[Foreign language] Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, good afternoon to one and all. We are welcoming you here today in very unusual circumstances, when I hope that you, your family, and people close to you are all well. The health of our employees, partners, and shareholders is, of course, our top priority. It's our duty to abide by all the measures implemented by the government. We have no alternative today but to hold this AGM behind closed doors. It's the first time in our history that we'll be doing so. I hope very sincerely that it will be the last. We have not issued any admittance cards. It's among a very select committee of people beside me that will be welcoming you. Hélène de Tissot, who's Chief Financial Officer, Head of IT and Operations.
Patricia Barbizet, your Lead Independent Director, and Antoine Brocas, who is Secretary of our Board of Directors. I'm sure you'll understand that this particular exercise, which is imposed upon us by circumstances, is very much the contrary to our culture and notion of conviviality. Unfortunately, I won't be able to talk with you in person directly, nor will I get the opportunity to meet you in person as I do every year before we begin our AGM. As you know, we attach a lot of importance to the active participation of our shareholders in the decision-making process. At Pernod Ricard, we have done everything possible to ensure that you, our shareholders, will be able to vote remotely, but also follow this very unusual AGM on our pernod-ricard.com website.
Despite the circumstances, you've been very numerous in voting by internet via the vote access platform, by mail, using the special Pernod Ricard address that we have set up, or by correspondence, and thus continuing to take part actively. For that, I'd like to thank you all. We also wanted to give you the opportunity to raise your questions live, to be as close as possible to normal circumstances. You can do so by telephone, dialing the number that will be displayed on the screen, and we will select your questions randomly. Again, more about that later on. I'd also like to thank all the people who have, up to the very end, tried to maintain our AGM in the Salle Pleyel, and who reacted very quickly to put together this very unprecedented event.
I hereby declare that this AGM is now underway and will act as Chairman and CEO of the group. The members of our board of directors will be following this AGM just like you, but following it remotely, too. I'd also like to remind you that this AGM was convened in compliance with legal and regulatory provisions. No other items have been requested on the agenda. No further resolutions have been requested either, subsequent to the publication of notice of the meeting and the official announcement in the official gazette. As chairman of today's AGM, I propose to set up the bureau. As provided by law, the board of directors at its meeting of November 27, 2020, appointed as tellers the Paul Ricard company, represented by Paul-Charles Ricard, and the Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, represented by Priscilla Mattess. I'd also like to appoint Antoine Brocas as secretary.
He is Secretary of the Board of Directors. We would like to appoint him as secretary of today's annual general meeting. Also in attendance are Patricia Barbizet, who is the Lead Independent Director, and Hélène de Tissot, who is Chief Financial Officer, in charge of IT & Operations. Statutory auditors, Deloitte and KPMG Audit, are represented by Eric Ropert for KPMG Audit, will give us their reports by video. It is also pointed out that their speeches have been pre-recorded. Given the current situation and sanitary measures, a number of speeches have been pre-recorded but will be broadcast in the course of today's AGM. Let me now give the floor to the secretary of our AGM, Antoine Brocas.
Thank you, Alexandre. Good afternoon, everybody.
We'd like to inform you that the documents required by law and regulations in force have all been sent out or made available to shareholders as required. This year, given the fact that this AGM is organized behind closed doors, the final quorum and results of the votes were determined yesterday at 3:00 P.M. I can, as of now, tell you that the final quorum is 75.27%, representing 196,505,913 shares for a total of 4,724 shareholders. The combined general meeting that's ordinary and extraordinary, therefore has the quorum required by law. The attendance sheet has been signed by the members of the bureau and has ratified this quorum. The AGM is therefore declared properly constituted and can duly conduct its business on all resolutions on its agenda.
I'd like to remind you that this AGM has been convened to vote on the resolutions that figure on page 39 of the notice of meeting, which is available on the company's website. I'm now giving back the floor to our Chairman and CEO, Alexandre Ricard, who will give you his management report.
Thank you, Antoine. Before giving you this year's management report, I propose to watch a video together.
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Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, I wanted to start this year's management report with this film that pays tribute to all our employees. These are images that will stay in my mind for a long time. They are a testament to the exceptional commitment of the group and its employees in the context of an unprecedented public health crisis. While above all these images are emotionally very moving, they are a perfect illustration of the message that I wanted to share with you today. This terrible crisis has revealed our strengths and served to even further accelerate the group's transformation. This crisis has demonstrated both the resilience of our fundamentals and the relevance of the strategic choices that we have made within our Transform and Accelerate roadmap that we launched two years ago. Agility, resilience, and determination.
They are the three keywords that have guided our action, starting with those of our employees. You have no doubt heard about the many initiatives that we have undertaken to help fight against this COVID-19 crisis. For example, donating pure alcohol or recalibrating our production equipment to supply hand sanitizer at the time it was most severely needed. What I have found most moving about all these initiatives of solidarity, be they in France, Ireland, Poland, Romania, India, China, Sweden, the United States or Canada, in fact, from all over the world. What I have found most moving is that they are all the result of a vast, spontaneous movement. It was our employees displaying their entrepreneurial spirit, who took the initiative on the ground in their communities.
They did so because they felt that it was their duty to contribute to the worldwide effort to control this pandemic. It was they who came up with and then put in place these initiatives. Of course, the group has, without hesitation, supported and even amplified this upwelling of solidarity. Through their actions, our 19,000 employees proved their exceptional commitment in unprecedented circumstances. They more than met the challenge, and I want to take this opportunity to once again give them my heartfelt thanks. For those working at our production sites, in our vineyards, or in our cellars, to our sales force on the ground where this was still possible, as well as all our employees required to work from home, everyone reported for duty. Everyone embraced with extraordinary agility these new ways of working that we had to set up in record time.
Whether this involved implementing health protocols across all our sites or on the ground to protect our salespeople, or required transforming our production lines to make hand sanitizer, all necessitated mitigating all meetings online. All employees show themselves able to radically change their way of working from day one. One could sense and can still sense an incredible resilience, a desire to do the job well wherever they are. This is why your group has been able to resist and surmount the first wave. Our fundamentals, the foremost of which is our employees, never give in. They are determined. Agility, resilience, and determination, I said. This is the formula that has enabled us to meet the two-fold challenge we are faced with today. Managing the short term means responding to the urgency of the current situation while simultaneously preparing the long term.
That is, creating our future with determination without ever deviating from our path, in order to come out of this crisis stronger than before and be the first to capitalize on the recovery. More than ever, we remain focused on our mission to create long-term value for all our stakeholders, shareholders of course, but also employees, partners, consumers, and citizens. One thing is certain. When we have beaten this pandemic, our products will be at the center of the celebrations that bring us together again. Your group will be there, of that I am sure. That is the crux of what I am about to share with you today. Without further ado, let's get to the heart of the matter.
From the very first signs of the pandemic, we were able to demonstrate agility at every level of the business to immediately respond to the crisis. Responding to the crisis meant acting as quickly as possible to preserve and protect all the group's resources: human resources first and foremost, but also our financial and industrial resources. Our top priority was and continues to be to protect our employees and our partners. The pandemic struck just as we were rolling out our new health and safety policy, called Taking Care of Each Other. The goal of this policy is to foster a corporate culture in which we look after one another, true to our spirit of conviviality in a healthy and safe workplace, day in, day out. As the epidemic spread across the world, our teams reacted straight away by accelerating this implementation and by integrating new health measures.
The group systematically implemented the recommendations of national and international health authorities, thus providing easier access to employees, to testing, and offering various psychological and medical support in various forms. Remote working, which had already been tested in numerous affiliates, was implemented when our offices had to be shut. This was possible because we had previously installed a range of tools that enabled us to make this switch in record time. For jobs in which remote working was not possible, such as at our production sites or in our vineyards, or concerning our sales force, very strict safety measures were put in place to ensure their safety. Physical distancing, free distribution of face masks and hand sanitizer, increased cleaning, and so on. The second priority was to maintain our financial stability in a context of severe global economic crisis, with no visibility and with turbulent financial markets.
We further tightened our financial discipline with strict cost control and strict control of our resources. We immediately adjusted our advertising and promotional investments, focusing on the most promising opportunities in a context of lockdown, such as digital. We'll come back to this. We also applied strict discipline to structure costs, which have been significantly decreased over the period, thanks to the efforts of all our affiliates. We also froze salary increases and hiring, with very few exceptions. In addition, we have actively managed our liquidity, be it with the new line of credit or bond issues at very favorable rates. We issued a first tranche in October 2019 for EUR 1.5 billion, and a second tranche in April 2020 at the height of the crisis for a further EUR 2 billion. We continued in September of the current fiscal year with another bond issue totaling $2 billion this time.
That was last September. These operations have reduced the average cost of financing while extending our debt maturity. The very high subscription rates clearly indicated the confidence that investors have in our group and its prospects for the future. Our third priority, throughout the world, Pernod Ricard people have found solutions on a case-by-case basis to keep our distilleries and supply chains running. We have changes to our schedules, rotation of teams, management of shipments to guarantee steady levels of stock for our partners, and so on. All of this has been done with one imperative in mind, to provide a safe and optimal working environment for our frontline employees. Lastly, there's the support to our communities and to our sector.
I won't revisit the many solidarity initiatives that we saw in the film. I would like to highlight our endeavors in supporting our sectors, what we call on-trade, bars and restaurants, which have been hit hard by the consequences of public health measures. I'd like to clearly reiterate our total support for everyone in this profession, certainly the most severely impacted today. It is truly heartbreaking, an economic, social, and cultural catastrophe. From the beginning of the crisis, the group has rallied to help the sector. I can't list all the initiatives we've spearheaded. For example, we set up a mechanism to alleviate cash flow issues for our partners, as in France, where we both shortened the period of payment made to suppliers and extended the timeframe for payment owed by our customers. This is an issue that represented over EUR 30 million during the first lockdown.
This agility I've been stressing has only been possible because we have been able to rely on our solid fundamentals. The crisis has shown the resilience of our group, and resilience has become a key factor in advancing with confidence in these troubled times. The first proof of this is our financial performance last year, and indeed, in the first quarter of our current financial year. Hélène will comment this in greater detail later on, but in short, bear in mind that we did better than anticipated in March, when the crisis became a global crisis, with organic sales decline of 9.5% and an organic decline in profit from recurring operations of 13.7%. Another important figure, we generated EUR 830 million in free cash flow, thus demonstrating our ability to tightly manage cash flow, balancing financial discipline and investment in the future.
We have succeeded in gaining or maintaining market share in our 10 biggest markets, such as India, Japan, Germany, or France. Our positions in the on-trade and off-trade channels and in mass retail, as well as in resilient markets such as the U.S. and China, enable us to offset much more complicated contexts such as travel retail sales, which is virtually at a standstill. Our group has more than simply withstood the shock. It's been strengthened by our robust fundamentals that I would briefly like to underline. The first of these I've already mentioned is the exceptional commitment of our employees, which was once again proven at the height of the crisis. Over the last 10 years, our team's level of commitment, pride, and support of the group strategy have never wavered.
In the results of our last iSay survey that we do every two years with our staff, 88% of our employees described themselves as committed or very committed to the company. 94% said they are proud to be associated with Pernod Ricard. Second major asset is our global footprint. This allows us to absorb risk by allocating resources where growth is most robust, as we saw in the presentation of our first quarter sales with a good start in China and the U.S., driven by large shipments ahead of the holiday period, but also good resilience in Europe, thanks to the on-trade and a rise in what we call staycations. That is, vacations that are spent at home, in one's country or at home.
Today, our global presence has allowed us to dynamically manage very different situations between Europe, which is dealing with the second lockdown, and China, which seems for the moment to have avoided a second wave. We've been able to demonstrate resilience beyond our balanced geographical presence. This is because our organization has always been based on an economic model called decentralization. This enables us to make decision-making closer to the consumer and to respond more rapidly to our customers' needs. In an uncertain environment, such as the one created by COVID-19, this model is a real competitive advantage insofar as it brings with it flexibility, agility, and quick execution in the way we run the group. Last fundamental, last but not least, is our portfolio of premium brands that encompasses all major categories of wines and spirits.
It extends from iconic international brands that you know, most of them over 100 years old, to niche brands, exclusive brands, and segments with very high growth. Our portfolio is, in fact, considered to be one of the most comprehensive in the industry. This is why this is yet another real competitive advantage, both in responding to the COVID-19 crisis, but also in that it covers a maximum of consumption occasions. It is this agility that we have relied on to respond to the crisis, and the resilience made possible by our fundamentals that have given us the determination needed to accelerate our long-term transformation plan. In a sense, the crisis has confirmed the relevance of the strategic choices we made over two years ago. What is at stake? Well, it's quite simple.
I am convinced that once this health crisis is over, our products will be at the center of celebrations. This makes it crucial to be ready to capitalize on this rebound and to transform this into a long-term win. With our Transform and Accelerate roadmap, we are creating, as of today, the conditions that will enable us to be the first to take advantage of tomorrow's sources of growth. You're already familiar with them. The emphasis on proximity, new modes of consumption such as low alcohol, new consumer profiles with more women, the quest for personalized experiences, and more importantly, digitalization with online purchasing and indeed, online social interaction, which is on the rise. The success of this strategic plan is based on a consumer-centric model that makes digital solutions, innovation, and premiumization the main growth drivers. How, you may ask?
Well, by leveraging our strengths, that is the fundamentals I've just commented, and by accelerating the development of new tools that will make us even faster and more impactful with the top priority that is digital acceleration. For several years now, we've been engaged in a major digital transformation. Our vision is to make Pernod Ricard a conviviality platform. This will involve the development of direct, transparent interaction that will bring together all those in our professional environment, consumers, customers, partners, brands, employees, all using the data generated by our activities to offer products and services that are more relevant than ever before. Our vision is clear. For every occasion, in every market, we want to offer the right product at the right price, at the right time, and to the right customer. Using artificial intelligence to serve conviviality. That is the ambition of our transformation.
This will allow us to activate more brands in any given market, and thus capitalize on more growth opportunities. Our digital transformation will, of course, also enable us to take into account the rise of e-commerce. Of all the changes taking place, this is certainly the most marked. In recent years, consumers have increasingly adopted online ordering because it's practical, with delivery to the home or drive and collect, click and collect. This trend has sharply accelerated with COVID-19, and our online sales figures have surged in certain countries. Up 105% in the U.S., up 92% in the U.K., or up 56% in France. We have already invested in online platforms such as Jumia in Africa, or more recently with Glovo, which is an on-demand delivery startup. We have also purchased online marketplaces such as Uvinum and Bodeboca in Spain.
Boosted by these investments, today we can accelerate the development of our own e-commerce platform through Drinks&Co, a marketplace that saw an increase of over 50% of its revenue this year. Now, alongside these digital initiatives, we are continuing to transform our portfolio, adding new brands to acquisitions or partnerships in high-potential segments, even at the height of the COVID-19 crisis. Let me mention a few highlights, such as the ultra-premium Japanese gin called KI NO BI, the Italian bergamot-infused aperitif called Italicus, or the ultra-premium mezcal called Ojo de Tigre. More recently, we added a new category with a vermouth called Petroni in Spain. In the same spirit, we have continued our innovation strategy. For instance, we are seeking to expand our range of alcohol-free or low-alcohol, or even sugar-free or low-calorie choices.
To mention a few recent examples, Absolut Vodka Soda and Malibu Splash in cans, Jacob's Creek Better by Half wines, Jameson Cold Brew, or the partnership signed with the alcohol-free gin called Ceder's. Our transformation would not be complete without mentioning our 2030 Sustainability and Responsibility plan that we launched two years ago. It's actually called Good Times from a Good Place. Not only is this strategy perfectly in line with the concerns of today's customers, concerns that have been exacerbated by the current crisis, but it is the most visible expression of our mission. That is to create long-term value for all our shareholders. It goes hand in hand with the culture of sharing that is part and parcel of conviviality. Our roadmap is today at the very heart of everything we do, at every level of the company.
As you probably know, the board of directors has always demonstrated sincere commitment to social responsibility in the group. Particularly through the work of the Nominations, Governance, and CSR Committee. These issues have become so critical, and the discussions within this committee so intense, that the board has decided to set up a committee dedicated solely to social responsibility. This Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, CSR Committee, will be chaired by Patricia Barbizet, who will tell you more about it in a few minutes. Will have, as objective, to review and assess the group's CSR strategy, as well as auditing its implementation. This roadmap has four key pillars, for each of which we have launched a major initiative in recent months. The first pillar is called Nurturing Terroir.
This embodies our goal of promoting sustainable and regenerative agriculture to enrich soils, protect biodiversity, and minimize the effects of climate change. This is an ambitious transformation, and I think we've every reason to be excited about Martell's initiative, which has consisted in having it joined by the majority of its 1,200 partner wine growers to commit to environmental improvement and conservation of terroir, without overlooking the total discontinuation of glyphosates on the estates managed directly by Martell. Our second pillar is called Valuing People. On this particular point, I'd like to highlight the launch of Bar World of Tomorrow. We have a free online training program created in partnership with the bartender-founded Trash Tiki anti-waste cocktail initiative.
This provides our customers with best practices for the sustainable and responsible management of their establishments, from the selection of ingredients to the responsible serving of alcohol, right up to the recycling of their waste. Our group has also made excellent progress on our third pillar, called Circular Making. In addition to the reductions we've achieved in water use, carbon emissions, and waste, last May, four years ahead of plan, we eliminated all single-use plastic promotional items at our points of sale. That was the target for 2021. The final pillar is called Responsible Hosting. This pillar has taken on even more importance in a context in which the pandemic has heightened concerns about health, well-being, and drinking habits.
We have not only launched a number of initiatives to promote responsible drinking on social networks during lockdown, but in April, we introduced a mandatory online training program for all our 19,000 employees in order to raise awareness about the effects of alcohol abuse and misuse. All of these achievements have allowed us, for the third year running, to be confirmed as a Global Compact LEAD by the United Nations. This makes us one of the 40 multinationals, and the only one in the wine and spirits sector, to have demonstrated commitment to and continual progress towards the UN Sustainable Goal Developments. To conclude, a few words on this ongoing transformation. What could be more apt than our new flagship, The Island, our new head office, from which we are hosting this AGM.
It has already been rewarded by the profession as its best office building, ultra connected and ecologically advanced, with the unique address of 5 Cour Paul Ricard, linking our roots to the future. The very future that we are creating day after day. I'm also proud to announce the forthcoming opening on this concourse, the Cour Paul Ricard, of our new corporate foundation, the Fondation Pernod Ricard, which will be launched on the 6th of February next. To conclude this management report, I would like to end with a message of optimism. I believe that one of the impacts of this crisis is that never before has the relevance of our purposes, Créateurs de Convivialité, been so clear. This crisis has put the focus back on what is essential, showing the universal rightness of our vision.
More than ever, the pandemic has proven our primal need to be together and to share convivial moments with loved ones. Today, no matter the challenges, we will continue our transformation in order to create new occasions for conviviality. Let's never forget that one day soon, we will be able to meet again in our favorite bars and restaurants to celebrate being together once again. That's our business. That's what we do. That's our very purpose. That's our very nature. Thank you. Before passing the floor to Hélène, I propose that we watch a video together.
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Hello, everyone. Thank you, Alexandre. Now I'm going to present the consolidated accounts for fiscal 2019/2020. Let me begin with some summary slides about our sales, reflecting the resilience and the agility in spite of Covid-19. The first half was solid with diversified growth. The second half was obviously affected by the management of the Covid-19 crisis while pursuing our long-term transformation plan. Regarding our distribution channels, off-trade proved resilient, but on-trade and travel retail were significantly impacted. We continued the dynamic management of our brand portfolio, and finally, our liquidity position has been fortified. Let's now move on to our market share on our top 10 markets. In spite of the difficulties related to the health crisis, we either gained market share, this is the case in India and Japan and Germany, in France or in travel retail, either or maintained our market share.
This was the case in the U.S. on our on-trade channels and in off-trade as well in Canada and China and Spain and in Russia. This performance reflects the exceptional engagement of our people all over the world, both as far as our brands and markets are concerned. Let me come back to the key figures. Our sales amounted to EUR 8,448,000,000, with organic growth of -9.5% and reported growth of -8%, with, of course, significant decline in the second half. Profit from regular operations amounted to EUR 2.260 billion , down -13.7% organically, above our expectations. The net current result is EUR 1.439 billion, down -13%. Net profit is at -77% from last year, impacted by asset depreciation of EUR 1 billion, triggered by Covid-19. We'll come back to that in a few moments.
Finally, free cash flow amounts to EUR 830,000,000, down 39% from the previous fiscal year. Let's now move on to sales by region. Solid and diversified growth in the first half, the second half was impacted by the health crisis. The Americas, which account for 29% of our sales, were down 6% over the fiscal year, with good resilience in the United States and Canada. Notably, sales growth from wholesalers in the U.S. up 2%, double-digit decline in Latin America and in travel retail. Asia, rest of the world, which accounts for 41% of our sales, was down 14%, primarily due to China, India, and travel retail. Europe, which accounts for 30% of our sales, is down 6%, with good overall resilience, notably with growth in Germany, in the U.K., and in Eastern Europe. Travel retail, Spain, and France were down.
Regarding sales by category, following a solid first half, our main categories dropped in the second half, but our specialty brands posted strong performance. Strategic international brands, which account for 62% of our sales, dropped 10% over the fiscal year following diversified growth in the first half, primarily due to Martell, Chivas, Absolut, and Ballantine's. Our strategic local brands, which account for 19% of our sales, were down 9%. There was a strong impact in the fourth quarter, as far as our Indian whiskeys were concerned. Strategic local brands increased modestly in the first nine months of the year. Specialty brands experienced buoyant growth in 7% despite the health crisis, with strong vitality for Lillet, Altos, and Redbreast. They account for 4% of our sales.
Our strategic wines, which account for 5% of our sales, were down 4%, primarily, with Jacob's Creek, but our Spanish wine, Campo Viejo, continued to grow. Finally, innovation was flat despite of the Covid-19 crisis, the price factor was resilient, +1%. Now let's take a look at our profit and loss account. Sales, EUR 8,448,000,000, was down 9.5% organically, reported growth was -8%. Gross margin dropped 12% from the previous fiscal year, with gross margin over sales down 140 basis points. A&P expenses, advertising and promotion expenses were down 14%, giving a ratio of 15.7% of sales. Structure costs were down 5%, with strict management of our resources. The drop in profit from recurring operations was 13.7%, i.e., a PRO over sales ratio of 26.8%, down 131 basis points from fiscal 2018-2019. Let me briefly come back to the various items in the profit and loss account.
The price factor was resilient, + 1%. A&P over sales was down 88 basis points owing to the quick implementation of a far-reaching plan to cut our costs in the second half. The same strict discipline was applied to the management of our structure costs. All these items led to a drop in the recurring operational margin rate of 131 basis points. We restricted it to that from the previous year. Now let's take a look at the net attributable profit. The operating profit after income and non-recurring items was down 59%, and net attributable profit was down 77%, primarily due to asset depreciation, EUR 1 billion due to Absolut. There was an impairment of EUR 912 million gross and EUR 702 million net of taxes. Let's move on to the evolution of our net debt.
EUR 8.424 billion as at the 30th of June 2020, i.e., an increase of EUR 1.804 billion with free cash flow at EUR 830 million. This was offset by the share buyback program and the acquisitions transactions, which amounted all together to EUR 1.113 billion, notably for the acquisitions of TX, Castle Brands, and Rabbit Hole in the first half, and KI NO BI, Italicus, and Monkey 47 in the second half. Dividend payout, EUR 849 million. There were also more technical items, notably with the rollout of IFRS 16, which impacted the rental debt, EUR 603 million and some Forex and other items which amounted to EUR 69 million all together. Now let me speak about net debt. Our management of debt was very dynamic throughout the year. Our liquidity position was fortified, EUR 5.3 billion as at the 30th of June.
With the €1.5 billion of bond issues in October 2019 and another EUR 2 billion in April under very attractive circumstances, very good conditions. There was also an increase in cash out for acquisitions and our share buyback, which amounted to EUR 523 million. This share buyback program was suspended last April. Let's take a look at the parent company accounts of Pernod Ricard. The net profit of Pernod Ricard S.A. was plus EUR 1,178,000,000, up EUR 852 million from the previous fiscal year. This is primarily ascribed to an increase in interest due to an increase of dividend received. Now we are submitting to your approval the distribution of a dividend of €2.66 per share for fiscal 2019-2020, in line with the payout policy of 50%. This is down 15% from the previous fiscal year, which reflects the decline in profit due to COVID-19.
Regarding the share buyback program, EUR 523 million have been bought back in the year. The balance, EUR 500 million, was suspended. I suggest we come back to the profit of the first quarter of 2020-2021, which we released a few weeks ago. In the first quarter, our sales amounted to EUR 2.236 billion, down 6% organically and 10% as far as reported growth is concerned. We consider that this performance is encouraging because the quarter is definitely up from the previous Q4, notably with the partial reopening of on-trade and the sustained resilience of our brands in the off-trade channels. The quarter features the following items. First of all, the confirmation of the strong resilience of off-trade operations in the U.S. and in Europe. The partial reopening of on-trade channels, although these channels are still quite disturbed indeed.
Good start up in the U.S. and in China with strong shipments ahead of the holiday season. India, with a double-digit decline, has nevertheless improved from the previous period. There has been strong resilience in Europe thanks to the off-trade channels and to staycation. The summer people who stayed at home to vacation, and there was strong vitality in the U.K. and in Germany. France is almost stable over the period, but Spain and Russia were down. Finally, travel retail is still significantly down despite of the resumption of certain national trips. Thank you for your attention. I will hand it back over to Alexandre, who is going to speak about the outlook for the fiscal year in progress. Thank you, Hélène. Let us now move on to the outlook for this fiscal year. We are anticipating the following.
Uncertainty and volatility should stay with us. Especially as far as health conditions and the impact of the health conditions are concerned, there will be an impact on our moments of conviviality and travel. The economic environment will remain challenging. The resilience of our trade in the U.S. and Europe should continue. Travel retail should remain slow for quite some time. Just headwind on the on-trade channels should continue throughout the fiscal year. China should grow again. Performance in China should gradually improve. The second quarter will still be significantly impacted by COVID-19. Sales should once again grow in the second half, as we see it. We are staying the strategic course. We are accelerating our digital transformation. Finally, we are sticking to strict discipline in managing our resources while remaining agile in order to reinvest and be able to seize new opportunities as they arise.
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Here are the 14 directors who sit on our board. We have two employee directors and we have two works council representatives. Today, one of our board members is stepping down, Mr. Gilles Samyn. On behalf of the group and the board, I wish to pay him a tribute and commend him for his contributions over the past six years. I would like to thank him for his engagement, his constant involvement, and his painstaking care. All that has been very valuable, notably on the audit committee, excuse me. We wish him all the best. Now I'm going to give the floor to Patricia Barbizet, who is our Lead Director. She is going to tell us all about governance.
Merci, Alexandre. Thank you, Alexandre. Dear shareholders, I am speaking to you in my capacity as Lead Director and Chairwoman of the Nominations and Governance Committee.
I'd like to remind you that the roles and missions of the lead director are set out in the bylaws of the board, and that is accessible on the pernod-ricard.com website. This year, as a lead director, I performed the following tasks. I took part in several roadshows with the investors and shareholders. We exchanged about the governance of the company. I met part of the staff of Pernod Ricard and some of the people in the subsidiaries. I chaired the executive session, which took place after the board meeting on September 1st. Finally, I conducted the annual evaluation of the dynamics of the board as I had interviews with each and every director. I delivered a comprehensive report to the board meeting that was held last July.
As you know, CSR is an integral part of our group's development strategy, and this can be seen in the CSR roadmap that was presented to you last year and that revolves around four pillars: preserving our terroirs, human value, act in a circular way and be responsible with clear and measurable objectives by 2030. This roadmap is a continuation of the environmental progress that has already been achieved by the group between 2010 and 2020. Minus 23% water consumption, minus 3% CO2 emissions, minus 95% landfilled waste. The objectives set for 2030, in keeping with our Good Times from a Good Place roadmap, are evidence of a deeper and deeper ambition that the group has when it comes to environmental and social matters. The idea is to preserve in order to better share, and also to create a more convivial world without any excesses.
Since 2015, CSR issues have been tracked by the Nominations, Governance and CSR Committee. As Alexandre suggested, given the growing importance of our CSR strategy and the involvement of the board as far as those issues are concerned, well, the directors decided to set up a specific committee for these issues. It will be an honor for me to chair this committee, and the main missions of the committee will be the following. Examination, review, and evaluation of the group strategy when it comes to CSR and tracking of its implementation.
The examination of risks and opportunities when it comes to social environmental performance and the tracking of the reporting system, the production of non-financial information, and the review of the universal registration document. We are convinced that the creation of this committee is part and parcel of the historical, deep, and sincere effort that the group has been making over so many years. Now I suggest I introduce you to the board and its four committees. At the close of the fiscal year, on the board, there were two-thirds of independent directors. That is to say, beyond the 50% recommended by the Afep-Medef code. The board has five female directors in addition to Maria Jesus Carrasco Lopez, who is an employee director and is not included in the number, in compliance with the Afep-Medef code, once again. Six directors are not French. They are of foreign nationality.
On average, the board meets eight times a year. This year, given the health crisis, it met nine times and the assiduousness was 100%. Also, the board met several times informally during the lockdown in order to help management in managing the crisis. The board followed the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the group's operations. It closed the half-year and annual accounts. It examined the budget. It prepared this AGM, and it approved the draft resolutions. It also reviewed and approved the group's strategy. Furthermore, it examined and approved the refinancing projects regarding the group's bond debt. It evaluated the variable portion of the Chairman and CEO's variable compensation for fiscal 2019-2020, and it approved its compensation policy for fiscal 2021. This was done while Mr. Alexandre Ricard was not attending the discussions.
The board took part in an executive session without the chairman and CEO or the top management directors in order to review the dynamics of the board and its committees. The board also examined governance issues and the makeup of the board and the committees, and the board carried out the annual evaluation of the dynamics. Today, the board has four committees that are in charge of preparing specific topics that are submitted to the approval of the board. I will give you a more detailed presentation of the makeup and the missions of each of the committees. The independence is systematically equal or greater than the recommendations of the Afep-Medef code. Upon the closing of the books, the audit committee consisted of four independent directors, whom you can see on the screen right now.
The committee met four times and not a single meeting was missed by any of the directors. Its main missions consisted in examining the half-year and annual accounts, examining all the financial topics, notably the complex accounting procedures, significant risks, and the judgment of how the risks were managed by the group, and the evaluation of the internal control systems and the action plans developed by internal audit. The nominations, governance, and CSR committee had three directors, whom you can see on the screen. Two of them are independent. This committee met five times, again, not a single meeting was missed by any of the directors. It focused on continuous improvement of the group's governance. It reviewed the makeup of the board and the independence of all the directors. It reviewed the self-assessment of the group's dynamics.
It reviewed the group's performance as far as CSR is concerned. It made suggestions for topics that needed to be looked at in greater detail to allow for further improvements of the board's dynamics. The compensation committee is made up of five directors, whom you can see on the screen. Including an employee director. The directors who sit on the committee, excluding the employee director, are independent. During the year, that committee met five times. Again, not a single meeting was missed by any director, 100% assiduousness. The main missions were the examination of the governance rules and the market practices regarding the compensation of the corporate officers or executive directors in connection with the new regulations and the analysis of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the compensation of the executive director and on Pernod Ricard's long-term incentive plans.
Finally, the strategy committee, which was initiated by Alexandre Ricard when he was nominated as Chairman and CEO in February 2015. It is made up of five directors, whom you can see on the screen. Three of them are independent. The strategy committee met twice during fiscal 2019-2020, and as you well expect, every single meeting was attended by all the directors. The strategy committee reviewed the strategic implications of the group and examined the significant transactions having to do with partnership, mergers, acquisitions, and disposals. It reviewed the developments of the group's financial policy. Now that I have presented all the committees, I'd like to hand over to Mrs. Kory Sorenson, who chairs the compensation committee, and she will tell you about the compensation policy governing the compensation of the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Kory Sorenson. I'm a non-executive director, member of the Audit Committee, and Chair of the Compensation Committee. It's in this last capacity that I'm now going to tell you about the compensation policy as regards our executive director. First of all, I'm going to tell you about the ex post vote mentioned in the 18th resolution, and followed up by the ex ante vote, as a say on pay in resolution 12. You'll find all this information in the universal registration document, on pages 56 - 71 of the French version. Alexandre Ricard's elements of compensation for 2019-2020, this is under resolution number 10, include fixed annual compensation of EUR 1.1 million, which is unchanged by comparison with the previous period. A variable compensation of EUR 279,000, which is 27% of his fixed compensation. The target was 110%, with a maximum of 180%.
I'd also like to stress that the criteria for variable compensation was based on criteria defined at the start of the financial year. This is before the health crisis. It takes into account the excellent performance of Alexandre Ricard, his excellent management of the crisis that the board of directors would like to pay tribute to. Furthermore, Alexandre Ricard's compensation for 2019-2020 also includes the attribution of 9,259 performance shares and 22,545 stock options. The total attribution, this entire attribution, is subject to performance criteria and represents 4.3% in value of the total plan that includes 820 beneficiaries. As for his top hat pension, the allocation of 1,111 performance-based shares and the payment of €142,291 in cash. I also point out that Alexandre Ricard does not receive any compensation as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
For your complete information, the performance conditions governing performance-based shares and shares granted to Alexandre Ricard expired in August and November 2021. Given the particular context of this financial year, all of these performance-based shares have been canceled. That's 10,600 shares, and 34% of the stock options. That's over 8,000 shares, which is a total cancellation of 68% of the total allotment under the 2017 compensation plan. Let's move on to the second resolution. The board of directors, at the recommendation of the Compensation Committee, decided, given the exceptional context, to report the review of Alexandre Ricard's compensation until next year, independently of the renewal or otherwise of his office. This is based on page 56 and thereafter of the universal registration document, and breaks down as follows. Fixed annual component, a variable annual component with the target of 110% of fixed compensation, capped at 180% of this fixed component.
The attribution of performance-based shares and stock options all subject to performance criteria. Not exceeding 150% of his annual fixed compensation. Furthermore, in terms of deferred commitments, the board of directors recommends the following arrangements. First of all, a non-compete clause, a forced departure clause with performance criteria, and the combination of the two clauses not exceeding 24 months of compensation. That's a combination of fixed and variable. The executive director will receive a top hat pension, which will be funded up to 10% of the combination of his fixed and variable compensation. Half of this will be based on performance-based shares. The other half will be paid in cash to be invested in investments dedicated to his pension. This compensation structure is similar to previous years. Given these aforesaid items information, we propose that you approve the 10th and 12th resolutions. Thank you.
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Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders. On behalf of the College of Statutory Auditors, Deloitte and KPMG, I'm going to report on the period ended June 30th, 2020. I propose, as is customary in AGMs, to sum up the terms of our assignment, and our reports will be found in the universal registration document. Beginning with our report on the consolidated accounts and on the annual accounts, which have been at your disposal for this AGM and can be found respectively on pages 218-222 and 246-248 of the URD or universal registration document. I'd like to remind you that the purpose of our work was to arrive at a reasonable assurance as regards the sincerity, regularity, and true image of the accounts, and that they do not represent any problem.
The organization of our work and our conclusions have been presented to the financial department of general management, the audit committee, and to the board of directors of your company. Our reports on the social accounts and on the consolidated accounts mention the statutory accounts and consolidated accounts, the main items of our audit. These accounts have been approved by the board of directors on the 1st of September, based on the information available at that date in a context relating to COVID-19 and difficulties in grasping the actual impact and prospects for the future. Concerning the consolidated accounts, the key points of our audit are, first of all, the valuation of the brands, fiscal risk, the ability to recover deferred tax credits, and the commitments as regards future advantages. The report will be found in detail in our report.
The consolidated accounts present in all the significant aspects and in reference to IFRS, as adopted throughout the European Union. The financial situation of the company, they represent a true and fair account of all of these for the period ended. We have issued an opinion for the group's consolidated accounts without reserve and concerning the first application of IFRS 16 on lease contracts and the interpretation of IFRIC 23 concerning uncertainties regarding tax treatment. As for the annual statutory accounts, the key point of the audit was the assessment of titre de participation they call. Detail of our works will be found in the annual accounts of Pernod Ricard S.A. At the end of our work, we certified unreservedly the annual accounts of your company.
We also checked the sincereness and the concordance with the financial statements provided in the management report of the board of directors as of September the 1st, 2020, and in other documents concerning the financial situation and annual statutory accounts sent out to the shareholders. We can certify the exactness and sincerity of the information provided as regards compensation and benefits paid or attributed to executive directors and benefits granted to them. Also the true and fair concordance of these accounts at the time of payment. Our special report on related party agreements is found on page 249 of the Universal Registration Document, which does not mention any new related party agreement that has been put before the AGM.
Our report mentions the related party agreement concerning a loan agreement entitled EUR 2.5 billion multicurrency revolving facility agreement, which has already been approved by the AGM at the end of last year. This concerns previous periods. Our two special reports concerning the extraordinary general meeting can be found on pages 265 and 266 of the URD. The first of these concerns a project presented in resolution number 17 to delegate authority to the board of directors for a period of 26 months from this AGM to decide to issue ordinary shares or securities granting access to the company share capital reserved for employees who are members of a corporate saving scheme up to an upper limit of 2% of the share capital.
The second of these concerns the 18th resolution concerning a project to grant authority to the board of directors for a period of 18 months from this AGM to decide to issue ordinary shares or securities granting access to the company share capital, an issue reserved to all employees or executive directors or third parties, third-party intermediaries, and as part of this employee share scheme. None of these require any observation on our part. We'd like to point out that the transactions they concern are in compliance with law and are not in any way detrimental to other shareholders. All the information required to be able to assess the proposition of withdrawing your preferential subscription right has been brought to your attention, and the final conditions of these issues have not yet been set, so we cannot express an opinion on these final conditions.
Result of which, I cannot express an opinion on the proposal to suppress preferential subscription rights put before you. Finally, we will draw up an additional report if required if your board of directors decides to use these delegations of authority. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, thank you for your attention.
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As I said at the start of today's annual general meeting, in order to enable shareholders to raise questions live, we have set up telephone lines that you can phone into as of now. There are French and English-speaking telephone lines that are now displayed on the screen. You'll see that all of these numbers were published on our website. As is customary, the Q&A session will last about 45 minutes and will begin after the presentation of the resolutions. May I now call on Antoine Brocas, Secretary of our Board of Directors and Secretary of today's AGM, to take us through the resolutions on the agenda of today's AGM.
[Foreign language] Alexandre.
Thank you, Alexandre. We're going to give you a synopsis of the resolutions put before you for your approval. The full text of these is to be found on pages 44 and thereafter of the notice of meeting available on our website. Beginning with the first resolution, which is an extraordinary item or under the authority of the extraordinary GM, aimed at amending articles 35 and 36 of the company's bylaws to bring the bylaws into compliance with the Soilihi law on how abstain, abstention, and blank and void votes are not taken into account for calculating the majority. Under the authority of the ordinary shareholders, the second resolution concerns approval of the parent company as Pernod Ricard SA. The financial statements for the period ended June 30th, 2020. The third resolution, we're asking you to approve the consolidated financial statements for the same period ended June 30th, 2020.
The fourth resolution concerns the allocation of net profit. You are being asked to set the dividend for the period 2019-2020 at EUR 266 per share. An interim payment of EUR 1.18 was paid out last 10th of July, and the remainder, which is EUR 1.48 per share, will be detached on the 9th of December and paid on the 11th of December 2020. Under the fifth resolution, you are asked to renew the term of office of Alexandre Ricard for a four-year period. In the sixth resolution, you are asked to renew César Giron's term of office as a director for a four-year period. In the seventh resolution, we are asking you to renew the term of office of Wolfgang Colberg for a four-year period, too. In the eighth resolution, we propose that you appoint Virginie Fauvel as a director on our board for a four-year period.
Far as this AGM is held behind closed doors, Virginie Fauvel is not with us. However, she did want to introduce herself to you in a short video. Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Virginie Fauvel. I'm 46 years of age. I'm an engineer. I spent my entire career in very large global groups, BNP Paribas, Allianz, where I worked in different positions in digital transformation, big data. At BNP Paribas, I worked in different jobs. I managed online banks in France and Europe. I'm also the mother of Hello bank! Which I launched in Italy, Luxembourg, France, Germany, and elsewhere. I then joined the executive committee of Allianz France, working on topics such as direct sales, digitalization of our business with online sales. Then I moved within the group into the leader in credit insurance. I've been working on the Americas, U.S., Canada, Brazil, and group transformation.
During the lockdown period, like a lot of people, I've asked myself quite a few questions. I was very keen to have a more entrepreneurial project. I invested in a company called Harvest, which is the leader of net asset management in France. I want to make this French leader a European leader. It's a great project. Why am I interested in Pernod Ricard? For all sorts of reasons. First of all, its products, which I find very pleasurable. Because Pernod Ricard is a French leader that I would like to have become an even greater player or even bigger player outside of France. It's a family-owned group. I worked in the Mulliez family. It is the Redef, the family-owned fund that has invested in startups that can change the world in healthcare, food, energy. A fascinating project.
I've also discovered what a French group is, what a family-owned French group is, and this is another reason that I'm very interested in the Pernod Ricard group. Thank you, Madame Fauvel. The ninth resolution is aimed at setting up the annual amount of compensation allocated to the members of the board of directors at EUR 1.25 million for the current financial year and for the forthcoming financial years until otherwise decided by the AGM. The 10th resolution asks you to approve the components of the compensation paid or granted for fiscal 2020 to Alexandre Ricard, Chairman and CEO. All of these components can be found in the universal registration document on pages 66 to 71. In the 11th resolution, we are asking you to approve the components of the compensation paid or granted to corporate officers for fiscal 2020.
All this information can be found in the universal registration document on page 63. In the 12th resolution, we are asking you to approve the compensation policy applicable to Alexandre Ricard for the period 2021. The information can be found on pages 58 to 62 of the universal registration document. In the 13th resolution, we are asking you to approve the compensation policy applicable to corporate officers for fiscal 2021. This information can be found on pages 56 to 58 of the universal registration document. In the 14th resolution, we are asking you to approve related party agreements mentioned by the statutory auditors, bearing in mind that no new related party agreement was approved in 2019/2020. In the 15th resolution, we are asking you to grant to the board of directors authorization to trade its own shares up to 10% of the share capital.
In the 16th resolution, asking you to ratify the transfer of the head office from 12 Place des Italiens in Paris to our new head office at 5 Cours Paul Ricard in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, where we are today. Also to authorize us to amend the bylaws accordingly. This brings us to items that are presented under the authority of the extraordinary shareholders meeting. The purpose of the 17th resolution is to ask you to authorize the board of directors to increase the share capital for the benefit of employees who are members of a corporate savings scheme, up to the limit of 2% of the share capital. This maximum being in common with the next resolution. This will be an authorization for 26 months.
The 18th resolution asks you to authorize the board of directors to increase the share capital for the benefit of beneficiaries to be named and up to a limit of 2% of the share capital, bearing in mind that this 2% maximum is in common with resolution number 17. This would also be for a period of 18 months. The 19th resolution would enable us to amend bylaws to introduce the option for the board of directors to take decisions by written consultation. This is under the conditions set by law, thus bring us into compliance with the so-called Soly law. The 20th resolution would enable us to amend bylaws in order to replace directors' fees by compensation, again, in compliance with the Pacte law. The 21st and final resolution asks you to grant us authority to carry out all necessary legal formalities.
The presentation of the resolutions is now complete. Let me now give back the floor to Alexandre Ricard to begin our Q&A session.
Thank you, Antoine. We are now about to begin our Q&A session with our shareholders. As we said just a few minutes ago, the numbers displayed on the screen are telephone numbers that were set up to enable you to ask your questions. May I remind you that the numbers set up by the group have been published on our website. Before we take our first question, let me give the floor back to Antoine concerning written questions.
Thank you, Alexandre. Indeed, a shareholder sent us several written questions in compliance with L225-118. I'm going to read the answers that we have given to these questions. First question, how do you assess your impact on the resource that is water?
Have you any objectives as regards preserving this resource, and what measures have you taken?
Our reply is as follows. Our 2030 CSR water strategy, called Good Times from a Good Place, spans all aspects of our company, from our terroirs right up to the counter, and this includes water management. For 2030, our objectives are, firstly, to reduce the amount of water we use by 20% per liter of alcohol produced. Secondly, to return 100% of the water used into the same water catchment area for our production sites and our bottling subcontractors. Thirdly, to explore new ways of reusing organic waste. Furthermore, we have signed up to the Chief Executive Officer Water Mandate. That's the UN's Water Mandate, and we did that back as far as 2010. The group is also working with its suppliers to set up sustainable agricultural standards that will minimize water consumption.
The second question, what is the impact of Covid-19 on your company and its ecosystem? What long-term lessons are there in terms of strategy and your organization? The impact of the health crisis on our company and its shareholders have been explained in detail in the management report given to you by Alexandre Ricard.
In a word, while Covid-19 has certainly accelerated certain trends, in particular in e-commerce, it has not in any way called into question the group's fundamentals. We will keep our strategic focus on and our organizational change.
Third question, what are the marketing policies implemented and aimed at young people? How do you integrate the prevention of alcoholism? What part of your marketing budget is targeted towards young people?
Answer, Pernod Ricard takes consumption and responsible marketing very seriously, not just from the point of view of our employees, but also from the point of view of our consumers, and particularly young adults. Over and beyond strict compliance with the law, we have an ambitious policy in this field, and it is explained in detail in our universal registration document. It is to be found on our universal institutional website and on the sites of our professional organizations, in particular, International Alliance for Responsible Drinking and World Federation of Advertisers. As for the share of our marketing budget that targets young people, all of our marketing is very clearly and entirely, in fact, solely directed towards an adult public old enough to consume alcohol. There is no point in answering a question that is unfounded.
Our commitment to ensure that our marketing does not unintentionally target young people are already explained in official resources that I've just mentioned.
Fourth and final question, how is your lobbying formalized and integrated into the CSR strategy of your group? What is the chain of responsibility? What can you say about your lobbying practices as published? What do you report?
All our lobbying is carried out openly, transparently, and in an ethical way. Our commitments are to be found on our website, and indeed, in the declaration that we signed with other companies committed alongside us within Transparency International France. Our generic positions have been available for a very long time on the company's website. They are also adapted to local context. The rules of our business conduct, which are also available on our website, also apply.
Our declarations of interest regarding the details of activity and lobbying expenditure can also be found on the websites of what we call the EU Transparency Register and the Register of the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life.
This brings me to the end of the written questions, I propose to give the floor back to Alexandre for oral questions.
Thank you, Antoine. I propose to begin with the first question.
I am being told that we have no questions for the moment. Remember that this is a live annual general meeting, that you have telephone numbers displayed on the screen. In France, you just dial in 01 70 71 01 59. There's an access code, which is 1974 2020 hashtag. That's for France. For the U.K., it's 02 07 19 43 75 9, and the access code is 40 68, and has just been displayed and disappeared from the screen. We'll wait maybe another minute. Another minute or so. 20 seconds to go. Listen, I hereby-
If you wish to ask a question, just press zero one on your telephone keypad.
We have several voices online here. Still no questions? I hereby close the Q&A session, and I suggest we move on to the results of the votes on the resolutions. Alexandre is in touch with the technical staff. Fine. As suggested earlier, this year, given the exceptional circumstances, votes were closed yesterday at 3:00 P.M., therefore, on Thursday, the 26th of November. Here are the results of the votes. Resolution 1. Amendment of articles 35 and 36 of the company's articles of incorporation regarding abstentions, null and void votes, as far as calculating majority in the AGMs is concerned. The resolution is approved. Resolution 2, approval of the parent company accounts for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020. Resolution is carried. Resolution 3. Approval of the consolidated accounts of the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020. The resolution is carried.
Resolution 4, appropriation of the result for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, and setting of the dividend. The resolution is carried. Resolution 5, renewal of the directorship of Alexandre Ricard. The resolution is carried. Resolution 6, renewal of the directorship of César Giron. The resolution is carried. Resolution 7, renewal of the directorship of Wolfgang Colberg. The resolution is carried. Resolution 8, nomination of Virginie Fauvel as a director. The resolution is carried. Resolution 9, setting of the amount of the annual compensation for the directors. The resolution is carried. Resolution 10, approval of the compensation components either settled or to be granted to Mr. Alexandre Ricard for fiscal 2019, 2020, in his capacity as Chairman and CEO. The resolution is carried. Resolution 11, approval of the compensation component either already granted or to be granted for fiscal 2019, 2020 to the executive directors. The resolution is carried.
Resolution 12, approval of the components of the compensation policy applicable to Alexandre Ricard, the chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard. The resolution is carried. Resolution 13, approval of the items of the compensation policy applicable to the executive directors. The resolution is carried. Resolution 14, approval of the related party agreements pursuant to Articles L225-38 of the French Code de commerce. The resolution is carried. Resolution 15, authorization to be given to the board of director to trade in the company's shares. The resolution is carried. Resolution 16, the ratification of the board's decision to change the headquarters of the company. The resolution is carried. Resolution 17. This is the increase in the share capital for the benefit of the employees. The resolution is carried. Resolution 18, increase in share capital for specific recipients. The resolution is carried.
Resolution 19, amendment of Article 21 of the company's articles of incorporation in order to enable the Board of Directors to make decisions in writing. The resolution is carried. Resolution 20, amendment of Articles 25, 28, and 35 of the company's articles of incorporation in order to change the French term in compliance with the French Pacte law. The resolution is carried. Resolution 21, powers for formalities. The resolution is carried. Well, as there is no more business on the agenda, I hereby close the AGM at 3:35 P.M. Paris time. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, we thank you for your kind attention.