Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am delighted to welcome you again because I see many familiar faces in the room. Delighted to welcome you to Pavillon Gabriel for our annual general meeting. Just a few announcements. Once again, to facilitate our discussion, please note that the meeting is being broadcast live on our website, and shareholders who are unable to attend Pavillon Gabriel have been given access to an online platform where they can ask questions live and remotely during our Q&A session. I would like to invite them to submit their questions now by logging on to the Lumi Technologies platform using the access codes they have been provided with prior to the meeting.
I propose that we appoint the Bureau of the Meeting as Chairman of the Board of Directors that will chair the meeting, and I propose that we appoint as tellers the two shareholders present with the highest number of votes who have accepted these roles. They are seated in the first row at a table reserved for this purpose, namely Mr. Christophe Christophe du Vignaux on the left, representing the ESOP Supervisory Board for Employee Share Ownership Plans, and now a member of the board, and Mr. Hubert Giraud on the right for the executive of the group. The board of the meeting appoints Mr. Olivier Lepick, sitting on my right, as Secretary of the Meeting, who is also the General Secretary of the Board of Directors. With the Bureau thus constituted, I declare the meeting open.
Aiman Ezzat is also sitting on stage, Chief Executive Officer, and on his left, Nive Bhagat, Chief Financial Officer. Since January 1st, 2024, you've met her last year at the AGM. In the first row, the members of your Board of Directors and some members of the Executive Committee are sitting. I would like to ask the Secretary of the Meeting, Olivier, to review the legal formalities for the validity of the meeting.
Thank you, Chair. Ladies and gentlemen, I remind you that the general meeting was duly convened with a notice of meeting published in the Balo Legal Gazette on March 21st, 2025. The convening notice was published in the Balo Legal Gazette and in the Legal Announcements Journal on April 16th, 2025. All legal documents are available to participants. The meeting is called to deliberate on the agenda displayed behind me.
The quorum at the time of opening this general meeting is comfortably reached. It must be 20% for an ordinary general meeting and 25% for an extraordinary general meeting. The opening quorum is 79.94% of the shares and voting rights present, represented, or having voted by mail or online for the ordinary general meeting. For the most curious among you, that's 135,846,826 shares, 7,583 shareholders, and 79.95% for the extraordinary general meeting. That is 135,864,002 shares. The quorum is therefore reached for both ordinary and extraordinary general meetings to validly deliberate. The final quorum will be confirmed. As you know, it changes slightly during the meeting, so we confirm just before the opening of the vote.
At the entrance and on your voting tablets, you have a copy of the convening notice and the 2024 universal registration document, including the management report, the corporate governance report, and the report of the Board of Directors on the draft resolutions to be submitted to this general meeting. I give the floor back to Paul Hermelin, who is going to give you the outline of the agenda.
Thank you, Olivier. If you allow me, I will say a few words as Chairman of the Board. The main presentation will be given by Aiman Ezzat, who will review the 2024 and the group's strategic positioning. Then Nive Bhagat will present the 2024 results. We are already familiar with them.
There will be a presentation on a burning issue, a presentation on artificial intelligence, and more specifically, the new wave of AI, agentic artificial intelligence by Roshan Gya, who is a member of the management board, and he is at the head of the Invent business, a consulting business of the group. Two members of the board, committee chairs, will give presentations. First, Frédéric Oudéa, the head of the Governance and Ethics Committee. He will review governance and will present the new candidate to the board. We will hear Patrick Pouyanné, who is the chair of the Compensation Committee. We will hear the statutory auditors. We will have a Q&A session, and we will then move on to the vote. If you allow me, as an introduction, it is not the first time that we have seen each other.
I remember 30 years of AGM, and all the AGMs chaired by Serge Comte. It's always a moment to get together to explain things and try to understand what has happened. 2024 was an unusual year. As you've all realized, the economic and geopolitical environment deteriorated gradually. There was persistent inflation, international tensions, and more cautious investment cycles in the technology sector that tested the agility of companies. As Aiman will say, what I want to say is that in such a year, the most important thing is to make sure that there is a smooth and transparent dialogue between the CEO and the Board of Directors. As you've noticed, not everything unrolled as we thought it would be. We had to check our course, but the Board of Directors was fully committed. We talked a lot. We discussed things. Aiman attended the meetings.
We had very fruitful discussions, which means that when Aiman decided to suggest to the board a more cautious approach in summer and fall, it was very well understood. The Board of Directors has the feeling that they played their role. The board noted that the group adapted very quickly with agility. In spite of a slight decline in revenue, where we're expecting growth, the group has demonstrated its resilience and preserved its financial fundamentals, protecting its margins and its ability to generate cash. The board told management and Aiman that they were happy with rigorous management, the capacity for anticipation, and remarkable collective mobilization. It means that governance worked well. The guidance that was expressed at the beginning of the year 2024 was deemed cautious, prudent, but the guidance was discussed at length at the board. It was really well-founded, as has been shown later.
In this volatile environment, the Board of Directors was fully mobilized. It made sure that there was a high level of standards in terms of ESG, a good balance between performance and responsibility, and that the diversity of expertise within the board was strengthened. The latest addition to the board was Christophe du Vignaux, who replaced Lucia Sinapi. We did not have to make a lot of efforts to onboard him because he has been with the group for a long time. I would like to underline the commitment of the directors. They have all made a valuable contribution, especially in a period of time that required presence and involvement. Regarding AI, you will hear Roshan Gya. We have governance roadshows when we talk with investment funds.
I was asked if AI was a point of attention for the Board of Directors, and I would like to say that Aiman organized training sessions for directors. The topic of AI was fully part of the discussions at the board. First, there was a high level of education and understanding. As you know, the Board of Directors organizes an annual two-day strategic seminar. I would like to reassure you, AI is a disruption, transformation of the world and industries. Your board is fully committed, feels up to date. Just yesterday, and in the next few days as well, because there will be the next seminar, the agentic AI developments are closely monitored by your Board of Directors. That is something very important, and it is important to see that the group is aware of the upcoming change.
I would like to talk to you about the distribution of added value. It's a rule that was established by Serge. The idea was to respect a balance between shareholders, employees, and the group's financing needs. The reference that I use each year is the added value. It's the difference between the revenue from services provided, sales, and the purchases of goods and services consumed to produce the service provided, intermediate consumption, and wages. It's the value added by the group, hence the term added value. Here's the breakdown for 2024: 68% for employees, salaries, and wages. It's a figure that's stable compared to last year. 18% for governments, social security and pension contributions, taxes. 10% for the company, down one point versus last year. 3% for shareholders, unchanged, and 1% for creditors. That's because of the increase of interest rates. That's 1% versus 0.2% last year.
1% more for creditors, 1% less for the company. It's a breakdown that's relatively stable, and you'll note that the allocation of added value to our employees represents more than 2/3 of this wealth. Before giving the floor to Aiman, I would like to share something else with you. I told you about the Board of Directors, and I think it reflects the fact that the values that were defined by Serge Comte for the seven values: team spirit, trust, modesty, openness, freedom, solidarity. These values are not just empty words. They're brought to life by Aiman, and it explains why the group did well, even though last year was demanding and troubled. That's why we have such consistency. Serge Comte was like a father to me. I would like to tell him that everything is going well.
The boat that you built is going in the right direction. Dear shareholders, I would like to thank you for the trust you have placed in us. 2025 promises to be challenging, but I am confident that Capgemini is well equipped to meet the challenges ahead.
Thank you very much, Paul. Before we give the floor to Aiman Ezzat for the 2024 financial year, I would like to suggest we watch a short video on 2024 highlights.
Thank you, Paul. Thank you, Olivier. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, dear directors, I'm delighted to welcome you to our annual general meeting at Pavillon Gabriel, where we have now gotten used to meeting for our annual get-together. I'd like to start by looking back over the past year, which has not been easy, and then take a closer look at the start of the year.
Now, 2024 was challenging, but we learned quite a lot. To sum up last year in just a few words, the economic context was less favorable than we had anticipated at the start of the year. We had to cope with an ever-changing environment, which deteriorated rapidly in the second half of the year and was marked by severe economic and geopolitical tensions. Trends in our business varied greatly from one sector to another and from one geography to another. Our two most important sectors experienced contrasting dynamics. The financial sector improved throughout the year, while the industrial sector deteriorated sharply. Similarly, the French market was subdued in the second half of the year due to uncertainty. There was a kind of sluggish growth on our market after the post-COVID years, which themselves were marked by very sustained growth rates.
Against this challenging backdrop, I would like to thank the board for its support. I would also like to thank all Capgemini employees and the management team for their agility and their responsiveness. On the one hand, client demands very quickly started to focus on productivity and cost management, and we got organized to meet those demands. For example, we developed a unique technological solution enabling our customers to track and optimize their cloud consumption. There is also the work that we did with our clients to make their supply chains smarter and more agile. Although we did not achieve the level of growth we aspired to achieve, we demonstrated our resilience and the strength of our business model. We have maintained our operating margin target at a stable level, as well as our organic cash flow generation. I see several positive takeaways in these results.
First of all, the resilience of our business model and our trade, which translates for you, ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, into a dividend for you of EUR 3.40. I also see the relevance of our positioning, and we continue to make progress in this area. This is particularly clear in our positions with key accounts, and it is also visible in our performance with these same clients. It is also clear in the testimonials that we collected in a detailed study that we carry out every year: voice of the client. They trust us. I would like to encourage you to read in our integrated annual report the interviews with three of our clients for whom we are strategic partners, and in some cases, for over 30 years. For example, the Farmers Insurance company in the U.S., or the healthcare sector with Sanofi.
Another positive takeaway is the pace of growth of our high value-added offerings. Our strengths include our undisputed expertise in cloud, data, and artificial intelligence. In 2024, we strengthened our position to offer our clients ever more relevant solutions. In data, for instance, we acquired Syniti, which has a global team of over 1,200 data experts. We are already seeing good synergy and targeting significant growth opportunities, given the essential role of high-quality data in customer AI and generative AI projects. When it comes to AI, we demonstrated in 2024 that we are ideally placed to harness the AI revolution. Demand from our clients was dynamic in 2024, and we were able to meet that demand. Generative AI solutions influenced around 4% of our order book in 2024 and over 6% for our first quarter.
In 2025, we have completed hundreds of projects, from proof of concept to larger programs, to deploy use cases at scale. These are also returns on our ongoing investments with over 150,000 people that we have trained to harness the benefits of generative AI tools in the projects that we deliver. We create value by offering the best solutions, supported by a vast ecosystem of technology partners. This ecosystem is growing stronger every day. For instance, there were recent developments in our partnerships with Mistral AI, Google, and NVIDIA, which will help our clients accelerate their use of the new wave of AI agents. Also, we invested heavily in the development of our talents and experts, our greatest asset. I was particularly proud at the America's Cup last September, when the passion and technological mastery of our teams were visible across the world.
Our experts are on hand, will be available at the cocktail party to show you a demo of this technology, which displays wind speed on the water in real time. Let us turn now to the start of the year and our outlook. As I'm sure you've heard, the results are encouraging. Our first quarter performance slightly exceeded expectations, and this looks set to continue for the second quarter. At the start of the year, the economic situation in Europe remains gloomy. The level of uncertainty remains high across the globe due to geopolitical and tariff tensions. Unsurprisingly, we note that our clients remain focused on transformation programs aimed at improving the agility, the costs, and the efficiency of their operations, to the detriment of growth projects.
As we had also anticipated, the slowdown of the industrial sector in Europe continued, to the detriment of some of our geographies, such as France and Germany. Against this backdrop of high volatility, we are maintaining the cautious approach that we adopted at the start of the year, confirming our financial targets for 2025. It is crucial to remain wary and to continue to look for growth opportunities in the market in order to perform well in this challenging environment. I'm thinking of AI, which we've already mentioned. We're strengthening our position in artificial intelligence, Gen AI, and AI agents, which are experiencing strong acceleration. In just a few minutes, Roshan Gya will tell you more about our advances in these fields. I'm also thinking of sovereign solutions and defense. As you know, technology plays a key role in these sectors.
If we take the defense sector in Europe, we in 2024 achieved revenue of EUR 1 billion. That was growth of 12% over the year. We are mobilized to take full advantage of growth opportunities in these fields, thanks to a dedicated acceleration plan. Now, if I could take a little step back. We live in a world where technology is omnipresent more than ever. Digital technology is at the heart of the economy. It is everywhere in the world, on every continent, in every sector, in every organization. In the medium term, the trajectory towards a more digital economy cannot be reversed. Even if the uncertainty we've been experiencing lately is lasting longer than usual, it will pass. Capgemini is at the heart of this revolution. We are the catalyst of it. We accelerate it through the solutions we provide.
In the coming years, we have great growth potential for the group. We can return to our ambition of delivering more sustained growth and continue to improve our margins. Finally, I would like to reaffirm my commitment to responsible development. We have made a lot of progress on the ESG goals we had set for ourselves in 2021, and we have just announced the update today. For example, renewable energy, which accounts for 98% of our energy consumption, or investment in talent training. In just a few years, we have gone from 42 hours to over 77 hours per employee per year. These goals reflect our commitment to innovation, ethical leadership, and creating a future where our teams, our clients, and partners can thrive in a responsible and resilient economy. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, thank you for your attention.
Thank you, Aiman. I would now like to ask Ms. Nive Bhagat to come and present the results for the 2024 financial year. She's made amazing progress in French, but the presentation will be given in English. Headphones are available so that you can listen to the French translation. Nive.
Hello, Olivier. Good afternoon, everyone. I am very pleased to be here today to present your group's results for the year 2024. I will now speak in English. Thank you for your understanding. Now to English. In 2024, the demand environment remained pressured by persisting macroeconomic and geopolitical concerns. After bottoming out in Q1, as expected, our revenue trends gradually improved through the year. However, we also faced unexpectedly strong headwinds in the second half of the year, primarily in the manufacturing sector in France. As a result, our acceleration was weaker than initially expected and led us to revise our initial revenue growth outlook.
However, we delivered an operating margin and organic free cash flow in line with our targets for the year. Your group thus demonstrated in 2024 the resilience of its operating model, as well as its leadership in artificial intelligence and generative AI. Group revenues reached EUR 22,096 million in 2024, down -1.9% on a reported basis. This corresponds to a revenue growth of -2% at constant currency rates at the top end of the outlook as revised in October 2024. Operating margin amounted to EUR 2,934 million, or 13.3% of revenues, stable year- on- year and in line with the operating margin target set for 2024. After other operating expenses, net financial income, and tax expenses, the net profit group share reached EUR 1,671 million, up by 0.5% year- on- year. Basic EPS increased by +1.2% to EUR 9.82.
Normalized EPS reached EUR 12.23, down -1.7% year- on- year. Finally, we maintained organic free cash flow generation at a record high level with EUR 1,961 million in line with the 2024 target and the previous year, despite lower revenues. Moving on to the evolution of our revenues by business line at constant exchange rates. Strategy and transformation consulting services, which represent 9% of the group's total revenues, were up 3.2%. This illustrates the strength of the group's positioning as a strategic partner to its clients. Applications and technology services, which is Capgemini's core business and represents 62% of the group's total revenues, declined by -2.1%. Lastly, total revenues of operations and engineering services, which account for 29% of group revenues, decreased by -2.1%. Before we review our performance by region, a few words on our revenue trends by sector.
The public sector maintained a robust momentum and grew by +3.2% year- on- year on constant currency. Financial services improved gradually through the year, but declined overall by -3.1%. Other sectors also contracted in 2024, notably the manufacturing sector, which was down by -3%. Looking now at the evolution of our revenues by region at constant currency, almost all regions experienced a gradual improvement through the year, with the exception of France, which suffered in H2 from a less favorable sector mix. Revenues in North America are down -4.1% year- on- year. However, quarterly growth rates improved gradually through the year, with a contraction limited to -1.6% in Q4. The United Kingdom and Ireland region demonstrated resilience, with a revenue decline limited to -1%.
France's revenues decreased -3.5% in an environment that clearly deteriorated in the second half of the year, with a significant contraction in the manufacturing sector. Revenues in the rest of Europe region were virtually stable year- on- year. Finally, revenues in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America region were slightly down by -0.3%. Our operating margin improved in all regions except France. This reflects the portfolio mix improvement across the board, but also contrasted activity trends by regions, as I just explained to you. The continued shift in Capgemini's mix of offerings towards more innovative and value-added services, combined with enhanced operational efficiency, lifted the gross margin by 50 basis points to 27.4%. This progression enabled to offset investments in selling expenses to fuel our future growth, as well as a slight increase in G&A expenses, and therefore to maintain our operating margin at 13.3% despite lower revenues.
Moving on to the analysis of our net income, the other operating income and expenses were down EUR 67 million year- on- year to EUR 578 million, mainly driven by lower restructuring costs. Consequently, our operating profit was EUR 2,356 million, or 10.7% of the revenues, up by 40 basis points year- on- year. Capgemini reported a net financial income of EUR 13 million in 2024, compared to a net expense of EUR 42 million in 2023, reflecting higher interest income. After tax expenses, minority interests, and equity affiliates, the group share in net profit amounted to EUR 1,671 million, up 0.5% in 2023. Our active share capital management led to a 0.7% decrease in the average number of shares outstanding. Basic EPS was up by 1.2% to EUR 9.82, while normalized EPS was down at EUR 12.23, or - 1.7% year- on- year.
Finally, a few words about the group's balance sheet. Group shareholders' equity further grew to reach EUR 11,797 million at December 31st, 2024. We maintained a strong cash flow generation in 2024, despite the lower revenues and the increase of our cash tax rate. Our organic free cash flow amounted to EUR 1,961 million, in line with our target of around EUR 1.9 billion, and leading again to an organic free cash flow to net profit ratio above one. In 2024, Capgemini redeployed close to EUR 2 billion of capital, essentially funded by the organic free cash flow of the year. The group invested EUR 827 million in acquisitions, paid dividends of EUR 580 million, and allocated EUR 972 million to share buybacks. In October 2024, the group also redeemed in full and at maturity the EUR 600 million bond issued in April 2018.
Finally, our net debt stands at EUR 2.1 billion at the end of 2024, compared with EUR 2 billion at the end of 2023. Overall, our performance in 2024 illustrates once again how the transformation of Capgemini and its positioning as a business and technology partner to its clients has strengthened the resilience of the group. Moving on to our statutory financial statements, net income of the group's parent company, Capgemini SE, amounted to EUR 834 million in 2024, compared with EUR 805 million in 2023. Consequently, the board of directors decided at its meeting on February 17th, 2025, to submit for approval to this annual general meeting a dividend of EUR 3.40 per share, stable year- on- year. This represents a total amount of EUR 583 million based on the number of shares entitled to dividend as of 31st December 2024.
On that note, [Foreign Language] merci, and thank you very much for your attention.
Thank you, Nive. Now I'd like to ask Mr. Roshan, who is in charge of our consulting branch, to come up on stage. He's going to be talking about an issue that both Paul and others have mentioned. He's going to talk about AI, which is very topical and is at the heart of Capgemini's work. Roshan is going to help us understand, as these are very complex issues, so he's going to help us understand what is at stake for Capgemini and for society more broadly.
Good afternoon, everyone. Today we're going to look together at the prospects that agentic AI or AI agents offer us and how this could accelerate the transformation of our clients and our business at Capgemini. I want to illustrate this using two cases.
Imagine that you're on vacation at the other end of the world, and you get a phone call from your son. There's been water damage in your home, and you need to take action fast, but you're far away. You hang up, and your AI agent does a search on the internet to find the closest plumbing company. It does a comparative price analysis, and it gives you that analysis with the prices, with feedback from other customers. All that's left for you to do is choose. Once you've made the decision of the service provider, the AI agent books the service for you. It sends your son a notification, letting your son know when the plumber's coming. The AI shares the information with the service provider, and your son has nothing more to do, and neither do you. What happened?
Effortlessly and almost instantaneously, you were able to delegate the execution of a complete complex task to an AI agent capable of taking autonomous decisions. I want to give you a second use case. This is a client case. This is a client that we work for at the moment. This is a global leader and has a number of supermarket chains. The idea is for staff on the ground to be able to use a network of AI agents to help them in their daily work, to help them take decisions, and to free up productive time for them to spend more of their time with customers. Imagine if I'm a store manager and I come in in the morning and I realize that many of my employees will be absent today. It's stressful. I'm expecting quite a lot of customers.
I have my AI agent that can send a message to all of the staff members who aren't supposed to come in that day but are available. They ask for their availability. The AI agent comes up with a suggestion for the scheduling, which I can approve. The AI agent comes up with a schedule that it sends out to my employees. Here's another case. I am new. I've just started working at the supermarket. I'm in charge of the fresh produce section, and some products are expiring tomorrow. I want to discount some of the produce that's expiring tomorrow. I can ask my AI assistant to help me do that. What we see today is that we have entered a new era of digital transformation.
Over the last five, eight years, we've seen a technology avalanche: 5G, augmented reality, blockchain, and more. In the last three years, we've been talking about machine learning. We've talked a lot about Gen AI, language models. Since last year, we've been hearing more about Agentic AI. In the three, five, eight years to come, the integration of these three types of AI will completely revolutionize our sector. We see as well that it's not just our sector; it's how we as human beings are going to live, how we're going to travel, how we're going to communicate. Some say we may not use iPhones anymore, and the way we spend our free time, the way we engage in dialogue. The question is, what is Agentic AI? The idea is that they can do even the most complex task autonomously without human intervention.
These are agents that are autonomous software entities. They're capable of perception, reasoning, and decision-making. If we look at the potential that this technology has to offer, we actually did a study at the end of last year, and 82% of organizations planned to integrate AI agents into their operations in the next two years, by 2027. That transformation, as we see it for our clients, basically has three parts. The first part is how this technology can help support our people, our employees, to increase their productivity and make their lives easier, like in the supermarket example. The second is processes. How can we set up networks of agents to automate tasks nearly to 100%?
We already have networks of agents that I would say, for example, for invoicing, from the moment they receive the invoice, the AI agent can compare it with the purchase order to check the name of the company, what was ordered, confirming receipts, and triggering payment. If we integrate AI to that experience, that can help us offer our clients a new experience. At Capgemini, our ambition is to harness the full potential of this technology for our clients and for ourselves. We are working in close cooperation with tech partners from this ecosystem: NVIDIA, Google, Salesforce, SAP, Siemens, Dassault Systèmes, to name just a few. 2025 looks set to be a year for experimentation and exploration. Our clients have embarked on a wave of experimenting on non-critical processes.
In the years to come, I think that our clients will want to scale these AI agents not only on non-critical processes, but on core processes. To support our clients, we have an approach that's focused on two pillars. The first is to support their transformation. What is the strategy for that? What are the technical fundamentals that we need to set up in order to harness AI? We need a backbone of clean data. We're working on that. What kind of model should I set up? Should I buy it? Should I develop it in-house? What impact would that have on our organization? What are the new roles that need to be developed? How do we manage that change? The second aspect is to provide a platform with ready-to-use agents for our clients.
In-house, we are also harnessing this technology in order to transform our different business lines. We're training all our employees, not just technical profiles, in how to use AI. I would say that today, AI generally is a possible driver of growth for Capgemini. That is a reality. It's not theoretical. 6% of our order book in the first quarter were actually driven by that technology. Transformation is an opportunity for us to help our clients succeed in the future. Thank you.
Thank you, Roshan, for being so clear about such a complex issue. Thank you for giving us the outlook for the group. I am sure that many of you, especially people living in Paris who had to call a plumber in emergency on a Sunday evening, must have been fascinated by this presentation. I would now like to ask Mr. Frédéric Oudéa, who is the chairman of the Ethics and Governance Committee and lead independent director, to discuss the governance of the group.
Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. As lead independent director and chairman of the Ethics and Governance Committee, it is my responsibility to present a report on my activities during the 2024 financial year and the governance issues that I need to monitor as the lead independent director, in accordance with the charter of the board of directors. You can see on the slide the main topics that were addressed in 2024. I would like to underline that the board deepened the medium-term strategic guidelines by the board. There was a strategic seminar in the United States last year, which was an opportunity for discussions on these strategic projects and various presentations made at board meetings.
The board also reviewed the group's acquisition strategy and provided a regular update on the monitoring of ongoing acquisition projects, with a specific focus on past acquisitions as well. As part of the new 2025-2030 ESG policy, the board also reviewed the group's medium-term ESG priorities. Regarding talent management in 2024, the Board of Directors reviewed the succession planning process for senior management teams and the measures implemented to attract, develop, and retain talents. Last point that I would like to mention regarding governance, of course, there's the renewal of your Chief Executive Officer in 2024. The board worked on the 2024-2026 governance deadlines. I would like to propose the reappointment of Aiman Ezzat as CEO, thereby reaffirming our full support to him for the continued implementation of the group's strategy. The board is active and committed.
I will not comment on all of the figures that you see on the board, but the attendance rate was very high, 95%. There was a trip to India last fall. We were able to meet Capgemini's people in Mumbai, and we could see how the teams support our clients. The details of the work of the board committees in 2024 are provided in the 2024 URD. Let me now move on to the internal assessment of the board of directors. It's been an in-house evaluation. Again, it was conducted by myself. Individual interviews were carried out with each of the directors. I recall that the goal of the assessment is to assess the proper functioning of the board, the adequacy of its composition, and the effective contribution of each director.
I presented the summary of the assessment to the board of directors at our meeting of February 17th, 2025. In general, the directors were very satisfied with the work of the board. They considered that the composition of the board was well-balanced in view of the challenges faced by the group and the objectives set for the 2022-2026 period. In addition, the directors expressed their satisfaction with the agenda, the quality of the documents, level of information and strategy, performance monitoring, and the great spirit of collegiality in the board's work, as well as the openness of its discussions so that each member of the board can express themselves freely. As Paul said, there was also the organization of training sessions with a particular focus on AI and the group's new offerings, for example, in the life sciences sector.
Finally, in 2024, the number of executive sessions increased: four in 2024, compared with two in 2023, to address governance issues. It was also the opportunity to set priorities for 2025. There are two main pillars. First, strategy. We want to continue monitoring, defining and monitoring medium-term strategic priorities with three key issues. We want to have an in-depth monitoring of acquisitions and the development of activities in the United States, which is key to the success of the group, and new commercial priorities, especially in the field of AI, as well as the ability of the group to support our clients in adopting such technologies at scale and transforming their business model. The second key pillar for 2025, and we want to address it too, it's succession planning and talent management. With the goal that it's twofold.
First, at the level of the board, there is planning for the renewal and replacement of directors by 2026, in line with the requirements in terms of the composition of the board. We want also to improve our knowledge of talents. Let me now move on to the composition of the board. Next slide. You can see the 2022-2026 goals that were set: diversity of profiles and skills, proper level of internationalization, regular staggering of terms of office, and a relevant number of directors to ensure consistency and collegiality. I think we applied this roadmap in 2024. Three directors were reappointed in 2024: Ms. Siân Herbert-Jones , Ms. Bélaine Moscoso, and Mr. Aiman Ezzat. The composition of the board was still well-balanced, and the diversity of profiles was maintained. 43% of the board members are foreign nationals and 45% are women.
We now have 14 members with the departure of Mr. Olivier Roussat at the end of October 2024. Your board is composed of individuals who are both diverse and complementary, professionally and culturally, in keeping with the group's history and values, enabling it to carry out its duties in a spirit of collegiality and openness. Of course, the board will keep ensuring that the members have a balanced and diverse range of skills in relation to the group's challenges. Let's now talk about the resolutions. Your board proposes the renewal of the terms of office of two directors and the appointment of a new director, going back to the usual composition of the board with 15 members. 11th resolution: we propose the reappointment of Mr. Patrick Pouyanné. As an independent director, he joined the board of directors of Capgemini on May 10th, 2017.
He has been Chairman of the Compensation Committee since May 19th, 2022, and a member of the Ethics and Governance Committee since May 20th, 2021. He brings to the Board of Directors of Capgemini his exceptional knowledge of macroeconomic and geopolitical issues, as well as his experience as a senior executive of a leading international group in the energy sector, which, as you know, faces challenges related to climate change and where new technologies have a key role to play. 12th resolution: we propose the reappointment of Mr. Kurt Sievers. He's also an independent director. He joined the Board of Directors on May 20th, 2021. On the same date, he was appointed as a member of the Strategy and CSR Committee and the Compensation Committee.
He brings to the board his experience as a senior executive of a leading international group in the semiconductor industry, a sector at the heart of the development of smart industry and the challenges of green transition and industrial sovereignty. Mr. Sievers also brings his expertise in the automotive sector, technology, and AI, as well as his specific knowledge of the North American market. Finally, with the 13th resolution, we propose the appointment of a new member to the board of directors, Mr. Jean-Marc Chéry, for a term of four years. This proposal is in line with the board's ambition to enrich the diversity of its profiles and deepen its industry expertise. Mr. Chéry would be considered independent under the criteria of the AFEP MEDEF code to which the company refers. I would like to invite Mr. Jean-Marc Chéry to briefly introduce himself.
Thank you, Frédéric. Ladies and gentlemen, first of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude for the honor and the opportunity of joining the board of directors of Capgemini. As the Chair and the CEO said, it is a company that stands out for its values, and I know them well as a client. It's very resilient in terms of performance, and it's really committed to innovation with AI, and it supports digital companies. As the CEO, it also has a societal and environmental responsibility. Let me just say a few words about my background. I've been a CEO of STMicroelectronics. It's a leader in the semiconductor sector. It's a French-Italian company, and it has more than 50,000 employees worldwide in more than 40 countries. My career began in 1985 at MATRA, the Lagardère Group, another great industry captain.
Similarly to Serge Comte, then I joined the Thomson Semiconductors Group, which later became STMicroelectronics. I held various management positions in planning. I also was the head of various factories in Tours, in France, in Rousset as well, and in Singapore. I was promoted to CTO in charge of technological research, IS, and digital transformation of ST. I also took on more responsibilities, digital products, and I became a COO in 2014, Deputy CEO, and finally CEO in 2018. In addition to my executive duties, I am a member of the board of directors of Legrand, a French company specializing in electrical and digital infrastructure. I am also the chairman of the Global Semiconductor Alliance, which is based in California. With my experience, I was exposed to many different sectors: industry, automotive, personal electronic devices, computers, servers.
Various positions in terms of value chain and my personal goal is to bring value to the board of directors, support the CEO and his team. I would like to thank you warmly for this opportunity. It's an honor to join you. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Jean-Marc. I have one last slide to share with you, and I would like to draw your attention to the amendments to the bylaws. It is proposed that you amend Articles 12, paragraph two, and 19, paragraphs six to 10 of the company's bylaws to bring them into line with the provisions of the Attractiveness Act relating to the modernization of the methods of meeting and deliberation of boards of directors and annual general meetings. These amendments are purely technical in nature and are intended to bring the articles into the bylaws in line with the new legal provisions. Thank you for your attention.
Thank you, Frédéric. I would now like to ask the Chairman of the Compensation Committee, as mentioned by Mr. Oudéa. This is Mr. Patrick Pouyanné, who is going to present the resolutions on executive compensation.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, dear directors. As Chairman of your board's Compensation Committee, it is my role to present to you the elements of the compensation policy for corporate officers and their implementation. Now, the group's compensation policy complies, of course, with legal provisions and the governance rules of the AFEP MEDEF code. It is designed to be transparent for shareholders. You can refer to the 2024 Universal Registration document for more details. It is also correlated with the company's performance and strategy, as well as its CSR commitments.
You will be asked today to vote on the compensation policy for directors, the Chairman of the Board, and the Chief Executive Officer. Now, we do not have a re-evaluation of the compensation package during the term. On the compensation policy for directors, last year during the meeting, you voted for a maximum available budget of EUR 1.7 million. You are being asked to vote on the amount of EUR 1,449,125, which is much below this maximum amount. Resolution Number 10 on the 2025 Compensation Policy maintains that number unchanged, EUR 1.7 million, and an unchanged allocation terms and conditions policy. Now I am going to present the resolutions on the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Paul Hermelin. Again, no change since 2022.
Paul Hermelin has received a remuneration of directors' fees: EUR 250,000 for chairing the board, EUR 30,000 for chairing the Strategy and CSR Committee, and like all other directors, an amount based on actual attendance at board and committee meetings. A total amount of EUR 336,500, and the same would go for his compensation for 2025 under Resolution 8, which you will be voting on. Now coming to your Chief Executive Officer, Aiman Ezzat. Here you see a little more on the slide. Let me remind you what the compensation structure was that you adopted last year with a broad majority. Fixed compensation of EUR 1.3 million and increase for the new term, because the previous compensation was EUR 1 million. This fixed remuneration will not change for the four years of his term. It was increased to EUR 1.3 million.
Now, for those who wonder why there's been a 27% increase, this is last year's decision. You supported the increase for this fixed portion. There is variable compensation up to 180% of the fixed remuneration. We applied the criteria strictly for financial parameters, 90.7% of goals. The company was resilient, but the growth targets were not fully met. Because it is a variable policy, this proportion was variable. Aiman Ezzat met his targets when it comes to objectives such as diversity. He did receive variable compensation on that criteria. We are at EUR 1,297,036. Mr. Ezzat also has a long-term savings plan, which replaces the supplementary pension plan closed in 2015, of which Mr. Ezzat was not a beneficiary. This plan is payable over two years on the basis of a target amount set at 40% of his annual fixed compensation.
For 2024, it is a little below 40%. It is about 96% of 40%. That is EUR 503,256. Now, the last part of his compensation is the performance shares. Our rule at the level of the board is that there is a ceiling, which means that we cannot provide more performance shares than the IFRS value. We decided to award 24,000 shares, which is EUR 3,041,853, which will be granted after a period of three years. There are four criteria that are taken into account, the same as for all employees. One is related to relative share performance, so the performance of a Capgemini share vis-à-vis a panel of competitors. The second is free cash flow generation, which helps share value added and goes into dividends. The third is linked to CSR. One is on diversity and the other on the environment.
That is for 2024 under Resolution 7. I want to talk about Resolution 9, which is the compensation policy for the CEO for 2025. Again, I said we like stability. His term is ongoing, so this will not change. Same fixed remuneration, EUR 1.3 million. Same structure for variable compensation, same long-term savings plan, and same ceiling for performance shares. One thing has changed, which is that every year there is a number of financial targets that are set every year by the board based on the financial situation and economic conditions. The criteria that we set that is non-financial but quantitative, we make sure that is adapted. This year we decided to apply a cybersecurity criteria by benchmarking our competitors. We updated, based on what Frédéric Oudéa presented, the personal goals that the board has set for Aiman Ezzat.
We decided there would be three of these strategic goals. One is about the change in Capgemini's offering when it comes to Gen AI and Agentic AI following Roshan's presentation. The fact that, second, we're changing and we have indicators to understand the strategic relationship with customers that we follow on an annual basis. Then the implementation of the geographic strategic plan and the company's ability to develop in the U.S. and other parts of the world. I think that brings me to the end of my presentation on the compensation policy that is submitted to your vote through these different resolutions. Thank you for your support.
Thank you, Patrick. Now I'm going to give the floor to Ms. Itto El-Hariri on behalf of the Board of Statutory Auditors to present and summarize their report. Thank you.
[Foreign Language] Monsieur le Président, bonjour Mesdames et Messieurs les actionnaires. Thank you. On behalf of the Board of Statutory Auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers Audit and Forbes Mazar have the honor and pleasure of reporting to you on our mission for the 2024 financial year. In accordance with the customary practice of this meeting, I would like to summarize the terms of our various reports, which have been made available to you by the company and are included in the 2024 Universal Registration document. Let me begin with a report on the consolidated financial statements of the group, which have been prepared in accordance with the IFRS framework as adopted by the European Union. We have certified the financial statements without reservation or comments. We considered the items that were deemed to be the most significant and therefore subject to particular attention during our work to be key points of our audit.
For each of these key audit points, we describe in our report the reasons that led us to select them, the nature of the risk identified, and the audit response that we provided. For 2024, these key audit points related to two areas. First, the recognition of revenue on a percentage of completion basis for multi-year contracts. Second, the assessment of the recoverable amount of goodwill. We reiterate that the fundamental objective of our assignment is to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements are true and fair and that they are free from material misstatement. To this end, we work with all significant entities of the Capgemini Group, both in France and abroad. Our approach is tailored to the group's activities and various business lines, as well as its organization.
As for the audit of the management report and other documents sent to you shareholders, it does not call for any particular comment. With regard to our report on the annual financial statements of Capgemini SE, which are prepared in accordance with French accounting principles, we considered the assessment of investments in Capgemini SE's subsidiaries to be a key point of our audit. We have certified these financial statements without reservation or comments. With regard to our special report on regulated agreements, we have not been informed of any new agreements entered into during the financial year ended on December 31st, 2024. Our report also states that none of the agreements entered into and authorized in previous financial years continued during the 2024 financial year.
Finally, as part of the extraordinary portion of your general meeting, we have issued three reports on draft resolutions submitted for your vote this afternoon concerning capital transactions. We have not made any comments on the terms and conditions proposed to you by your Board of Directors. Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the joint statutory auditors, I would like to thank you.
Thank you, Madam. Now I would like to ask Ms. Anne-Laure Rousselou to present and summarize the Mazars report on the certification of sustainability information, and that's a first.
Thank you. Shareholders, on behalf of Mazars, I am honored to report on our sustainability review for the 2024 financial year. I would also like to sum up the terms of this report, which has been made available to you by the company and is included in the 2024 URD.
Regarding our sustainability status report, it is divided into three parts and enables us to issue our limited assurance conclusions in response to CSRD requirements. We have not identified any material errors, omissions, or inconsistencies relating to compliance with the sustainability reporting standards in determining the information disclosed, the compliance of sustainability-related information, and the compliance with the disclosure requirements set out in Article 8 of EU Regulation 2852, called the Taxonomy Regulation. In 2024, we considered the following to be areas requiring particular attention: double materiality analysis, E1 standard on climate change, and S1 standard on the company's own workforce. Without calling into question our conclusions, we would like to draw your attention to two pieces of information. First, the information in paragraph 4.1.7 basis for preparing our sustainability statement, which describes the general context in which the sustainability-related information was prepared.
Secondly, information in paragraph 4.7.5, a diverse and inclusive environment, which describes the methodological principles followed by the group in calculating pay gaps and the total remuneration ratio. Thank you for your attention.
[Foreign Language] Merci beaucoup. Thank you. It is now time for a Q&A session. I know that you're all looking forward to it. Written questions were received by the company prior to the meeting. We will dedicate 25 minutes to this Q&A session. We'll listen to questions from the floor. Just as last year and the years before, through the platform that is available to you, we will try to answer as many questions as possible in 25 minutes. For the shareholders who are present in the room, so that as many people as possible can take the floor, please keep your questions under one minute. We have ushers who will hand you microphones.
You can raise your hand and ask questions. We are very grateful that you came to attend this meeting. The first question will be from the floor, and then we will take a question from the platform. Sir, number 2, microphone, please.
Hello, Mr. Gender, individual shareholder. I have a question. Page 480, you included your shareholders, and then you included the shareholders with more than 5% at the date of March 14. That is relevant information. Regarding your margin, you have a higher margin in the U.S.A. and in England as well. Could you explain why? Next question, European sovereign cloud, where are we headed? On resolution, I will abstain. Resolution 11, presented by Mr. Pouyanné. I went to the Total AGM. We did not have access to our computers and phones.
I do not understand this resolution because if you go to his AGM, you are naked without anything.
Okay, so that's three questions. Thank you. Regarding thresholds, 5% threshold, that's the legal obligation, and I will give the floor to Mr. Emmanez for the other questions. That's the minimum threshold, 5%. [Foreign Language] D'accord. Je ne l'ai pas en tête, mais voilà. Question in the room without a microphone. I don't have this in mind, but it depends on legal requirements. Today the situation is different from what it will be in 10 days. We publish the movement. You know, several major shareholders sold their shares. I'm thinking of Crédit Agricole not so long ago. That's the information that we share with you on January 1st, but we cannot do that in real time because the situation changes.
The legal thresholds are available on the AMF website, of course. There was a question on margin. Margin gaps between Europe, England, and North America. Margin gaps are related to business mixes, economic environments, and the job market. The American market requires a lot of offshore resources. We have better efficiency when it comes to deploying resources. That is powerful economic leverage. 75% of our costs are staff costs. It is also related to market costs and our competitiveness. Now, regarding the English market, I think that we have gained more maturity in terms of how we function, good balance between the public and private sector, and clients that we retain over the long term. Compared to countries such as France and Germany, it is more a service-oriented market. It is not a manufacturing market that will be more demanding in terms of margin compared to Europe.
Continental Europe is all about deploying resources more efficiently. Resources are more local. The market is less fluid. As you know, when business levels go down, it has an impact on the margin when most of the costs are staff costs. That explains for the gaps between our geographies. Now, regarding the sovereign cloud, it is an ongoing debate. There are very few sovereign clouds, actually. Most clouds have various levels of sovereignty. In France, what we want to do as a company is to have a trusted cloud with Bleu to protect everything that is extraterritorial in terms of data. It is not a sovereign cloud because it is still an American technology, but it is a cloud that is competitive. It is also protected because we are talking about French capital, French employees, French data centers, and there is no connection to a company like Microsoft, for example.
We can have a very competitive cloud to meet our clients' needs, and at the same time, a cloud that can bring trust when it comes to data protection. Competitive and sovereign clouds do not exist in Europe. Sometimes they are sovereign, but they do not have the same features as clouds such as Microsoft, AWS, or Google. There is ambition and there is demand, but so far there has not been any solution in Europe.
Thank you. Second question coming from the platform regarding geopolitical developments for Mr. Ezzat. What are the perspectives outlooking the group with the increase in defense spending?
That is an interesting sector, potential growth driver. In Europe, we need to reinforce the defense sector and buy more in Europe. More programs, more spending in defense for many years. We have been present in the defense sector, mostly in Europe.
We also launched an initiative three years ago to be stronger at a European level. It is bearing fruit. EUR 1 billion in revenue in 2024, 12% growth. We are working with major European players in the defense sector. We work with the European ministries of defense in the Netherlands, France, U.K., Germany. We have a great footprint in Europe. We are the largest player in technological services. When it comes to AI technologies, they are key in the defense business. We can definitely leverage this. We will keep investing in order to meet the potential demand in this sector. Things are difficult in Europe at the moment, but it is one of the best growth drivers that we can identify.
Question from the floor, number three.
Hello. Good afternoon, everyone. Mr. Gilmerman, individual shareholder, for more than 20 years. Thank you very much. Here is my question. You talked about using AI in your decision-making process. You said that you would like it to be incorporated in the transformation of the company as well as the company's business. Isn't it a better replacement than old IT systems that have been used? What are your expectations in terms of scope and future developments? What is the profile of human resources that you would wish to use for your business? Thank you very much.
That's a great question. Of course, there are major developments happening in terms of AI adoption. You said that AI, in some cases, may provide solutions that used to be provided by software. That's true. Software plays a role in automating tasks, and AI can be more efficient in that. Now, when it comes to evolution, AI adoption, we think, is incremental.
AI covers all processes and functions in a company, whether we're talking of innovation, R&D, finance, sales. It's everything. Adoption will be incremental. We cannot change everything at once. It's not just about the technology. It's about how the company works, how it makes decisions. It's incremental by definition. This will be done gradually. There are also developments when it comes to profiles. We want AI agents, assistants, and to increase productivity. Some tasks are replaced, but we also create new roles to develop AI models, maintain them, and update them because it's not something that's static. Profiles change, but we have them because for years now, we've been growing stronger in terms of data management and AI. We have 30,000 people in our group globally working on such issues. That's why we also increased our training efforts in terms of GenAI.
More than 150,000 employees in the group benefited from it. It is an ongoing effort. Yes, we want to train our employees more and more to increase the adoption of GenAI for the work we do for our clients, but also for us in-house in our HR, finance functions, and all the other functions as well.
A question from the platform. Question to our CFO. What will be the impact on the group of recent increases in corporate tax?
Thank you very much for your question. Before I give you the impact, just to remind everybody, the finance bill that was enacted levies a surtax on all companies in France with a turnover of EUR 1 billion. Since your company has a turnover in excess of EUR 3 billion, the surtax that has been put is 41.2% on the corporate tax rate of 25%.
What this means, therefore, is that this is an average of the corporate tax across 2024 and 2025, and therefore is roughly about 2 percentage points on our effective tax rate for the year. That is the impact. In P&L and cash terms, it is roughly between EUR 40 million-EUR 50 million for the full year 2025.
[Foreign Language] Alors, une question dans la salle? Question in the room? No more questions in the room? I've got lots of questions on the platform. No, there is one in the room.
Good afternoon. I'm Solange Calorix. I'm an individual shareholder. I was a former Capgemini employee. We were talking about Capgemini's international footprint. When I was at Capgemini, we were already thinking about going to Africa. That hasn't happened yet. I wonder. There are growing digital needs in Africa, but there's not much AI. Perhaps it might be the time for Capgemini, that is now focusing on AI, to look closer at the African market. Thank you.
We do have a footprint in North Africa. We have centers in Morocco and more recently in Egypt. For the moment, even though there are opportunities, the maturity of the market as compared to the services provided by Capgemini, we haven't quite found the opportunity for that type of investment yet. That doesn't mean it won't happen, but it's a question of maturity. In a certain sense, we work with large companies and we need repeat business. I know we do some projects on a transactional basis, but we have not yet identified through our strategic processes a kind of repeat business with key accounts that would justify investing at scale in Africa. Now, we're not saying it won't happen, but for the moment, we have other investment priorities. Thank you.
Okay. Since we're talking about regional footprint, let's continue with a question from Thierry Chavegnier on the platform, who asks about the group's footprint in the U.S. and what the impact of Donald Trump's measures might be.
Okay, as you know, a little under 30% of our revenue is from North America, with a large footprint in the United States. There's the direct aspect and the indirect aspect. The direct aspect is we are a local player with local resources. We contribute to the American economy. We're not subject to tariff-related tensions under the U.S. administration. There's no risk on that end. There could be some risk if this were to apply to services, but these tariffs apply to goods.
There is no risk on that front. We are indirectly affected because of the consequences on our clients. If our client's business is affected by the tariffs, then they might decrease their budget or rethink some investments. As we said at the end of the first quarter, for the moment, we have not observed that type of decision. There have been a couple of isolated cases. We are very cautious because we think that could happen and we could be affected indirectly. That is why we are very cautious for our 2025 targets in order to take into consideration the fact that there could be a deterioration linked to the global tariff and geopolitical situation.
Thank you. A question for the Chairman of the Board. Do you not think that the high number of directors that have executive positions actually affects the quality of the work of the board? I think Mr. Audet answered the question, but Mr. Chairman.
I think that this is an important question and I understand. In the recommendations of what we call proxies, some felt that some directors had insufficient ability. The question is, do we want boards made up of professional directors or do we also want people who are active in the business world? I think that it's important for the quality of dialogue within the board that we should have both types of profiles. We should have what I call professional directors because they no longer hold an executive role and others who do. Now, among the people who do have an executive role, people such as Patrick Pouyanné or Megan Clarke from Criteo, who travels from one continent to another, their individual participation was at 100%, which is remarkable.
Kurt Sievers, who's not with us today, ever since he joined the group in 2021, his participation has been 86%, which I think is entirely satisfactory. In the case of Mr. Sievers, some proxies noted that he was less present in committees. He is a part of the strategic committee. I chair that committee, and sometimes he told me he could not be there. For an important issue, I used to try and make sure to call him before so that I could share Kurt's opinion with the committee. For me, he is a crucial director, and he is being submitted for reappointment this year, and I hope that he is because I think it is important to have a balance between non-executive directors and directors who do have an executive role as long as they are sufficiently available. Thank you.
Thank you. Is there another question in the room? Actually, there are lots of questions online still. We have a question from someone who hasn't looked at our new CSR policy. The question is, are you going to review your diversity policy following the U.S.'s recent decisions?
That's an excellent question, and thank you to the gentleman who asked this question. It's really important that we understand. We have values at group level that are crucial. Paul mentioned them earlier. These values are longstanding. We've had them for 50 years. We have commitments, and we have beliefs. It's important not to revisit them on the basis of decisions that have been taken abroad. We reaffirm our diversity and inclusion policy, which we think is important and is an asset for the group. We have maintained all those goals. It's part of our DNA.
We have reaffirmed these goals this year. For diversity, we aimed for 40% of women in 2025. We had 39.8% of women at the end of last year, and we wanted 30% women in executive roles. Among the 150 leaders of the group, we were at 29% last year. We still plan to achieve the 30% this year. We have huge talent pools that we build to achieve those goals. It is important to understand that we work alongside our employees to help them grow and in order to develop our own D&I policy. This is a part of our group's performance for promotions and appointments. These are linked to performance-based metrics and bringing value to the group. The changes in the U.S. will not have any effect on our diversity policy. We apply the local regulation. Thank you.
I think we have time for one final question from the platform.
Olivier, there's a question in the room, actually.
Okay, yes.
Good afternoon for the FCPE Capgemini shareholding. I had a question on harmonizing the benefits for all of the employees in the group, in particular for Altran.
Yes, so the employees are important shareholders, 8% of the group. And I'm actually going to ask Anne, HR Director, to answer your question.
Good afternoon. On your question on harmonizing these social benefits for group employees, this is something we look at country by country as the systems for these benefits are very local. Now, as regards harmonizing Altran and Capgemini before the integration, in 2021, we came to an agreement with the unions on how to gradually harmonize these aspects for those that require harmonization, given again that there are differences based on roles. Since 2021, some aspects were taken into account, so leave based on seniority and profit sharing and other types of benefits. This is moving forward as and when these agreements are being signed.
Thank you, Ms. Lebel. This brings us to the end of our Q&A session. Thank you for participating, and we are going to move to the voting. Each shareholder has been given an individual voting tablet that was given to you when you filled the attendance sheet, and it has the number of votes that each shareholder has. Now we are going to watch a short film on how to use the voting device, which is very clear and should help you understand how it works.
[Foreign Language] Pour voter les résolutions de l'Assemblée générale, une tablette vous a été remise. In order to vote, you have been given a tablet. It's strictly personal and can be used only for this general meeting. La fenêtre de vote on a resolution is announced, you'll see the voting window displayed on your tablet. In order to vote, it's very simple. Press the button corresponding to your choice for, abstention, or against. Press OK to confirm your choice before voting ends. Once your vote is validated, you cannot change it anymore. Thank you for giving your tablet back when you leave the room.
Thank you. We'd like to remind you that the majority at the meeting is calculated solely on the basis of votes cast for or against. Abstentions are not counted as votes against. As every year, I request the meeting's authorization not to read the text of the resolutions in full. I will simply quote the title of each resolution when it comes to voting.
I would like to remind you of the majority requirements: simple majority, more than 50% for ordinary meetings, and two-thirds majority for extraordinary resolutions. Last but not least, let me share with you the final quorum. I told you that it would change throughout the course of this AGM. It hasn't changed a lot. It is now 79.96% for the ordinary meeting and 79.97% for the extraordinary meeting. We can now move on to the vote and go over the 19 resolutions. First resolution: approval of the 2024 company financial statements. Please vote now. [Foreign Language] Le vote est fermé. No further voting. The resolution is adopted in 99.64% in favor. Resolution number two: approval of the 2024 consolidated financial statements. Please vote now. No further voting. The resolution is adopted in 99.64% in favor. Resolution number three: appropriation of earnings and setting of the dividend. Please vote now. No further voting.
The resolution is adopted in 99.98% in favor. Thank you. Resolution number four: regulated agreements, special report of the statutory auditors. Please vote now. No further voting. The resolution is adopted over 99.99% in favor, close to 100%. Resolution number five: approval of the report on the compensation of corporate officers. Please vote now. No further voting. The resolution is adopted in 96.68% in favor. Resolution number six: approval of the 2024 compensation of Mr. Paul Hermelin, Chairman of the Board of Directors. Please vote now. No further voting. The resolution is adopted in 97.06% in favor. Resolution number seven: approval of Mr. Hermelin's compensation for 2024. Please vote now. No further voting. The resolution is adopted in 92.38% in favor. Resolution number eight: approval of the compensation policy applicable to the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Please vote now. No further voting.
The resolution is adopted in 97.23% in favor. Resolution number nine: approval of the compensation policy applicable to the Chief Executive Officer. Please vote now. No further voting. The resolution is adopted in 94.30% in favor. Resolution number 10: approval of the compensation policy applicable to directors in 2025. Please vote now. No further voting. The resolution is adopted in 98.03% in favor. Resolution number 11: renewal of the term of office of Mr. Patrick Pouyanné as a director. Please vote now. No further voting. [Foreign Language] Et le mandat de Monsieur Pouyanné est renouvelé à hauteur de 91. Mr. Pouyanné is reappointed with 91.51% of the votes. Resolution number 12: renewal of the term of office of Mr. Sievers as a director. Please vote now. No further voting. [Foreign Language] Et le mandat de Monsieur Sievers est renouvelé à hauteur de. Mr. Sievers is reappointed as 70.01% in favor.
Resolution 13: appointment of Mr. Jean-Marc Chéry as a director. Please vote now. No further voting. [Foreign Language] Et bienvenue, Monsieur Chéry, puisque. Welcome, Mr. Chéry. You have been appointed with 76.58% of the votes. Resolution number 14: authorization of a share buyback program. Please vote now. No further voting. The resolution is adopted with 99.65% of the votes.
Resolution number 15: amendment of paragraph 2 of article 12 and paragraph 6 to 10 of article 19 of the company's bylaws as presented by Mr. Oudéa. Please vote now. No further voting. These amendments are approved with nearly 100%, 99.99%. Resolution 16: authorization to the board of directors for a period of 18 months to grant performance shares to the employees and corporate officers. Voting is open. No further voting. This resolution is adopted with 95.82% in favor.
Resolution 17: delegation of authority to the board of directors to issue with cancellation of preemptive subscription to members of Capgemini Group. Please vote now. No further voting. Resolution 17 is adopted with 98.63% in favor. Resolution 18: delegation of authority to the board of directors to issue ordinary shares in certain non-friend subsidiaries. Please vote now. No further voting. The resolution is adopted with 98.63% in favor. For the final resolution, powers to carry out formalities like last year. Please vote now. No further voting. This resolution is adopted with 99.99% in favor. Mr. Chairman, the AGM has come to a close. Thank you for your renewed trust. Thank you for the team that helped organize this. Please do not forget to return your voting device and your headsets as you leave, and I'm going to let our chairman conclude. Paul Hermelin.
Yes, thank you. All that remains for me is to conclude this AGM, to say see you next year, and please do stay with us for a drink right outside this room. Thank you.