Good morning. My name is Pierre Beaudoin, and I am Chairman of the Board of Bombardier. I would like to welcome you to Bombardier's annual shareholder meeting. Bombardier entered 2024 on a high note. Since our last annual meeting, we have taken a decisive step towards profitability while continuing to reduce our debt. Bombardier's success is proof of its ability to thrive in a world-class business in aviation. This afternoon, we celebrated a new chapter by unveiling our new brand identity, our new logo, which pays tribute to our history, represents the Bombardier of today, and underscores the caliber of our products and services, as well as the exceptional work done by all of our employees. In a few days, we will be inaugurating our new Aircraft Assembly Center at Toronto Pearson International Airport, a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility.
Our meeting today will be conducted mainly in French, but I'd like to say a few words of welcome in English.
Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. My name is Pierre Beaudoin, and I am the chair of the board of directors. Welcome to Bombardier's 2024 annual meeting of shareholders. While our meeting will be held mainly in French, a simultaneous translation is available on the live webcast, and you may ask questions either in French or English. The stream is on the right of the platform. At the top of the section, you can choose to listen to the meeting in French, in English, or stay in the original stream without any translation.
On behalf of the board and our management team, we are delighted to count you among our shareholders.
Thank you for your continued support. I'll now provide you with a few instructions to help you to participate fully and enjoy this meeting. The webcast of this meeting will be posted on our website for some time after the meeting. I do remind you that you must be connected to the internet at all times to be able to ask any questions and so that you don't miss anything, and so that you are able to vote at the appropriate time. I remind you that only registered shareholders and duly appointed proxy holders may ask questions and vote. The left-hand section of the webcast platform is designed to enable you to exercise your shareholder rights, i.e., ask questions and vote.
During the meeting, I do invite you to refer to the tabs at the top of the screen. The Home tab allows you to see information and instructions related to the meeting and for including how to ask questions and how to vote. The Messages tab allows you to ask questions by chat or by phone. The Votes tab, which will appear when the voting period opens, allows you to view the motions and vote on each one of them. The Documents tab allows you to consult documents related to the meeting. I'd like to point out that there is a delay in the webcast of the meeting. It is therefore important that registered shareholders and duly appointed proxy holders submit their questions as soon as possible so that we can answer them at the appropriate time during the meeting.
If you wish to ask a question, you can do so by clicking on the Messages tab on the webcast platform, and it will also be possible to ask a question verbally by telephone. To ask a question verbally, the registered shareholder and proxy holder must submit his or her telephone number using the dialogue box provided in the Messages tab in order to be connected. Your telephone number will not be shared with others attending the meeting. Please read the instructions under the Home tab before submitting your question. In particular, please indicate whether your question concerns a motion that is part of the official meeting agenda, or whether it is of a more general nature. We will attempt to address questions that relate directly to a motion on the agenda at the appropriate time during the meeting.
Questions of a more general nature will be saved for the question and answer period following the adjournment of the meeting. Once again, those shareholders who wish to do so, I invite you to submit your questions now. As always, questions should relate to Bombardier's business activities. We will not answer questions that do not relate to business or affairs of Bombardier. We won't answer any questions that also relate to information about Bombardier that is not in the public domain. We will not answer questions that are repetitive or have already been asked by other shareholders. We won't answer any derogatory questions to individuals or otherwise offensive questions to third parties. We won't answer questions that relate to personal grievances or asked for the personal or commercial benefit of a shareholder or are irregular or inappropriate.
Our webcast platform provider will keep a complete record of all proceedings. To the extent that your question could not be addressed due to time constraints, we will endeavor to respond to your question after the meeting. Questions and answers will be available on our website as soon as possible after the meeting and will remain available for one week after their posting. The voting procedure will be explained in a few minutes by Mr. Gagnon, Secretary of the meeting. Before we begin, I would like to draw your attention to these notices and cautions that appear on the screen. I'd like to remind you that over the course of the presentation, including the presentation by our President and CEO, we may make projections, forecasts, or other forward-looking statements concerning future events or about the company's future financial performance.
Many assumptions have been made in the preparation of forward-looking statements, and we wish to point out that there are risks that actual events or results may differ from these forward-looking statements. For further details, shareholders are invited to consult the notice regarding forward-looking statements in the company's financial report for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024. I make this statement on behalf of each stakeholder whose remarks today contain forward-looking statements. In addition, during the presentation by the President and CEO, certain financial measures presented are non-GAAP financial measures. For further details, shareholders are invited to consult the non-GAAP and other financial measures section of the company's financial report for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024. Allow me now to begin this meeting by introducing the company's senior executives who are with me here today. Éric Martel, President and CEO.
Bart Demosky, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Chantal Daniel, Senior Vice President, Legal Affairs and Corporate Secretary. I will act as chairman of this meeting, and Mr. Daniel will act as secretary. As last year, we'll be adding a moderator whose job will be to inform the meeting of the questions we receive online. Mark Masluch, Senior Director of Communications, will act as our moderator for requests, questions, and comments submitted via the meeting's broadcast platform. The topics on our agenda here today are as follows: 1, to receive our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023, and the auditor's report on. 2, to appoint Ernst & Young as the company's independent auditors until the next annual meeting of shareholders and to authorize the directors to fix and set their remuneration.T
Three, to elect each of the nominees for election to our board of directors until the next annual meeting of shareholders. Four, to adopt the non-binding advisory resolution on our approach to executive compensation. Five, to vote on shareholder proposals received from a shareholder. And six, consider any other matters that may properly come before the meeting. I now turn the floor over to the company's secretary for further information on this meeting.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We have obtained an affidavit from our transfer agent, Computershare, with respect to the mailing of the Notice of Meetings, stating as of March 28, 2024, that the Notice of Meeting, together with the proxy circular, forms of proxy, and notice of availability of meeting materials, were distributed to all of our shareholders of record as of March 4th, 2024.
This affidavit is available for review by any shareholder and will be attached to the minutes of this meeting. A copy of the notice of meeting, proxy forms, and circular are also available on Bombardier's website and on SEDAR+. I'd like to point out that a simple majority of the votes cast by holders of Class A multiple voting shares and Class B subordinate voting shares, voting together, will constitute approval of each of these motions on the agenda. Please also note that to facilitate the meeting, we have asked certain employee shareholders of Bombardier to present, to move and second the formal motions. The Chairman will recognize these individuals at the appropriate time.
Thank you, Mr. Secretary. If there are no objections, Mr. Steve Gilbert and Ms. Claire Girard from Computershare will act as scrutineers for this meeting.
Mr. Chairman, according to the report given to me by the scrutineers at the beginning of the meeting, they confirmed that we have the quorum required to hold this meeting.
Thank you, Mr. Secretary. I would ask you to place the scrutineers' report in the meeting file. I therefore declare this annual meeting duly and validly convened and constituted. I also request that a copy of the scrutineers' report on quorum be attached to the minutes of this meeting. As we do every year, we encourage you to vote now. If you have already voted, you don't need to do anything. However, any registered shareholder or duly appointed proxy holder who has not yet voted or who wishes to change his or her vote will be able to vote directly on the live webcast platform. I now declare the ballot open.
You will see a voting tab on the webcast platform, along with all meeting motions. I'd like to remind you that non-registered shareholders who have not duly appointed themselves as proxy holders and who have not registered with our transfer agent, Computershare, will not be able to exercise their right to vote during this meeting or ask any questions at this meeting. You may, however, listen to the meeting as a guest. I now invite the secretary to review the voting procedure with you. Thank you. Those of you who are registered shareholders or proxy holders entitled to vote at the meeting may access the proposal and vote. Voting on all proposals and motions will be possible at any time during the formal portion of the meeting.
You can therefore vote immediately as each motion is processed, or wait to vote on all motions before the end of the ballot. Votes can be changed at any time before the ballot closes. All votes represented by registered shareholders or proxy holders entitled to vote at the meeting will be counted and added to those received by proxy, and the preliminary voting results will be presented at the end of the formal portion of the meeting. A report on the final voting results will be available on SEDAR+. The report on the final outcome of the election of directors will be issued by press release. If you have already voted by proxy prior to this meeting, you do not need to vote again, as your vote is already included in the total number of proxies received to date.
However, if you wish to change your vote and you are the person named as proxy in the submitted proxy, the virtual vote will automatically cancel any previously completed and submitted proxy. The first item on our agenda for today is the presentation of the financial... Oh, sorry, the company's annual consolidated financial statements for the year ending December 31st, 2023, and the auditor's report. The financial statements and the auditor's report have been filed on SEDAR+ and on Bombardier's website, so I will not proceed by reading them. Mr. Secretary, please attach a copy of these documents to the minutes of this meeting. Mr. Masluch, do we have any questions with regards to this motion?
Mr. Chair, I confirm that we have not received any questions on this item. Thank you.
The next item on the agenda is the appointment of Ernst & Young as the company's independent auditor until the next annual meeting of shareholders, or until a successor is appointed, and to authorize the directors to set the auditor's remuneration. May I have a motion to appoint Ernst & Young as the company's independent auditor until the next annual meeting of shareholders, or until a successor is appointed, and to authorize the directors to set the auditor's remuneration?
Mr. Chairman, my name is Julie Turcotte, and I am a shareholder of Bombardier. I move that Ernst & Young be appointed independent auditors of Bombardier until the next annual meeting or until a successor is appointed, and that the directors of Bombardier be authorized to fix their remuneration.
Thank you. Do we have a supporter for this motion?
Mr. Chairman, my name is Melissa Cate, and I am a shareholder of Bombardier. I second this motion.
Mr. Masluch, have we received any questions in relation to this motion?
Mr. Chair, I confirm that we have not received any question
s with regards to this motion. Shareholders can now vote on this motion. Shareholders and proxy holders, please vote on this motion for a one-year term of Ernst & Young, and with regards to authorization, to be able to authorize the directors of Bombardier to fix their remuneration. Remember that if you've not yet sent in your vote via the proxy form and do not wish to change your vote, there's no need to vote via the web cast platform, as your vote has already been taken into account. Let's now move on to the election of Bombardier's directors.
The board of directors of Bombardier, on the recommendation of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee, proposes the election of 13 directors for the current year. May I now have a proposal for the election of these 13 candidates, as described in the proxy circular?
Mr. Chairman, my name is Julie Turcotte, and I am a shareholder of Bombardier. I move that each of the following 13 persons be elected as a director of Bombardier until the next annual meeting of shareholders of the company or until his or her successor is appointed: Pierre Beaudoin, Joanne Bissonnette, Charles Bombardier, Todd Citron, [Remove] or Diane Giard , Jixun Foo , Diane Giard, Anthony Graham, Melinda Rogers-Hixon, Éric Martel, Douglas Oberhelman, Eric Sprunk, and Antony Tyler. Does anyone wish to support this motion?
Mr. Chairman, my name is Melissa Cate. I am a shareholder of Bombardier, and I support and second this motion.
The motion has been duly moved and seconded. Mr. Masluch, do we have any questions?
Mr. Chairman, we have not received any questions with regards to this motion.
Thank you. Shareholders are asked to vote on the election of each of the 13 candidates proposed for election to the board of directors. I would like the secretary to remind us of the voting procedure. You can now vote on the election of each of the 13 candidates. The name of the 13 candidates is listed on the webcast platform. If you have already sent in your vote via the proxy form and do not wish to change your vote, it is not necessary to vote via the webcast platform, as your vote has already been taken into account.
The agenda now calls for shareholders and their proxies to vote on the adoption of the non-binding resolution on Bombardier's approach to executive compensation. You can read the text of this resolution in section two of the 2024 management proxy circular. May I have a motion for the adoption of this motion?
Mr. Chair, my name is Julie Turcotte. I am a shareholder of Bombardier. I move the adoption of this non-binding approach to Bombardier when it comes to compensation for upper management in section two of the proxy circular in 2024.
A shareholder or a proxyholder, would anybody like to second this?
Mr. Chair, my name is Melissa Cate. I am a shareholder of Bombardier, and I second this motion. The motion has been duly made and seconded. Mr. Masluch, have we received any questions with respect to this motion?
Mr. Chair, I confirm that we have not received any questions relating to this motion.
Thank you. I'd like to remind you that this is a non-binding resolution and that the results of the vote will not be binding on Bombardier's board of directors. However, the members of Human Resources and Compensation Committee will take it into account in their future review. I now invite shareholders to vote on this motion if they have not already done so. I would now like to ask the secretary of the meeting to remind you of the voting procedure. I invite you to vote on the non-binding resolution on Bombardier's approach to executive compensation.
Please remember, if you have already submitted your vote via the proxy, proxy form and do not wish to change your vote, there is no need to vote via the webcast platform, as your vote has already been taken into account. This year, Bombardier received five shareholder motions from the Mouvement d'éducation et de défense des actionnaires, MÉDAC. The full text of the five shareholder motions is reproduced in Appendix B of the circular, together with the board of directors' responses. The board of directors of Bombardier recommend that you reject the five motions submitted for a vote for the reasons set out in respect thereof of Schedule B to the, in the circular. I'd now like to invite the MÉDAC representative to briefly present these motions coming from MÉDAC. Mr. Louis Gagnon, hello, and can you please present your motions?
Yes, hello, Mr. Chairman.
Louis Gagnon, representing the MÉDAC. We are shareholders of the company, and not only do we have a proxy to vote, but we also have a proxy for one of our members. So I will consider, with your approval, of course, that these motions are duly tabled and approved. Can you hear me clearly?
Yes, we can.
Thank you. So we have submitted five motions to the company this year, and we are disappointed to understand that we have not been able to agree with the company on any of them. Everything is submitted to a vote, given that we haven't been able to agree. We dared to expect that we could agree on some of these motions with the company. And for some of these motions, we agreed with all other companies.
So incentive compensation for employees, number one, we determined that the company has a similar policy. We would have liked to have more detail on the policy as to how long it's been there, the percentage of incentive compensation. Is the percentage stable? Is it going to increase? There's a lot of information that we didn't get in their response, so that's why we go to a vote with that motion. Obviously, we invite all shareholders to support this motion. The other motions I'll move just over there very quickly because the vote is open. Motion number two, annual meeting in person. This is the most important motion this year, for all companies to whom we sent proposals.
For the first time since I've been at MÉDAC, so for more than 17 years, we got a vote on that with Metro, Air Canada, CIBC, Bank of Montreal. I don't understand why... This company does not want to have any meetings in person. Obviously, you keep saying that your virtual meeting allows to replicate the participation of people in person. You say in your response, you know, you can look at, to the left, to the right, behind you. There's no shareholder that I can see. So I cannot see who's in line to speak at the mic. The company can do things virtually that they would not be allowed to do in person.
Virtual meetings allow to deal with topics that the company needs to look at, and the virtual meetings are in place, and all the documents and everything could have been sent by mail, and the vote could have happened by mail. So we support the absence of in-person meetings, and we believe that companies will have to do this next year. So we invite shareholders to support this motion. And when we have various groups, pension groups, big investors, and institutions that supported this meeting, or this motion, so why not you? Thirdly, the environmental good governance. This is good governance and best practices. The motion that we have does not criticize the environmental policies that things that are already in place. It's simply a tool. The company, in its response, says that it reduces dialogue with shareholders.
We completely disagree. It increases dialogue, and it allows for, shareholders to be able to express themselves. We reject the arguments relative to the questions of governance and the consulting, vote. Decisions have already been put in place with regard to compensation, so it's important to have a consultation involved on compensation. Why not go with that with regards to the environmental policy of the company and motions for on high with regards to disclosure of, languages spoken by directors, we sent back to last year and this year, the languages spoken by leaders. What we are reading in your response, you've responded with several sentences. You talked about French.
All we want to do is to disclose the languages spoken. We are the only company got to do this; others have, and where there has been a vote, they decided to disclose this. So obviously, there's certain exceptions, but we don't understand why you want to hide the languages spoken by directors and leaders. We invite all employees to support this motion. In fact, well, these two motions. In fact, there are some big institutional investors who do support it, and you see this. We would expect that you do the same, that all other companies have done. So there we are. Thank you for the time that you have given to me. I'd like to make a brief comment on the fact that the internet voting form no longer has numbers.
It not only has numbers, but it would be important to have a motion and a description of the motion, so that you can vote for the topics as opposed to numbers. Currently, they're just voting for numbers. There are numbers. Generally speaking, this is not how this happens, that would be nice if that was changed. And thank you very much for having contacted us.
Thank you, Mr. Daniel, for your presence, your presence and your interest in Bombardier's good governance. Mr. Daniel, we understand that you are also acting as a proxy holder for another shareholder to move and second these five motions.
Yes, Mr. Jacques Rousseau .
I'm sorry?
Mr. Zach Russo.
Mr. Zach Russo.
I'm a proxy holder for Mr. Zach Russo.
Okay, thank you very much. Mr. Masluch, do we have any questions with regards to these motions?
Mr. Chairman, we confirm that we have received no questions regarding these motions.
Thank you very much. Now, shareholders are invited to vote on these five motions if that has not already been done. Again, I ask the secretary to hold the vote. I invite you to express yourselves on these five motions. Remember, if you have already placed your vote via the, the proxy, and if you do not want to vote, you do not need to vote via the webcast platform, as your vote has already been taken. Having covered all the items on the agenda, we invite you to vote if this has not yet been done. We will close the ballot in one minute.
I confirm that the poll is now closed. Scrutineers are providing us with preliminary results. The Ernst & Young mandate has been vindicated. A majority of votes were cast in favor of the election of each of the nominees to the board. A majority of votes were cast in favor of the non-binding resolution on Bombardier's approach to executive compensation. And in the end, the majority voted against the five motions put forward by MÉDAC. A report on the final voting results will be available on SEDAR. Now that we have dealt with all the items on the agenda, I propose to close the formal portion of the meeting before moving on to a speech by Bombardier's President and CEO, Mr. Éric Martel, followed by a question and answer period.
Given that there is no further business to come before the meeting, I will ask for a motion to adjourn the meeting.
Mr. Chairman, my name is Jeanne Trudeau. I'm a shareholder of Bombardier, and I move that this meeting be adjourned. Does anyone want to support this motion?
Mr. Chairman, my name is Melissa Cate, and I am a shareholder of Bombardier. I support this motion.
Therefore, I declare the meeting closed. I now invite Bombardier's President and CEO, Mr. Éric Martel, to take the floor to share his vision for the company's objectives.
Hello and good morning. At this time of optimism and renewal for Bombardier, it is my pleasure to share with you my perspective on the company's recent results and to talk to you about what lies ahead. After an excellent year in 2023, in which Bombardier reached new heights in revenues and profitability, the management team and I remain fully committed to achieving our financial goals, building lasting relationships with our customers, and being a world-class employer. Before I go any further, I'd like to tell you about yesterday's historic announcement of Bombardier's new corporate identity. In recent years, we have changed ourselves in terms of our core business, our employee engagement, and our balance sheet. The time had come to transform and change our corporate brand. If you have not yet seen it, dear shareholders, let me introduce you to Bombardier's new brand identity.
Reinforces our successful shift toward business aviation and propels the company forward. We have a beautiful new logo that introduces the symbol we call the Mach. Its forward-facing shape that represents air smoothly flowing over the wing of a jet. For those who know Learjet logos well, you may also spot a similarity. It's a way for us to celebrate our heritage. Of course, our heritage also remains deeply rooted in the name of Bombardier itself. We are very proud of this new visual identity and the way it represents our unique character. Our new brand is truly where Bombardier is today.
We have an industry-leading portfolio of business aircraft. Our products sell well, including in the market related to defense and national defense. We have over 5,000 aircraft flying all over the world and an extensive service network that is taking up a growing share of the business. With strong links and connections with our customers, and we are leaders in eco-responsible aviation. We have more than 18,000 team members around the world who are the best at what they do and who are proud to be part of Bombardier's evolution.
Really demonstrates the progress we've made together since 2020. Year after year, we are building on our momentum. In 2023, we reached $8 billion in revenues, and we established a step change in profitability. We have also been diligent in our efforts to deleverage the company, and we continue to do, to be optimistic on this front. The strength of our balance sheet is truly impressive, and I want to thank our teams and their hard work to get this done.
This momentum is maintained in 2024. We released our first quarter financial results early this morning, and I am pleased to report that the year is off to a good start. Here are some highlights from the first quarter, 2024. Growth in our order book, a sharp increase in orders, a very favorable ratio of new orders to revenue, and improving our margins.
2024, we're going to focus on maintaining a strong multiyear backlog, as well as continuing to increase our services revenues... We're also looking to build on our momentum in defense and to grow our participation in pre-owned market. And of course, we're busy shaping Bombardier's strategy for the second half of the decade. I'll go into more details about our plans beyond 2025 on Bombardier's Investor Day, which is taking place on May first.
In the years ahead, sustainability will remain a key priority. A priority that is essential to our continued success. Bombardier is already a leader in this field, and we are committed to business aviation's goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. We are strong advocates of the adoption of sustainable aviation fuel and cover all our flight operations with a 30% blend of sustainable fuel based on a book-and-claim system. Today, Bombardier is the only business jet manufacturer in the world to make public the environmental impact of all its aircraft through Environmental Product Declaration s. Bombardier's EcoJet research project aims to reduce emissions by up to 50% through a combination of aerodynamic propulsion and other improvements. You can learn more about our initiative in Bombardier's environmental, social, and governance report that will be published next month.
The future is extremely bright. Bombardier is moving through this decade with the world's top-performing business jet, exceptional customer service, and team members who have more pride than anyone in the industry. With the plan that we've put in place and the people we have with us on this journey, I could not be more optimistic.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us here today. It is a real pleasure to talk about Bombardier's multiple achievements.
Joining us today is a true pleasure to talk about Bombardier's many achievements.
Thank you, Éric. We would now be pleased to answer questions and get any comments from shareholders. You can send your questions by clicking on the Messages tab on the webcast platform or by telephone, as explained at the beginning of the meeting. As a reminder, questions must relate to Bombardier's business or activities and not be of a personal nature. I will now turn the floor over to Mr. Masluch.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. The first question comes from MÉDAC.
Where can we get information on previous minutes? Are they on SEDAR, the minutes from previous meetings?
Hello, Mr. Daniel. Technically, the minutes are not available on SEDAR. That said, we could provide a copy to any interested shareholder. You simply need to communicate with our investor services department, and they will be happy to send you the minutes.
Mr. Masluch, thank you.
Mr. Masluch, we have another question.
Mr. Chairman, I confirm that you have a question from a shareholder, Mr. Agatha Rayon. A question.
Mr. Ji-Xun Foo had a 67% attendance record at board meetings during 2023. The board reviewed Mr. Foo's attendance record for 2023 and has no concerns about his continuing on the board. It goes without saying that board attendance is critical to the good governance, and most large publicly listed companies have a minimum set of governance policies, which include policies applicable to board members, and those policies state clear exceptions with respect to board meeting attendance. I've always believed that Mr. Foo's contributions have been positive to the board. However, can the Chair please elaborate on how the board came to the conclusion that his 67% 2023 attendance record still contributed towards good governance for the company?
Thank you for your question, and we do agree with you that attendance is very important to the good governance of the company. We always take into consideration other reasons why Mr. Foo was or was not able to attend. And given that, we decided that it was appropriate to ask Mr. Foo to stand for re-election. That being said, we know that this percentage of attendance needs to go up.
The Chair confirms that we do not have any other questions. The question period is now over. On behalf of the company, I would like to thank you for attending this meeting and for your continued commitment to Bombardier. Thank you.