Hydrogenics Technology. Thirdly, the group's ability to forge leading partnerships in Europe and worldwide in this acceleration phase, it's absolutely key. In the field of aviation, for example, we signed partnerships with Airbus, VINCI Airports, Paris Airport, Korean Air to accelerate the decarbonization of the aviation and airport sector, thanks to hydrogen. In terms of trucks, here again, tech partnerships with key players of the sector such as Faurecia and Air Liquide were concluded. Fourth, strength of presence in large industrial areas allows us to develop combined ecosystems, industry and mobility. The example of Normandy is particularly striking. Through the Air Liquide Normandy project that you may have heard about, we plan to build a 200-megawatt electrolysis, the world's largest today. Coupled to the low-carbon network of Faurecia, it will supply renewable hydrogen. The industrial corporation is present in the area and develop heavy mobility to Paris by waterways. It also plans the decarbonization of the Normandy industrial base. During his visit on the 8th of March, Bruno Le Maire, the Finance Minister gave considerable media attention to this. It's the beginning of a French value chain as well as European and low-carbon hydrogen. I'd like to end this overview with 2 images that are both magnificent and highly symbolic. The first is that of the Eiffel Tower lit up on the 20th of May launch with Air Liquide renewable hydrogen. The second is that the future hydrogen vessel, liquid hydrogen of energy observer that we're partner of, and we wish them grow speed. Being ready for tomorrow means ready for tomorrow's company and for groups such as Air Liquide, resilient, strong, posting steady growth, placing sustainable development at the heart of its priorities. That means having a competent, experienced and vicious and motivated team to lead. This naturally brings me to raise the question of a new governance that will come into place on the 1st of June. Mr. Francois Jackow will take over from me at senior management, whereas I will remain Chair of the Board, if you approve the resolutions put here during this meeting. You know that this is a role that I have fulfilled since 2006. I'd like to say a few words about Francois Jackow. Francois, and I know one another well. We've worked together for many years, and we share the same values. Francois joined the group back in 1993, and he is a highly experienced business leader. He knows the company very well. He's occupied a wide range of positions at the highest level as part of a very international career in the United States, Europe and Japan. He knows very specifically the businesses, the teams but also the values and culture of the group and notably our commitment to individual shareholders. Unanimously respected. He's solid, curious and very committed. He is attentive to others and knows with his temperament of a [indiscernible] to sale in all types of weather. He's an excellent skipper. I'm sure you'd be able to develop the new vision of the future for the group and generate team spirit around the implementation of our new corporate project advance that he will now you. Give him a warm welcome, please.

Thank you very much, Benoit. Thank you for your very kind words for your vision and the faith you have put in me for so many years. Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, I think there is 1 point on which we can all agree, which is that Benoit Potier is an extraordinary leader who has really turned this company into an exceptional company. Succeeding him at the helm is a very great honor. I am very happy and proud to take on this responsibility. I will devote all my energy and all my experience to the success of your group in order to pursue this wonderful collective story. As Benoit has explained, a new chapter is now opening up for us. It marks a break, but it also represents continuity. And this is reflected in our new strategic plan for 2025, which is the advanced plan presented on the 22nd of March. What are the salient points? There are 3 points: always being ahead for the future, fully integrating sustainable development in our growth model and acting in order to respond to the expectations of society. Now we'll go back to this in greater detail. But first of all, let's look at a summary of this with a short film. [Presentation]

As we've just seen, the specific feature of the advanced plan is that it very clearly combines financial performance and extra financial performance, both are complementary and self-reinforcing. There are 4 priorities for the targets of the advanced plan. First of all, financial performance. This is not only the precondition for our continued growth, but it also what enables us to invest and to establish the base for our future growth. There are 3 main indicators regarding our financial ambition. First of all, sales growth. This will accelerate to 5% to 6% on average until 2025. This is in excess of what we had during the previous plan, which was the NEOS plan. This acceleration reflects the many market opportunities on which we are extremely well positioned. Secondly, return on capital expenditure. Now we have to grow, of course, but the growth has to be profitable. And our goal is to an ROCE in excess of 10% by 2023, in other words, 1 year early. Thirdly, this is really what makes this plan very different from the previous plans. Our goal is to grow while beginning to reduce our CO2 emissions in absolute value terms by 2025. Therefore, what we're talking about is combining all 3 goals, namely achieving profitable growth while reducing our carbon footprint. I emphasize that this growth will be driven by investment, which will reach a record level. Investment should be EUR 16 billion over the period of the plan, which is up 45% on industrial investments compared to the previous phase. This is a very significant acceleration. And I would add that over half of our industrial investment decisions will be devoted to projects in the energy transition. Now after the financial results and performance, I come to the second priority, which is decarbonating industry. This has become an absolute must in order to counter climate change. We've developed many solutions -- technological solutions recognized by our clients, namely providing gas -- decarbonated production of gas, transforming industrial processes for our clients or capturing CO2 which comes from industry. Reducing these emissions has become a priority for all sectors of industry. It's also a very significant growth opportunity for us. The decarbonization market is approximately 10x bigger than that of industrial gases. So you can see that this really is an exceptional source of growth. The third priority of our plan is to open up new markets by contributing progress through innovation. Now as part of the advanced plan, we have identified 5 markets for the future. First of all, hydrogen mobility. Now this is a topic that you know well. Hydrogen is a key solution for what is called heavy mobility, which accounts for 25% of CO2 emissions. I'm referring to buses, trains, lorries and in the longer term, boats and planes. We're only at the very beginning of this. What is our goal? Target is to triple our sales to reach EUR 6 billion by 2035. The second market of the future is Electronics. Now digital technology, as we all know, has entered all aspects of our lives. And this trend is going to grow further, especially as the United States and Europe have decided to invest massively in this area in order to achieve strategic independence. We are the market leader in this high-growth sector. And therefore, we're in an ideal position to accompany our clients with innovative solutions. The third market is Healthcare and in particular, Home Healthcare. The growth of chronic disease arising from aging is a major challenge. At present, looking after chronic illness already accounts for 70% of Healthcare spending in the most advanced economies. And this is where the digital technology can contribute its full potential. It enables customized support for the patient, which leads to improved quality in Healthcare, while controlling costs. With over 1.8 million patients at home, Air Liquide is a major player in the Healthcare sector. The growth potential of our activities in this market is very significant, both in mature geographies and in emerging countries. Our fourth market for the future is in the industrial merchant market, which accounts for 45% of the group's activity at present. There are very many opportunities in this market. Let's take 2 examples here. The first is manufacturing an electric car, which requires 50% more industrial gas than a conventional car. The second example is digital technology. The accumulation of hundreds of millions of transaction data every year enables us to boost our offering in order to respond to the new needs of clients. We estimate the potential growth of this market at over EUR 10 billion. And finally, a few words on high-technology markets. I'm referring to deep cryogenics quantum computers and sort of space sector. These are cutting-edge markets with very strong potential, and we have top level experience and technical expertise. Let me give you an example. The space sector, for which there is renewed interest. We have been present in this sector for 50 years, and we will continue to play a very active role there, either by accompanying the launching of satellites or in space exploration. And now I come to the fourth and last priority of the advice plan which is acting for all. Acting for all means, acting while taking into account the perspective of all of our stakeholders, our clients, employees, shareholders but society in the broad sense of the term. What does that mean specifically? Well, first of all, it means encouraging employees' commitment. And I place great importance on this because this is the very foundation of our long-term performance. Secondly, strengthening our client culture, which has to remain at the heart of our organization. Thirdly, of course, it means that we must continue to have a very close relationship with you, our shareholders, based on proximity, trust and respect and which, of course, is rests on consistent, attractive, remuneration in order to reward your loyalty. And finally, acting for all means continuing to act as a responsible company, a deeply citizen company, which has the general interest at heart. Now with this brief presentation of the advanced plan, you can see how our 3 priorities decarbonizing -- decarbonization of industry, contributing to progress by opening up new markets and acting for all will sustain the financial performance of your group and also lend meaning to this financial performance and results. And this is what makes Advance an ambitious plan and the bearer of a very strong momentum. In concluding, I would like to dwell on an important point, and that is the time horizon for our action. Advance is a plan whose horizon is 2025, but the time horizon for Air Liquide, of course, goes well beyond that, and we are working on much longer-term scenarios. Our efficient [ quotient ] has have always been a long-term vision. What is it take to continue to build together the Air Liquide for the future based on the growth model, a growth model, which is profitable, useful and response and meet society's needs. A growth model, which is constantly adapting to a world which is changing more and more quickly while remaining deeply loyal to the values of the group, which make it strong. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, I will devote my full energy to the success of your group, and it's in this spirit that I will be presenting my candidacy Director of the Board. And to echo Benoit's words together, we are more than ever ready for the future. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Francois. And I'm pleased to note that we both share the same passion, the same confidence in the future. It's reflected once again in the dividend that is proposed this year that reflects the sound performance 2021. The dividend amounts to EUR 2.90 per share, up 5.5%. Furthermore, as I announced last year, a new allocation of a free share for 10 shares held will take place on June 8.

Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, this general meeting is my last AGM as Chairman and Chief Executive. It's, of course, the beginning of a new chapter in the life of the group and also a turning point in my personal life. I've devoted 41 years of my life to Air Liquide in the past 21 years leading the company during these 41 years. During these 41 years, the days, the months, the years unfolded with there are good news, there are difficulties, there are successes. And sometimes there are setbacks, all the surprises, but always the same conviction that our teams and our businesses had no equivalent. Not a single day, did I doubt my decision having joined the group as a junior engineer, the research center development in 1981. Air Liquide is a fascinating company, unique and profoundly endearing. It's also quite unique. Its history. It's trajectory out of the ordinary. It's therefore an occasion for me to salute and to thank once again with some emotion. Each and every employee of the group, without whom nothing that we have accomplished would have been possible. There is an Air Liquide spirit. There's an Air Liquide culture. There's a story, often long that unites us. All the employees of the group who are listening to me will be able to relate to what I'm saying. To all the men and women of the group, I'd like to express my sincere appreciation for the energy, the talent that they placed at the service of your company in discharging their duty. And I'd also like to thank you, you, all of you, dear shareholders, for your loyalty, for your confidence, renewed year after year. Without your support, we would not have been able to put in place a corporate vision focused on the future. Without you, we would not have been able to make the necessary industrial changes to gain a foothold in major new countries to make acquisitions that forged our history. Without you, it would have been more difficult to take the road of hydrogen and the path of a sustainable future. During the past 21 years, I've spoken to thousands of you. I enjoyed each of our conversations and enjoyed each of our meetings. Let me say this sincerely, I have respect for each and every one of you. Behind each and every Air Liquide shareholder there's a human adventure, often endearing. And always interesting as Chairman, I'll be particularly attached to maintaining this dialogue tomorrow as today, you'll be able to count on my outreach and my attention and it's with this that we will continue to write the wonderful story of Air Liquide. We strive to better deserve your trust and confidence every day, to continue, to invent the future. Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, thank you. And now Let's move on to governance. And I will give the floor to Jean-Paul.

Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, as the Lead Director and Chairperson of the Appointments and Governance Committee, I would like to say a few words about governance in this succession year for your company. The Governance Committee began its work on the Succession Plan in 2018. This concerned the most appropriate governance structure and the choice of candidate who could succeed Benoit Potier, as the CEO. And the recommendation of the committee, the Board of Directors announced on the 30th of November 2021 to decouple the duties of a Chairperson of the Board and CEO and to renew the term of office of Benoit Potier, as Chair of the Board, subject to the renewal, of course, of his time as a Director of the Board. The renewal of Benoit Potier is proposed in the fifth resolution. The board considers that the governance structure will enable the company to have the benefit from the experience unprecedented experience of Benoit Potier further to 20 years as the Head of the Group, is upholding of the values and the culture of the group. Given his very extensive experience, his in-depth knowledge of the group, he will have specific duties, which he will be able to fulfill in consultation with the CEO. He will also be associated with global strategy issues, organizational matters for the group, and he will continue to meet the main shareholders on governance-related matters and will be in close contact with individual shareholders. As part of his duties, on which the Board has met 21 occasions in 2018. The committee has analyzed the main talents in the group and selected candidates who have the required qualities for the future, challenges of the group. It considered that given the quality of the candidacy is the internal and internal candidacy should be emphasized further to an in-depth examination, given the personnel qualities, competence, scientific qualifications is showed that Francois Jackow is the best candidate to succeed with Benoit Potier. He joined Air Liquide in 1993. And after a very broad international exposure, he has excellent experience, in-depth knowledge of the group and its businesses. He is the member of the Executive Committee since 2014. He is at present the Executive Vice President. The appointment of Francois Jackow was therefore recommended to the Board in full agreement with Benoit Potier. And the Board having considered the qualities of Francois Jackow fully consistent with the strategy of the group decided to appoint him CEO. And as CEO, Francois Jackow, will have full latitude to develop the group and manage -- consistent with the group's rules. The Board feel that it is essential to have the participation of the CEO in all the discussions of the CEO and all the discussion with the Board in order to define the strategic orientations. So the -- we are proposing the appointment of Francois Jackow in the sixth resolution. Furthermore, the duties of Lead Director will be maintained, reconciling continuity and renewal, the Board has wished, you have these matters in the Universal Registration Document in order to have a fluid balance management structure. After this general meeting, your Board, having renewed the term of office of Benoit Potier as CEO until the 31st of May will adopt a decoupled governance model with effect from the 1st of June 2022. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Jean-Paul, as part of governance, it falls to me to address the key points on corporate governance issued by your Board. And I'd like to begin with a short video on the composition of the Board and the work undertaken throughout 2021. [Presentation]

Following this meeting, 4 terms of directors coming to the Annette Winkler; Jean-Paul Agon, my own term of Sin Leng Low whose term of office could, in theory, be renewed, experienced her wish not to stand for renewal of her term. The Board has noted that, and on behalf of the Board, we extend our sincere thanks to her contribution to the work of the Board, which she has been a member since 2014. Her considerable experience of Asian markets was particularly appreciated, and we thank her also for her participation in the work of the Audit and Accounts Committee, which she's been a member since 2015. Jean-Paul Agon will total 12 years of term of office within this board at the end of this meeting. The Board noted he's wished that the renewal of his term should not be proposed to this meeting. On behalf of the Board, we extend our warm thanks to him for his very strong contribution to the work of the Board that he's been supporting since 2010. We also -- and I personally should like to thank him for his our outstanding commitment as Lead Director, Chair of the Nominations and Governance Committee, a member of the Remuneration Committee. His involvement as part of the effort linked to the succession was particularly significant and appreciated and held by the Board. You're also asked on the resolution #7 to renew for 4 years, the term of Director, Annette Winkler. Annette Winkler chairs the Environment and Society Committee. A member of the Nominations and Governance Committee. Her renewal allow the Board to continue to benefit from her experience as Head of the Division of a large international corporation and her knowledge of the automotive sector. You're also asked under Resolutions 5 and 6 to renew my term as Director. And to appoint Francois Jackow as Director for full year term. Jean-Paul Agon returned a few moments ago on the change of governance in this year of succession as the top management of your company. Furthermore, for information, Philippe Dubrulle was renewed by the French Group Committee as Board member representing employees for a full year term. After this meeting and subject to your approval of the resolutions put to you your Board will comprise 12 members, including 6 women, 4 foreign nationals. This composition reflects the diversity of profiles and experience as well as expertise and cultures sought by the Board. Turning now briefly to the question of the composition of committees. The Board has decided in principle to appoint and renew the following. Within the Audit Committee, the appointment of Aiman Ezzat, within the Nominations and Governance Committee. The appointment of Xavier Huillard as Chair. Appointment of Bertrand Dumazy and renewal of Annette Winkler. Remuneration Committee appointment Fatima Tighlaline, Staff representative member and Environment and Society. Renewal of Annette Winkler and Philippe Dubrulle. The Board also decided in principle to appoint Xavier Huillard as lead independent Board member with effect from today, will be maintained in his duties as part of the dissociated governance as of the 1st of June 2022. All these decisions in principle will be confirmed by the Board meeting that will be held following this AGM. Xavier Huillard, Chair of the Remuneration Committee will now present the resolutions pertain to the remuneration of executive officers, Xavier.

Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, your meeting is invited to rule on 6 resolutions pertaining to the remuneration of executive officers. The 12th resolution concerns remuneration paid in 2021 are awarded in respect of FY 2021 to your Chairman, Chief Executive in accordance with the policy that you approved last year. This remuneration comprised a fixed portion of EUR 1,325,000. Stable since 2018. A variable component of EUR 2,192,875, reflecting the excellent performance of the year. Both in respect of financial criteria, we've reached the maximum level on the 2 quantitative criteria as well as on the quality-based criteria. Now regarding these qualitative targets, the Board noted the performance of your Chief Executive, both in terms of CSR with the deployment of the new ESG targets and the hydrogen ecosystem development as well as the organization of human resources with in particular, preparation of his succession, changes in the executive committee and the talent review. I'd also like to underscore the excellent individual performance of Benoit Potier, who was able to lead this group with outstanding agility in a global context, which in 2021 remained uncertain. Remuneration, short-term 2021 is up 26% versus 2020. The year that was heavily impacted by the crisis and the pandemic. Remuneration comprised an allocation of performance shares for initial value approximately EUR 2.25 million. Stable since 2018. However, in accordance with the best practices of governance, the Board in agreement with Benoit Potier decided to apply the principle of pro rata basic. The performance share allocation for 2021 and 2020 as from the end of his term as Chief Executive, the allocation of 2021 will be reduced by 53% and the allocation of 2020 by 20%. 13th resolution. You're invited like last year to form a view on the pay of all the executive officers and nonexecutive directors. Amongst the information supplied, there's the remuneration of your Chief Executive as compared to the average and medium remuneration of employees of the group. And this year, with the average remuneration of group employees in France. The growth of these indicators is far greater than that of the remuneration of the CEO over the past 5 years. The information is to be found on Pages 181 182 of the Universal Registration Document. The remuneration of nonexecutive Board members set in accordance with the 2021 policy and the unchanged package of EUR 1.3 million that you decided on in 2020 is so profound on Pages 188, 189 of the Universal Registration Document. You're also asked to vote on say on pay through resolutions 14 to 17. The policy set out in detail in Pages 199 through 212 of the Universal Registration Document. In terms of general principles and structure, the remuneration policy of executive officers is a continuation of previous policy. Fixed pay about 25%, the target variable performance, 35% and the long-term incentive, 40% of overall compensation. The financial criteria, the annual variable share based on EPS and revenue growth, personal criteria and corporate CSR organization and HR components. Performance conditions applicable to the LTI linked to return on capital employed, ROCE, TSR, total shareholder return, environmental criteria aligned in 2022 on the new target for a reduction in CO2 emissions in absolute terms. All these criteria reflect the group's strategy already discussed in length in that combining financial and nonfinancial performance. On this basis, the remuneration policy for the Chairman and Chief Executive applicable through 31st of May is identical to the 2021. However, Benoit Potier will not receive any LTI in 2022 the year. At the end of his term as Chief Executive, his fixed and variable remuneration will be calculated pro rata temporis. You're invited to vote on this policy under Resolution 14. The remuneration policy of the new Chief Executive, Francois Jackow from the beginning of his term of office as Chief Executive on the 1st of June was determined on the basis of an in-depth study of market practice and a benchmark of French and European companies. Francois Jackow, which is to aim unilaterally his employment contract. That's from the beginning of his term of office. The policy is submitted under Resolution 15, provides for annual fixed remuneration of EUR 1,100,000 per temporis for 2022, a target variable share 121%, limited to 150. LTI, 1,650,000. That's about 40% of total target remuneration, this LTI in 2022 will be calculated pro rata temporis. The positioning locates the total target remuneration of the Chief Executive. I mean the average of dissociated governance companies or the CAC 40. He'll benefit from the additional retirement schemes put in place by the company. He won't receive any remuneration as a director. And in very strictly defined circumstances, he will benefit from a termination allowance subject to the achievement of performance conditions similar to those that applied to the Chairman and Chief Executive. And an indemnity in respect of a noncompete commitment. The total of both these allowances is capped at 24 months of fixed and variable remuneration. Lastly, 16th resolution. You're asked to vote on the remuneration policy of Benoit Potier as Chairman of the Board and the dissociated governance scheme as of the 1st of June. Here again, it was established in compliance with market practice on the basis of a detailed benchmark. It takes account of the specific missions that the Board wish to entrust Benoit Potier in a managerial transition context. And will continue to benefit from his experience and in-depth knowledge of the group. It's proposed to pay to Benoit Potier annual fixed remuneration of EUR 800,000 calculated pro rata for 2022. No other remuneration will be awarded to him. And ending the remuneration policy for directors is the subject of the 17th resolution. It's continuous to that, you approved last year. The variable remuneration is preponderant. And based on the participation of each Board member meetings. Additional remuneration is paid to the lead director and committee chairs the policy, promotes thereby attendance and actual participation of directors at the work and meetings of the Board and the committees. Thank you for your attention.

Thank you, Xavier. Let's now move to the report of the statutory auditors. Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, good afternoon. On behalf of the group as statutory auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers and EY, I'd like to report on our assignment on the financial statements for the year ended December 31, '21. A report on the financial consolidated financial statements on related party agreements and resolutions on the company's share capital were made available to by the company. And to be found in the Universal Registration Document for 2021. They were drawn up in the changing context linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. I, therefore, as is customary plan to really summarize the salient terms. Firstly, the report on the financial statements of Air Liquide drawn up under French GAAP. We certified these accounts without reservations or observations. We considered that the assessment of securities and participation holdings were a key audit matters. Regards the consolidated financial statements drawn up under IFRS as adopted by the EU. This report is to be found on Pages 294 to 297 of the document. These were certified with an unqualified opinion. As a key audit matter, we consider the following 3 items concerning significant estimates of management. Two items concerned large industry. Firstly, the qualification of contracts and the arrangements for booking revenue. Secondly, the duration of amortization of production assets and assessment of the recoverable value. Lastly, the third item concerns the implementation of impairment tests. We remind you that the fundamental purpose of our assignment is to secure reasonable assurance regarding the faithful reflection of these accounts and that they provide an accurate and fair view without any material misstatements. Our approach covers the various activities of the group as well as its international structure. We strive to ensure both in day-to-day operation and specific events and implemented our diligence in accordance with professional standards applicable in France. We also assured that the management report did indeed comprise the nonfinancial performance report. This nonfinancial statement comprises the new reporting obligations, mandatory since this year under the European taxonomy. We also issued our report on related party agreements to be found on Page 432 of the document. We have been informed of no new agreement as to the agreement on the life insurance policy for Mr. Potier agreement previously authorized by the AGM during prior years, it continued during the past year. Lastly, under the extraordinary part of your General Meeting, we've issued 5 report, Pages 433 to 437 covering resolutions authorizing transactions that might have an impact on the capital of your company to wait, capital reduction, authorization to award subscription options and acquisition of performance shared, issue of ordinary shares and other capital items, giving access to employees and other categories of beneficiaries. They comprise no specific mention. We will draw up additional reports if need be, when these authorizations are used by your Board. Thank you.

Thank you. So we're now coming to the end of the presentation, and we will now move on to the question-and-answer session. Each shareholder is entitled to remain anonymous. And in order to protect their image, the shareholders, taking the floor will not appear on the photo shown on the Internet. Those who do not wish their name to be given should, therefore, refrain from introducing themselves when they take the floor, which seems logical. I recall that the structure for the questions during the session, you were able to put your questions by requesting the microphone. And bearing in mind that we have collected your questions by text message or for cloud. I should also add that consistent with legislation, the answers of the Board to the written questions before the general meeting were published on the company website in order to enable a full discussion with those shareholders present in the room. I suggest that we do not go over them here. I should inform you that these questions, there are over 20 of them mainly concern climate, objectives for the group, hydrogen, social response and societal responsibility, ESG, tax matters and lobbying. The answers are all available on the company website. Before giving the floor to the general meeting, I suggest that we begin our answers with an answer with questions that were analyzed. We'll do that in fact, just a bit later. So I will now take the first question from the room.

[ Jean ]. I am a shareholder -- registered shareholders since last century. I particularly enjoyed your film on the empty room. I'd like to briefly go back on the general meeting of the 7th of May 2019, which was the first -- last one held in-person. A shareholder said that when the shares were allocated, the price was going down. That's normal because if you want to sum up and share allocation, you could say that it is a cake that is divided into 10 portions. And after the allocation, the 10 helpings become 11. In 2011, the nonnegotiable the non-allocation on the share closed at EUR 127 on Monday. The following Monday, the open -- the share price opened at EUR 116.5. The shareholder who had 10 shares on the 4th of October, had EUR 1,270 on the 7th of October. He had EUR 1,277.65. For the shareholder who had 100 registered shares for over 2 years the situation was far more advantageous because he had 11 bonus shares, 10 further to the allocation and one as a loyalty bonus. So his stock market performance went from EUR 12,700 to EUR 12,792.65. In other words, a gain of EUR 200. The icing on the cake was that the dividend was kept at EUR 2.75 per share on a higher number of shares. So I will vote like most of you for resolution #3, with the dividend going up to EUR 2.90. Last -- yesterday evening, the share price closed at EUR 163.72, up 6.42% since the 1st of January. If the share price is the same on the -- in June, the shareholder who has shares or registered shares will have EUR 135 table 100%.

Sir. So could we have your question, please?

My question is, could you tell us how much will this allocation of shares cost the company.

Sir, first of all, if one shareholder has a technical question on the free allocation of shares, I think you have here a shareholder who can answer your question and we'll be very proud to give you a lesson. Now bonus shares quite simply represents a division of the share capital into a larger number of shares. So mechanically, if you have 10% more shares, that means you have 10% less in value. So -- but the overall amount remains the same. This being said, what we see over time is that this dynamic stimulates the share performance. There's no guarantee, but it means that the share price goes up further. And ultimately, the value of the share portfolio in actual fact, after a bonus share allocation is -- tends to go. So that's the good news regarding bonus share allocations. And the second piece of good news is what you cited, which is that the following year provided that the dividend does not go down, then the bonus share provides one extra dividend, which means that the dividend mechanically goes up. Hence, the example of 1 for 10. Therefore, 10%. And this is a policy that we've established and which we place great importance on. It's the management team every time that we allocated free shares. We know that the next year, we need to basically need to aim for an extra 10% in order to pay out the dividends. So it's a demanding policy for the company, but it's very stimulating. And of course, it has a very favorable impact on shareholders. Thank you, sir, for giving us such a good lesson on the allocation of bonus shares, right. Moving on to the second question. I think we have a question which is the top right, I see the top right.

Good afternoon. I'm an individual shareholder for many, many years. I'm happy to introduce myself. You can note my name in the company record. I enjoyed your presentation on hydrogen. I have a question on companies in the hydrogen sector. And those which McPhy Energy, what are Air Liquide relations with this company?

Well, McPhy for the shareholders here for them is a small company, which sells electrolyzers based on the fuel cell, and it was established by a former member of Air Liquide, whom we know very well, who was in the engineering sector. It's a French company, which has made acquisitions in Italy. We don't have any particular relationship with McPhy. We know them. We've observed them like any competitor. And I would say that we now position is that of a major player. Air Liquide with a smaller player on a smaller territory because McPhy works mainly on -- in Europe. And we follow with great interest what McPhy are doing, but also all the other smaller or larger companies that want to be in the -- enter the hydrogen business, but there's nothing in particular concerning Air Liquide vis-a-vis McPhy in particular.

I'll take another question, which I think is in front questions.

Good afternoon, Chairman. I represent the PAI, which is an association for individual share ownership. As I said yesterday at another general meeting, we -- there are many of us here, many individual shareholders who are all excellent people, and we're very happy to contribute to the financing of the real economy. And I have 3 questions, if I may. Question number one. You have just gone over the threshold of 1 million individual shareholders. Have you seen a younger shareholders appearing? Are they sensitive to the loyalty bonus and the allocation of bonus shares. And have you been able to establish the number of shares held by the individual shareholders? It is often recommended that one should diversify one's equity holdings. How does the Air Liquide share represent a major sector and geographical diversification. And last question, Air Liquide -- is Air Liquide well positioned on a trajectory in order to achieve carbon neutrality.

Thank you. Well, I'll try and be succinct, but I'll answer all your points. Now in actual fact, we have 0.5 million individual shareholders, not 1 million. We've just gone over 500,000 over the past few years, which for us, of course, is an excellent news. Yes, of course, we see that individual shareholders are becoming younger. It's the shareholder policy. The share -- Air Liquide is trying to implement. It's good news for the future. And that brings me to your second point. Younger shareholders are not necessarily interested in the same issues there. Clearly more interested in the company's business, the meaning of what we do, the meaning of our businesses, our positioning and therefore, greater interest in the environment. They're extremely interested in the environment matters. And also, of course, they place great importance on profitability. So in actual fact, they're not very different from current shareholders, but they are extremely interested in the societal matters. Now the average portfolio in terms of number of shares with the young shareholders is higher or lower. Well, you know the answer is, it's a smaller amount. They probably have slightly fewer resources. And we must remember that when we invested many years ago, the value of the portfolio of the share was much lower. So in actual fact, the portfolio value is probably equivalent, but it means -- well, a smaller number of shares. And there's definitely rejuvenation here. It's like Air Liquide itself diversified. Well, yes, if you go and speak to any financial adviser, they will say you must diversify, but you must -- you should buy Air Liquide but many other shares. Now when you look closely at the business, then you see that there are several major businesses, large industry, electronics, health care. So in actual fact, the sectors that we cover are diversified. And you see this coming out in the results year after year. If some sectors work better than others on any given year, and this is what enables us to deliver the growth and to be always giving the best possible performance. In geographical terms, well, yes, we have established ourselves in specific countries over the past 20 years with the adventure. There's a adventure in China took place. Our arrival in the Middle East, took place during those 20 years. And before those 20 years, we have the experience of the Americas, the acquisition of Big Three in 1986. The major presence of Air Liquide in the South of the United States. So geography has helped us. We've diversified both in terms of sector and geographies. And that is -- so therefore, you should increase your shareholdings of in Air Liquide. That's the right conclusion. Are we well positioned in terms of the trajectory for to achieve carbon neutral by 2050? Now 2050 is a long away. But what we've done is to have milestones here with a fairly significant one in 2035 and in [ '25 ], Francois spoke about this earlier. And to decrease our carbon emissions in absolute value and each time we start a new project, the new project was designed 4 or 5 years. It wasn't in the objectives at the time. So we are taking onboard projects, which will continue to increase our carbon emissions for some time to come. So all this has to be absorbed and then we have to reduce it. And this is what we will start doing by 2025, if not before. And we're very much on the right track in order to achieve carbon neutrality. I'll take one question a bit question -- H, and then we'll come back. H, at the top.

When I stopped I was in charge of hydrogen. From what I've understood, the use made by Air Liquide both electricity, both for production of gas and for producing hydrogen through electrolysis will continue to grow significantly in the years to come. However, everyone knows that globally, worldwide, the manufacturer of electricity is highly carbonized. And that's a trend that, unfortunately, is not ready to be reversed. How can you imagine that by 2025, you'll be able to reduce your CO2 emissions in absolute terms with the huge increase in consumption levels.

That's an excellent question. In fact, it's to be found in the questions that you asked via SMS and often the questions put to us. Very pragmatically, we're already consuming for oxygen and nitrogen a huge amount of electricity. So as part of our goals, we launched a program for sourcing in renewable power for existing plants of oxygen and nitrogen. I mentioned a contract in Belgium and then we've already signed in Spain, the U.S. and we're gradually transforming each time we can our power supplies that are carbonized to renewable power that will allow us to reduce our Scope 2 emissions, those that correspond to the acquisition of energy for renewable hydrogen. We have a component that's the hydrogen production technology. That's what I mentioned earlier with notably in the contract with Siemens. It's the production technology and associated with every project, that's the power supply for an electrolyzer. Of course, if we buy highly carbonized electricity to produce hydrogen through electrolyzers we're not very advanced. So what we do every time we build a new electrolyzer, we seek to source renewable power. That's what we're going to be doing in Normandy for a large part of the electricity, the 200 megawatts mentioned earlier. And going forward, if all works well, we expect to extend the capacity of that plant. And that rises the question if we don't find renewable power, and that could well be the case in Europe. What do we do? Well, we're obviously going to favor low-carbon power, that which doesn't produce much carbon. Today, what do we have available essentially nuclear power in France, at least or going forward, maybe power that will come from biomass or bio something, bio gas, for example, or any other form of electricity that could be clean power. But what you're mentioning, and this will be my conclusion is this energy revolution will only come about if it's at the same time as we transform the industrial processes, we massively develop renewable power. And for the time being, that's a message that we conveyed both to European governments and the European Commission. I think it's a message that's been well understood, but we're far from having the renewable capabilities that are necessary to green all the consumers of electricity in the world. That's what I can say in response to your question. Next question, please.

[Interpreted] Good afternoon. So in 2 words, your company was founded by Georges Claude and another partner. Are you interested in the various works of Georges Claude? It's a recollection of my childhood. My father used to talk to me about him a lot. He said to invented a process to recover heat by getting water from the seabed that was boiling. I mean the process was probably stifled by the oil majors. Did you take an interest in the work of Georges Claude, or could you maybe do some research in that direction with my thanks.

[Interpreted] Yes, indeed, you're right. Georges Claude, he's one of the 2 founders, Paul Delorme is the second founder of the Air Liquide Group in 1902. We're familiar with the work. In fact, we already recovered for a very long time now all the archives that we could have available to us or find regarding Georges Claude. This issue of sea energy. That's how it was known back then is an issue that we looked at scientifically that wasn't on a par with what we know today, very compelling compared to other processes to generate energy. It doesn't mean that all those processes are firmly and finally buried in the seabed for that one, but it just means that in sorting through everything that's done today, we considered already a few years back that it's a process that wasn't necessarily today of interest. But it's not totally forgotten. We know that it's something that Georges Claude had worked on intensely. Question from the other side of the hall, over there, we have a few more questions coming.

[Interpreted] I see that Air Liquide, there was a symbolic action on the Eiffel tower in favor of hydrogen. With students from [indiscernible] new symbolic action, the same mindset, more feminist action, there's a list of great men on the first story of the Eiffel Tower and a list of famous women on Level 2 of the Eiffel Tower. We've got a lot of support already. And that idea could be interested to Madame [ Franclaire ], Madam [indiscernible] of [indiscernible], Mr. [indiscernible] possibly for your wonderful action with L'Oréal for women in science. I hope you like this idea from [indiscernible] and I'm available for further info.

[Interpreted] Well, thank you for that suggestion. We'll take a look at it as we do indeed, for many of these suggestions put to us. I can't guarantee that everything will be done by tomorrow morning. But the idea and the involvement of women with what Air Liquide can do, that it's very winsome. We'll take a close look at that. We have a question in the middle there. Our shareholder is in the middle of the row.

[Interpreted] Chairman, good afternoon. Air Liquide, well, this is a market which is changing very significantly. That's China. In the past, what have been the state of relations with China, and looking ahead to the future. And let's just suppose that we have something similar to what we have Russia and Ukraine. So I just suppose if China were to invade its neighbor in the south. Now what would happen?

[Interpreted] Well, this scenario is well known. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to assess in a realistic manner the consequences. In other words, the consequences could be minimal in the sense that one could imagine the world responding but not responding on a military basis but on a commercial basis. And then we would have to imagine that Air Liquide's presence in the merchant and a large industry base is and with its presence in Taiwan through the electronics. So the fundamental question for us would be what would happen to the assets of those companies which are currently major global producers in Taiwan. I can't give an answer to that question right now. But what I can say is that these key players have decided in so far as possible to withdraw from Taiwan and to invest elsewhere. Now this is not due to any specific threat from China but it's much more to do with COVID and with the disruption in the electronic supply chains and these players in electronics sector are now investing in other Asian countries in Europe and in the United States. So if what you're describing scenario, you're describing were to occur in a few years, I think the electronics sector and the way the distribution of our electronics asset is currently structured, it would be very different. If it happened tomorrow, I think then the whole world would be confronted very, very serious problem in electronic components. And quite honestly, I don't know how we would respond. We would have to be very pragmatic, but it is a scenario that we have in mind and that we cannot, of course, ignore. I'll take a last question from the room and then we'll move on to the text message questions, and we'll try and come back to the room after that. Next question is question S. Right there. Thank you.

[Interpreted] I think that 4% of the activity for health care is not a very great deal. I think that there is -- we have -- there's huge potential in home health care. The Chinese are starting to have significant spending power or at least that goes for part of them and the population is aging. This applies to other Asian countries. So does -- is Air Liquide considering investing in this area in Asia. And given that Air Liquide already has a long-standing presence in these countries, the company has contacts with the local authorities.

[Interpreted] Thank you very much. I'll ask Francois to answer this question because he knows Asia, and he has an excellent knowledge of the health care sector.

Thank you. Thank you for asking this question. Our business in home health care is mainly focused on Europe, where it has 70% of the business. Now we've taken up some positions in Asia, in particular, in Korea, Japan and we're developing home health care support system in those businesses where we have expertise. And of course, there's strong potential here because this is not a highly developed activity compared to, let's say, the United States or Europe, in particular. So the biggest market is China, and for some years now we've been trying to enter the market. But what you have to keep in mind is that the business of home health care does not actually exist in China. It is mainly focused on hospitals, people go to hospital and chronic illnesses are not really fully taken into account. So what we've done is develop with the Chinese authorities some pilot projects in order to illustrate the benefits of this project in terms of quality of health care. And these are matters that we're following very, very closely. But you have to realize that we're talking about transforming the whole of the health care system. And as soon as that emerges, then I think we'll be in a very strong position.

[Interpreted] Thank you, Francois. So I think we'll take One last question from the room, and then we'll move on to the text message question. So question T, a little bit higher up.

[Interpreted] Natalie [indiscernible]. I've been a shareholder since last century. And I would like to know -- what is the impact of the war in Ukraine on the group's activities and Air Liquide's position in Russia or vis-a-vis Russia.

[Interpreted] Madam, an actual fact, we partly answered the question at the beginning of the general meeting, we gave you some figures, just over 700 people, EUR 160 million in sales in Russia, 700 employees. Approximately half of the business is in large industries. So we're dealing with our industrial customers, 1/3 in the merchant business. Liquid gas cylinders and a little bit in electronics and the rest in health care. Since the beginning of the conflict, we took a decision, which was to stop investing in large projects in the country. In Russia, we're now in the process of building a project in large industry. We're putting an end to the project but doing that immediately is actually difficult. We do have some responsibility. We come under Russian law and international sanctions. Very often, the 2 systems are incompatible. So we need to find the right answer -- solution. And what we've done is to seek solutions to put an end or transfer these projects to those teams that can take them over. Two or 3 customers are being hit by sanctions. So we have to stop supplying them within a reasonable timeframe. This is nitrogen for the safety of sites. So if we stop providing the nitrogen, then there's the risk of an explosion or a fire that's very serious, and we also supply hospitals. And if we stop supplying hospitals, then we're putting patients' lives at risk. So that's why we're in a difficult situation because it does take some time in order to implement the measures. And I've said and I reiterate that at present we are considering all the possible scenarios going all the way to withdrawing from Russia altogether, which is what some groups have done. But in our particular case, it's rather complicated because we have factories and we have long-term contracts, and we're seeking solutions which, of course, puts us in compliance with international sanctions, but which will also enable us, I think, to find reasonable solutions both for our customers and for our teams in Russia. So that's our position, madam. Now if I may, I would like to stop the dialogue with the room and go back to the questions that you have posed by text message. There are several of them. I'll perhaps take these statistics. Most of them are on hydrogen. But I think hydrogen is an eternal issue. And of course, we'll be talking about it next year, the years after. The following years. And we've already talked about hydrogen, our share ownership, the financial results, environment and international issues. So perhaps I'll take a question on the young shareholders. I think we've covered the others. You're asking how can we persuade young shareholders to become shareholders Air Liquide. Now I think I answered the question earlier on. But I think the main question here is lending meaning to the -- an investment in the share in the company. When you talk to young people, when you read, when you conduct surveys, young people are seeking to invest some money, if they're fortunate enough to have money in companies which are meaningful to them, which are transparent, which have a vision. And this is what we're trying to emphasize. When we conducted our survey on young people, we realized that yield was important, and the funds being invested, EUR 500, EUR 1,000 or more, also need to yield -- deliver yield. And I think this is what is important to bear in mind. So we have to lend meaning, but you also have to deliver a yield. As you all know, Air Liquide's yield over time is excellent. So that's what I can say on that particular subject. We also have a question regarding our clients industrial. Are your industrial clients prepared to pay more in order to capture their CO2 emissions. I would like Francois to answer that question.

[Interpreted] Thank you, Benoit. The very simple answer to the question is, yes, definitely and a growing number of clients prefer to pay a premium in order to reduce their carbon footprint. And I think there are 3 main reasons to that. Many companies who have made a commitment on carbon neutrality. And our large -- our major clients have basically made that commitment. Secondly, there are rules and regulations which are encouraging companies to reduce their CO2 emissions. This applies to Europe. When it comes to producing renewable fuel, you need decarbonated hydrogen in order to be able to deliver those products. And the third reason, and I think is the most interesting reason, is that some of our clients are developing products, which have to have a low-carbon content. And in that case, it's very interesting to see that in, for example, in Kerosene for Aeroplanes or for steel, we've seen some German manufacturers committing themselves to have a low carbon content steel in cars. And also construction in the merchant area where we're seeing demand emerging for low-carbon cement. So as you can see, we're on what is a growing trend. It's mainly focused on Europe at present, but we have the premises in Asia and North America for this. So we see this trend. I think that we're only at the very early stages. And I would conclude with a comment that I think should have us all thinking. If we want to have a low carbon society, of course, we have to talk to companies. But I think this goes to all of us both as citizens and consumers because our clients are going to emphasize low carbon solutions and carbon capture solutions provided they see that consumers express a preference for a low-carbon product. And I think all of us have a role to play in that particular respect.

[Interpreted] Thank you, Francois. Well, I think maybe we'll take one last question from the room. I had one a bit higher up. And I think we'll have to leave it at that. This will be the last question. C, please.

[Interpreted] Good afternoon, Chair. My name is [indiscernible]. I'm with my father and my girlfriend, everybody is a shareholder and my son couldn't come, but he's a shareholder as well. So before asking a question, I'd like to thank you for your governance, for your ability to really reach out to individual shareholders to all of us, you always speak very clearly. I've been able to ask questions individually. You're always accessible. Thank you so much.

Thank you, sir.

Now my understanding is that in the past, you have had a stock split once the share price reached a high level. Since the dip in 2020, the share price has gone up constantly. I'm just wondering whether you're considering a stock split and starting from which level.

[Interpreted] Well, that's a good question because to be perfectly honest with you, I had this question a few years ago. And I said, when it goes -- the share price goes above EUR 100. I'll start -- we'll start thinking about it. Now it so happens that the share price has gone above EUR 100, which is great news. The share price is now above EUR 160. Now we don't want to do stock split during this very turbulent period. We had COVID, the conflict in Ukraine. I think we need a calmer environment. It's actually quite a cumbersome procedure, transaction for the shareholder service department. You need to establish new focal points, and it's perceived as a dynamic transaction, and it expresses confidence in the future. So it's a good question you're asking, so I can't make any promises, but I think the face value of the share, we were talking about young investors, for example, it can hold people back. And it's true. If you have EUR 162, you may think it's expensive. Well, it's neither expensive nor cheap. But for young people, young shareholders, it can appear as being rather high, but we'll consider this in the years ahead. I'm not saying in the decades ahead. I just said the years ahead because I think it's a good topic. I think the very last question R, and then we'll move on to the resolution. So question R please.

Chairman, [ Patrick Hannan ]. I'm an individual shareholder and have been for the past 20 years. Going back on hydrogen, I hope you can hear me. I saw during those presentations, that you were going to invest approximately EUR 8 billion up to 2035 EUR 8 billion. And those sales in 2035 are intended to be EUR 4 billion to EUR 6 billion. Now I think that's poor return on investment. So that's my question regarding hydrogen. Now talking about general meetings, the holding of the general meeting, I have a proxy from my wife. it's her birthday today. Her name is [ Cevenn ] Now this is in her tablet. We only have 10 personal shares included in the tablet amongst the 150 people who were queuing at the entrance. None of them were able to give me -- was able to give me a new tablet or to include my other shares on that. So I think that's a real shame. And second question on general meetings. How much does it cost to hold a general meeting in person? What is the overall cost now?

You're giving us a bit of materials for improvement. I'll hand that question down to the shareholder service department, which is doing everything it can to include for each shareholder in terms of voting. It's not always very easy. I'm not talking about the IT aspect but transfers from one shareholder to another or proxies, et cetera. That's not always very easy. But if you could explain what you've just said to the shareholder service department, they're in the room that would enable us to solve the problem. Now regarding the return on investment, it's a very simple calculation. We have EUR 2 billion in sales, EUR 2 billion in hydrogen. We're going to invest EUR 6 billion by 2035, so to have EUR 4 billion in addition. So it's a ratio of 2 between the investments and the additional sales. That's the typical ratio in our business, It's normal. And what we really look at is the return on investment. We have criteria for that and return on capital. And we have, of course, criteria for CO2 emissions or additional CO2 emissions to be avoided. So those are the 2 criteria that we put first and foremost when we make a decision on investment. There's no pull return on investment. It's the usual return on investment. The cost of the general meeting is approximately EUR 1 million, I believe, which is a lot of money. But quite frankly, it's really worthwhile. It's important for us. It's a dialogue. We've placed great importance on this. This is the only time when we can easily have a discussion, which is what we're doing. We can present everything we have to present, and you see all the members of the Board. I think it's a good investment. And if the pandemic situation remains as it is or it improves, then we'll be very happy to hold the general meeting in person, which is what we've done today. Well, ladies and gentlemen, let's now conclude this Q&A session and move to the vote on the resolutions. We have a certain number. And as you've seen, our registration and voting system is digital. You have the tablet. You will have received a tablet to instantaneously count the votes so as to speed up proceedings and a video will show you how the tablet works and how to vote. [Presentation]

[Interpreted] So your tablet's activated automatically and there are hostesses available if you face the slightest difficulty. We're now going to vote on the resolutions on the agenda. Given that these resolutions are to be found in the documents sent to you prior to the meeting, I suggest that we not read fully the resolutions. If you agree, I will simply read the summary that will also be shown on screen. Let's start with the ordinary resolutions. After pressing for, abstention or against, don't forget to validate by pressing OK. First resolution. Please vote now. Don't forget to confirm by pressing OK. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. For 99.23%, as against 0.77%. Resolution is passed. [Voting]

2 [Interpreted] Vote closed. For 99.98% as against 0.02%. Resolution passed. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. For 99.78%. Against 0.22%, resolution adopted. Fourth resolution. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. For 98.39%, against 1.61%. Resolution is adopted. Fifth resolution. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. For 92.31%, against 7.69%. Resolution passed. Thank you. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. For 99.91% against 0.09%, resolution passed. Francois says thank you. His microphone was switched off. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. Votes in favor 99.84%; against, 0.16%. Resolution passed. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. Votes in favor, 99.89%; against, 4.11%. Resolution is passed. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. For, 99.14%; resolution passed; against 0.86%. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. Votes in favor, 99.96%; against, 0.04%. Resolution passed. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. Votes in favor, 99.98%; against, 0.02%. Resolution passed. [Voting]

[Interpreted No more voting. In favor, 93.40%; against, 6.60%. Resolution passed. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. Votes in favor, 97.27%; against, 2.73%. Resolution adopted. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. Votes in favor, 96.14%; against, 3.86%. Resolution adopted. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. Votes in favor, 96.24%; against, 3.76%. Resolution adopted. We're half way through. Keep going. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. This is the remuneration for the CEO, not to the directors. This is what appears on the screen. So I think now the machine will accept voting -- no more voting. So votes in favor, 97.92%; against, 2.08%. Resolution adopted. So Resolution 17, remuneration policy applicable to members of the Board. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. Votes in favor, 99.32%; against, 0.68%. Resolution adopted. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. Votes in favor 99.33%; against, 0.67%. Resolution adopted. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. Votes in favor, 99.92%; against, 0.08%. Resolution adopted. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. Votes in favor, 95.6%; against 4.4% resolution adopted. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. Votes in favor, 96.82%., against 3.18%. Resolution adopted. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. Votes in favor, 99.5%; against, 0.5%. Resolution adopted. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. Votes in favor, 99.37%; against, 0.63%. Resolution adopted. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. Votes in favor, 99.87%, against 0.13%. Resolution adopted. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. For, 99.95%; against, 0.05%. Resolution passed. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. For, 97.25%; against, 2.75% Resolution passed. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. Votes in favor, 99.95%; against, 0.05% resolution passed. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. In favor, 99.98%; against, 0.02%. Resolution passed. Now a ordinary resolution, 29th and final resolution. [Voting]

[Interpreted] No more voting. In favor, 99.97%; against 0.03%. Adopted. This brings the voting to an end. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders. Thank you for your confidence. There being no further matter on the agenda, the meeting is adjourned at 17:49. Thank you very much for attending this meeting. [Portions of this transcript that are marked [Interpreted] were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]