BIC: Annual General Meeting and Board of Directors on May 19, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2021 SOCIÉTÉ BIC Annual General Meeting
and Board of Directors
Payment of 1.80 euros ordinary dividend per share
Clichy, France, May 20, 2021 – SOCIÉTÉ BIC's Annual General Meeting was held on Wednesday, May 19, 2021, in Paris, behind closed doors and broadcasted live in video format to protect the health and safety of all stakeholders due to the ongoing pandemic. A replay of the event and presentations are available on . Chaired by Pierre Vareille, Chairman of the Board, the meeting was also attended in person by Gonzalve Bich, Chief Executive Officer and John Glen, Director. All other Board members attended via video conference.
All the proposed resolutions were approved and included the following:
Ordinary Shareholders' meeting
- approval of the Financial Statements for 2020;
- payment of a 1.80 euros ordinary dividend per share;
- authorization to be given to the Board of Directors to undertake operations with regards to the shares of the Company (share buyback and cancellation);
- renewal of the appointments as Directors of Marie-Aimée Bich-Dufour, John Glen (for a term of one year), and of the company M.B.D. represented by Edouard Bich;
- compensation elements to the Corporate Officers for the 2020 fiscal year;
- compensation policy of Corporate Officers for the 2021 fiscal year;
Extraordinary Shareholders' meeting
- authorization to be given to the Board of Directors to reduce the share capital by cancellation of shares acquired in accordance with Article L. 22-10-62 of the French Commercial Code;
- authorization to be given to the Board of Directors to proceed with restricted stock awards to employees and Corporate Officers by granting existing shares and/or shares to be issued;
- authorization to be given to the Board of Directors to grant stock options and/or stock purchase options;
- delegation of authority to the Board of Directors to carry out a capital increase by issuing shares or securities giving access to the capital, reserved for participants in a company stock ownership plan.
The Board of Directors met after the Shareholders' Meeting and appointed John Glen as interim non-Executive Chair of the Board and Elizabeth Bastoni as Interim Independent Lead-Director. The recruitment of a new Independent Non-Executive Chair remains underway. John Glen and Elizabeth Bastoni will serve until the Annual General Meeting approving BIC's 2021 Financial Statements. The Board also renewed the mandates of Marie-Aimée Bich-Dufour on the Nominations, Governance and C.S.R. Committee and M.B.D. represented by Edouard Bich on the Audit Committee.
The Board of Directors has decided to implement a stock option plan for a limited number of senior executives, aimed at ensuring the execution of the Horizon strategic plan and aligning the interests of all stakeholders. The "Achieving Horizon" plan is based on two performance conditions over five fiscal years ("vesting" at the publication of the 2025 results). The targets are linked to Net Sales and adjusted EBIT for the fiscal year 2025 and are consistent with the objectives published in the November 10, 2020's press release The related results will be detailed in the Ex Post resolution voted by the Annual General Meeting, which will validate the financial statements for the year 2025.
The grant was made based on a strike price of €65 corresponding to the average share price over the previous 20 days plus a premium of 8.1%. Mr. Gonzalve Bich was granted 300,000 options under this plan for an IFRS value of €2,262,000.
In addition, using the authorization granted by the Annual General Meeting, the Group will set up a free shares' distribution plan for BIC's employees during the fourth quarter of 2021. The objective is to involve all team members in the success of the Horizon plan.
MARIE-AIMÉE BICH-DUFOUR - DIRECTOR
| Marie-Aimée Bich-Dufour is Director of SOCIÉTÉ BIC since May 22, 2019. Until October 1, 2020, she was Delegate for general affairs and President of the BIC Corporate Foundation for Education. From March 22, 1995 to March 31, 2019, she was Executive Vice-President of SOCIÉTÉ BIC and Board of Directors' Secretary. She was Group General Counsel until February 1, 2016. She was responsible of BIC's Sustainable Development program between 2004 and 2018. Before joining BIC Group, Marie-Aimée served 12 years as a Lawyer at the Paris' bar. She holds a Master's degree in Private Law from Paris Panthéon-Assas University and a Professional Lawyer's Certificate (CAPA). |
JOHN GLEN - DIRECTOR
| John Glen is Chief Operating Officer of DC Thomson and a Director of SOCIÉTÉ BIC since May 14, 2009. He was Chief Executive Officer of Buccleuch, the holding company of a family-owned group that operates in industry and agro-business from November 2008 to March 2019. He continued to develop and commercialize a portfolio of major energy projects in sustainable technologies, on the Buccleuch family's lands until December 2019. He has previously held various positions at Unilever and was Group Finance Director of Air Liquide (listed company) from 2000 to September 2008 and Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board of EFRAG (European Financial Reporting Advisory Group) for four years. John Glen is a member of the Chartered Institute of Certified Accountants and graduated with a Master's degree in Accounting and Economics from the University of Edinburgh. |
SOCIÉTÉ M.B.D. represented by EDOUARD BICH - DIRECTOR
| Edouard Bich is Managing Director of SOCIÉTÉ M.B.D., and Director of SOCIÉTÉ BIC since May 24, 2006. He is also a member of the Audit Committee of BIC. Mr. Bich spent eight years in the Finance Department of Procter & Gamble - France and holds an M.B.A. from The Wharton School (U.S.A.), specializing in Finance. |
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ABOUT BIC
A world leader in stationery, lighters and shavers, BIC brings simplicity and joy to everyday life. For more than 75 years, the Company has honored the tradition of providing high-quality, affordable, essential products to consumers everywhere. Through this unwavering dedication, BIC has become one of the most recognized brands and is a trademark registered worldwide. Today, BIC products are sold in more than 160 countries around the world and feature iconic brands such as BIC Kids™, BIC FlexTM, BodyMark by BICTM, Cello®, Djeep, Lucky Stationery, Rocketbook, Soleil®, Tipp-Ex®, Us. TM, Wite-Out® and more. In 2020, BIC Net Sales were 1,627.9 million euros. The Company is listed on "Euronext Paris," is part of the SBF120 and CAC Mid 60 indexes and is recognized for its commitment to sustainable development and education. It received an A- Leadership score from CDP For more, visit or follow us on , , , or .
Contact
Sophie Palliez-Capian
VP, Corporate Stakeholder Engagement
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Michèle Ventura
Senior Manager, Investor Relations
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Albane de La Tour d’Artaise
Senior Manager, Institutional Press Relations
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Isabelle de Segonzac
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2021 AGENDA
ALL DATES TO BE CONFIRMED
| First Half 2021 Results | July 28, 2021 |
| 3rd Quarter 2021 Results | October 26, 2021 |
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