Hello, everyone. Welcome to this resumption of Transat's annual and special meeting of shareholders. As you may know, we unfortunately had to adjourn last Tuesday's meeting for lack of quorum. I would like to inform you that the quorum requirement of 25% of shares represented at the meeting does not apply to today's meeting. Let me introduce myself. I'm Suzanne Kutzman, President, Chair of Transat's Board of Directors. This meeting will be held in French. Simultaneous translation into English is available for those who have chosen this option.
Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Transat's Annual and Special shareholders' meeting. This meeting will be conducted primarily in French and simultaneously translated in English if you have selected the option to be connected in English.
I would like, once again, to extend my warmest thanks to the shareholders, in particular for those who are coming here for the second time, as well as employees and other guests who are joining us virtually or in person for attending this annual and special meeting of shareholders. For the benefit of those who were not with us last Tuesday, I'd like to introduce the people who are participating in leading this meeting with me: Annick Guérard, President and CEO and Director of Transat; Jean-François Pruneau, Chief Financial Officer; Bernard Bussière, Chief Legal and Government Relations Officer and Corporate Secretary of Transat, who, in accordance with the bylaws, will act as Secretary of this meeting. Finally, Andréan Gagné, Senior Director, Communications, Public Affairs, and Corporate Responsibility. She will facilitate the question period. I would also like to acknowledge the presence of my fellow directors of the company:
Mrs. Geneviève Brouillette , Mrs. Lucie Chabot , Mrs. Valérie Chour, Mr. Robert Coallier , Mr. Daniel Desjardins , Mr. Stépane Lefe bvre , Mr. Bruno Matheu , Mr. Ian Rae , and Mrs. Julie Tremblay . In accordance with the company's bylaws and in my capacity as Chair of the Board of Directors, I will chair this meeting. We will now pick up the meeting where we left off on Tuesday. For details on how to ask questions or vote at this meeting, please refer to the instructions provided to you in advance, which appear on the screen. The agenda you see on the screen conforms to that proposed in the circular and indicates the order of the subjects we will be addressing at this meeting. It has been prepared to enable us to respond effectively to legal requirements and to answer your questions and comments.
In accordance with the company's bylaws, I propose that Francine Beauséjour and Isabelle Vachon, representatives of TSX Trust Company, act as scrutineers at this meeting. [Foreign language] Les scrutatrices m'ont remis leurs rapports and have given me their preliminary report on attendance at the meeting, and I invite them to share it with us. 124 shareholders and/or proxy holders entitled to vote at this meeting are present or represented at the meeting. The total number of Class A variable voting shares and Class B voting shares represented in person or by proxy at this meeting is 8,487,487 shares, representing 21.35% of the issued and outstanding voting shares. Of this number, 1,161,402 consist of Class A variable voting shares, and 8,325,198 consist of Class B voting shares. As prescribed by the company's articles, each Class A variable voting share entitles its holder to one vote per share at this meeting. Francine Beauséjour and Isabelle Vachon , scrutineers.
Thank you. This report will be given to the secretary for inclusion in the meeting file. The scrutineers' report confirms that, in accordance with the company's bylaws, we have a quorum and that this annual and special meeting is duly called and constituted to transact such business as may lawfully come before it. I would now ask the secretary to present the proposals and explain the rules of procedure for today's meeting. Bernard.
Thank you, Suzanne. The motions submitted to this meeting are described in the circular and include the election of each of the 11 members of the Board of Directors, appointment of the external auditors for the coming year, and authorization to set their remuneration. Consideration and, if deemed appropriate, adoption of the resolution set out in Schedule B to the circular concerning ratification of the amendments to the 2025 Employee Share Purchase Plan. Consideration and approval on an advisory basis, without this vote being binding, of a resolution concerning the company's approach to executive compensation, the text of which is reproduced in Appendix C of the circular.
Finally, to deal with any other matters that may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment thereof. We will then invite Mr. Gagnon to inform us of MEDAC's proposals, which, remind you, are not submitted to a shareholder vote. All such motions will be decided by secret ballot, and whether you are a holder of Class A variable voting shares or Class B voting shares, your votes will be counted and recorded on such proposals in accordance with your instructions.
Each proposal must be passed by at least a majority of the votes cast at the meeting by all Transat shareholders present or represented by proxy. We'll come back to the election of directors in a moment. As mentioned earlier, the company has decided to use the Notice and Access Procedure for the delivery of meeting materials to registered and non-registered shareholders as provided for and authorized under securities regulations. In other words, rather than receiving a paper copy of the proxy circular, shareholders receive a copy of the notice of meeting and the notice of availability of documents, which explains how to consult the meeting documents and obtain paper copies if desired, and which sets out the details of the meeting.
TSX Trust Company has provided me, as Corporate Secretary, with proof that the following documents have been sent to all registered shareholders: the notice of meeting, a notice of availability of documents, and the power of attorney for me, including the declaration of ownership and control. These documents have been sent in accordance with the laws and regulations governing the copy, and a copy of them and proof of their dispatch will be kept within the minutes of this meeting. I now refer you to the consolidated financial statements for the year ended October 31, 2024, together with the auditor's report. As these documents have already been made available to all shareholders, we assume that you have read them and consider that we need not read them.
We will also dispense with the reading of the notice of meeting and the minutes of the last annual general meeting held on April 23, 2024, and the minutes will be deemed to have been read and approved. I would ask that the minutes be signed and recorded in the minute book. [Foreign language] Nous allons maintenant présenter les questions soumises.
We'll now present the questions submitted to the meeting one after the other and then proceed to the formalities of voting on each of them. To simplify the voting process, we are opening the voting platform now to give the chance to vote, and we will close the voting platform five minutes after the last motion has been submitted. In addition, in order not to unduly prolong this meeting, certain shareholders or proxies have agreed to present these motions, and others have agreed to second them.
Voting is now open on all resolutions. First, we turn to the election of directors. We remind you that shareholders have been invited to vote for each of the proposed director candidates individually. [Foreign language]Comme vous le voyez à l'écran, as you can see on the screen and as presented in the circular, these 11 persons have agreed to be nominated for election to the Board of Directors. I would like to thank them all personally. Their biographies are available in the circular. As we have received no further nominations within the deadline and in accordance with the notice regulations, we will now proceed to the vote. As indicated earlier by the secretary, shareholders were invited to vote for each of the 11 nominees individually. I would therefore now ask for a motion for the election of each of the 11 candidates to the company's Board of Directors.
Madame la Présidente, mon nom est Jean-François Pruneau. Madam Chair, my name is Jean-François Pruneau, and I propose the election of Mrs. Geneviève Brouillette , Mrs. Lucie Chabot , Mrs. Valérie Chort , Mr Robert Coallier , Mr. Daniel Desjardins , Mr. Stéphane Lefebvre , Mr. Bruno Matheu , Mr. Ian Rae , Mrs. Julie Tremblay , MadamAnnick Guérard, and Mrs. Annick Guérard . [Foreign language]À titre d'administratrices et de directrices of the company until the next annual meeting of shareholders or until their successors are duly elected or appointed.
You could add my name, Jean-François. That is a very good idea. It wasn't written. Mrs. Suzanne Kutzman. Okay, so you add my name to the motion. Thank you, Jean-François. My pleasure. Would any shareholder like to second the motion?
Madam Chair, my name is Andréan Gagné, and I second the motion. The next item on the agenda is the appointment of the company's external auditors and the authorization granted to the Board of Directors to set their remuneration. Management believes it would be appropriate to request the renewal of Ernst & Young's mandate until the next annual meeting of shareholders. I would ask a shareholder to submit a motion to this effect.
Madam Chair, my name is Patrick Linteau, and I propose that Ernst & Young be appointed external auditors of the company until the next annual meeting of shareholders and that the Board of Directors be authorized to set their remuneration.
Would a shareholder like to second this motion?
Madam Chair, my name is Alexandre Cary, and I second the motion. [Foreign language] Nous abordons maintenant la question de la ratification de la resolution. We now turn to the ratification of the amendments to the Employee Share Purchase Plan. Before proceeding to the vote on the resolution, I would ask the Secretary to briefly explain the changes made to the Employee Share Purchase Plan. Bernard,.
Thank you, Suzanne. As described in the circular, the Board of Directors has approved and proposes to this meeting to ratify the Employee Share Purchase Plan as amended and restated. This plan was initially introduced in January 1989 and has been modified on several occasions. Its purpose is to enable permanent employees of the company and its subsidiaries to subscribe on a monthly basis to payroll deductions to no voting shares issued from the company's treasury at the then prevailing market price less a 10% discount on March 21, 2025.
The Board of Directors approved the establishment of a new reserve of a total of 1 million shares issuable in excess of the remaining balance of 909,644 shares to be issued under the Employee Share Purchase Plan. Before deciding to approve the plan, the Board of Directors took into account the fact that this new reserve of 1,909,644 shares represents approximately 4.8% of the shares issued. The full text of the plan is set out in Schedule B to the circular. I would ask a shareholder to present a motion to this effect.
Madam Chair, my name is Andréan Gagné, and I move the adoption of the resolution set out in Appendix B of the circular.
Would any shareholder care to second the motion?
Madam Chair, my name is Patrick Linteau, and I second the motion. Thank you.
Thank you. We now turn to the proposed resolution, the company's approach to executive compensation, the text of which is reproduced in Appendix C of the circular. Before proceeding to the vote, I would ask the Secretary to briefly explain the details of this proposal.
Bernard. On December 14, 2011, the Board approved a compensation advisory vote policy to give shareholders the opportunity to express their views on the company's approach to executive compensation. Since that date, at each annual meeting of shareholders, the company holds a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation. The purpose of the advisory vote is to report to the company's shareholders on compensation decisions by giving shareholders the opportunity to make their opinions known.
Although the shareholders will vote collectively and in an advisory capacity, the company's directors remain fully responsible for their decisions and are not relieved of this responsibility following a positive or negative vote at the shareholders' meeting.
Thank you. Bernard. I would ask a shareholder to present a motion to this effect.
Madam Chair, my name is Andréan Gagné, and I move the adoption of the non-binding advisory resolution of the shareholders concerning the compensation of executive officers as described in the circular.
Would a shareholder like to support the motion?
Madam Chair, my name is Alexandre Cary, and I second the motion.
Foreign language]Nous invitons maintenant M. Willy Gagnon. We now invite Mr. Willy Gagnon to briefly summarize MÉDAC's position on the two proposals submitted this year, which are reproduced in Appendix D of the circular.
We remind you that these proposals, following discussions between the company and the MÉDAC, constructive discussions, are not subject to shareholder vote. We would like to thank MÉDAC for their support and openness, which they showed during these discussions.
Mr. Gagnon. Madam Chair, hello once again. I am Willy Gagnon, the representative of the MÉDAC, the Movement of Education and Defense on MÉDAC. I'm so happy to see you in person. I was myself present, not present for another assembly that took place here, whereas I was not there. I am happy that it was able to take place in person. I believe that it is something that is positive. Unfortunately, it's not all companies that have come back to that since the pandemic.
I believe that I would have the opportunity of talking to you during the question period of everything having to do with the quorum, which we did not have. It's us, you know, it's the shareholders. We were not there on Tuesday last, so I reserved my comments for later. As you were saying, we submitted two proposals to the company this year, one targeting the disclosure of the required languages of the company required by the employees for the company. Disclosure of the mastered languages by the company. If the company hires people, there is, of course, a required language or two. We got on your part information. We did not get all the information that we wished to have, but we did get a lot more than what most companies sent us, the companies that we sent that request for information.
I presume that you are conscious of the results of the vote that we got on this proposal. It's not very high. It's below 1%, but I would like to draw your attention to the survey that we had with the Québec population, a Ligier survey that's pretty recent in 2025, which shows that the very vast majority of the population wishes to know that information. We are happy to see that you have given us numbers, and I would invite people to go consult them. It's not on that number and the quality or the values behind all that that we wanted to have the numbers. We just wanted to have them. I'm not saying what the numbers are, but what we did wish is for them to be available.
They have been made available, and it has allowed us to appreciate because you'll understand that this proposal was sent to you on the basis of the question of social responsibility. One of the main inputs of a company to society are the jobs that it offers. When it offers jobs, we're talking about, you know, the offering of the different language, whether it's French or English or any other language. That is the aspect that I wish to mention. The second proposal that we sent was a proposal asking you to adhere to a voluntary conduct in terms of AI that was implemented by the federal last year, which wishes to frame this question and to standardize the practices and the standards. There is one bank that has followed that this year. We dare hope that the other companies will follow.
You say in your answer that you are going to think about the possibility of adhering to that code in the future. It's not yet done. We are going to keep an eye on whether you do it or not, and we'll send you the proposal back, but you have not showed yourselves close to the idea of doing so. We are happy about that, and that is the reason why we accepted to not vote on that today. I would have had a small comment to make on the consultative vote on compensation, but you didn't call for any comments on that. If I had something to say, it's that I find it relatively moderate, your compensation. I'm used to seeing much higher wages, although it's much higher than the money that I make.
Anyway, if there was a possibility of abstaining from voting on this question, you know, in the proxy forms, it's possible to vote for or against, and on certain questions, we can abstain, but there's rarely all three options. It's always two. If you could add the possibility of abstaining, I would have abstained this year rather than voting against. You understand that we have taken note of it. Thank you. However, the abstention, we can't put it for the administrators, but for the vote, but we are taking down your comment. It's a suggestion, yeah.
Thank you, very nice. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Gagnon. Maybe just to come back to Mr. Gagnon, if you will, on the proposal for adhesion by Transat to the code of conduct in terms of AI for everyone's benefit and also the ones that are listening right now.
We recognize the importance of rigorous management of these new tools, and we will continue deploying different measures, for example, internal guidelines for responsible use of AI, which aim to protect, amongst others, the personal data under our responsibility and which frame the legal and ethical use of AI by all our staff. Although we consider, as Mr. Gagnon explained, the code's principles to be generally in line with our policies, we must assess the effort that that would require internally to implement all the measures described. As we explained to Mr. Gagnon, we are committing to carry out this assessment over the coming year and to reconsider our, you know, depending on our priorities. I would perhaps invite Annick to answer your second question on language. You did refer to it.
Yes, of course. As for the proposal concerning the language spoken by employees, I will in two parts. First, the use of French within the organization at Transat. It is a language that we value a great deal. It is the main language of usage within our activities and our operations. All of the committees, meetings, and the boards' meetings of directors and the management committee are operated in French. Mastering French is required for all positions in Québec. All of our business units which operate in Québec, even those of federal jurisdiction, are certified by the Office[Foreign language] québécois de la langue française. It is an important step that we concluded a few years ago.
As far as the disclosure of the spoken languages by all our staff, we do not have a formal registry, but a self-identification survey allows us to say that French is mastered by 80% of our employees and English by 92% of our employees. Over 60 other languages are spoken by about 15% of our employees. That completes the answer.
That completes the answer. Thank you, Annick. For those who have not yet done so, we ask you to proceed to the vote for each of the proposals presented. I remind you that only people who were shareholders at the close of business on March 20, 2025, or the proxies may vote at the meeting. Also, be sure to complete the residency questions so that your votes can be counted. To avoid unduly prolonging the meeting, we will announce the voting results for each agenda item at the very end.
You have five minutes left to vote, after which the voting period will be over. While the scrutineers tabulate the votes, they'll take the floor for a few minutes and then ask Annick and Jean-François to present an overview of the past year. The result of the votes in the question periods will follow, but you can send us your questions now.
[Foreign language] Merci, Suzanne. Donc, pendant que vous vous installez. Thank you, Suzanne. While you get ready, I would like to inform, give the information. Our comments and discussions today may include forward-looking information concerning Transat's prospects, objectives, and strategies based on assumptions that are subject to risk and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements represent Transat's expectations and projections as of May 1, 2025, and are therefore subject to change after today's date. Our actual results may differ considerably from any expectations expressed. Thank you. Suzanne, the mic is yours.
Thank you. This meeting is taking place in a context that is both new and familiar with a double twist. The unprecedented context on this day after the election at the federal level, with the backdrop of a trade dispute that is shaking up the North American and global economy. The known context is the financial situation resulting from the pandemic. Because let's not forget, Transat had no financial debt before the pandemic. It had an enviable position of liquidity. This burden is undermining, greatly undermining our recovery efforts. Although the political and economic news is all pervasive, we'll try to distance ourselves a little from it. This meeting, I remind you, covers the fiscal year ending October 31, 2024, and it is this fiscal year that we will report on first.
Since we're already on the second quarter of 2025, we'll be looking ahead to the current year with the first quarter data and observations on emerging trends. Fiscal year 2024 will have been a year of adaptation and realignment. For Transat to improve its financial situation, 2025 would have had to continue as 2023 ended. [Forein language] Alas, that is not what happened. In 2023, Transat benefited from a strong demand, generated substantial revenues, and posted record-breaking operating profits. This momentum, it had allowed us to beat records, but this momentum did not carry over into 2024. Airlines, which had significantly increased their capacity on the outbound leg of the travel resumption when pandemic restrictions were lifted, had to fight hard to attract customers whose discretionary budgets had tightened. More competition and a more risk-averse clientele mean lower prices and therefore lower revenues.
The entire industry was affected by this market enemy. What's more, our financial room for maneuver at Transat was tighter than for the others due to the weight of our debt. Added to this was another challenge, the Pratt & Whitney engine situation, which affected the efficiency that our A321LR aircraft, the aircraft at the heart of our strategy, were expected to deliver and consequently our operating margins. In this situation, we had to proceed to some adjustments. A new trajectory was required by mid-year. With the support of external experts, the management committee drew up a vigorous optimization program with ambitious targets. This program, called Elevation, has been underway for just over six months. Already, it is starting to deliver results in terms of revenue generation and cost reduction.
At the same time, throughout the year, the Board of Directors and members of senior management continued discussions with the government and various stakeholders as part of refinancing efforts. Discussions with the government have made it possible to postpone deadlines, to buy time, as it were, but they have not yet led to a permanent solution to the debt, which, I repeat, is entirely attributable to events beyond our control. We are actively pursuing our efforts, and this is our main concern. Quarter- after- quarter, Transat maintains its position as one of the most reliable, punctual, and popular airlines. I'd like to pay tribute to all our employees for their professionalism and hard work. You are Transat. While 2024 may not have delivered the progress we had hoped for, our determination has not wavered. We have entered 2025 with a significantly improved operating performance.
Revenues are up, operating costs are down, adjusted EBITDA is up. Despite these improvements, net losses have increased and debt remains an obstacle. The priority for 2025 is therefore to find a permanent solution to our capital structure in the best interest of all stakeholders. We are working hard on it. In closing, I would like to reiterate the board's full confidence in the management team and their head, Annick Guérard, who are at the helm with skill and determination. I would also like to thank the members of the board of directors. Our board is very solid and experienced, and we count on everybody's contribution. We are all committed and united in meeting this challenge. I thank you very much and now hand over the mic to Annick, our President and CEO. Merci, Suzanne. Bonjour à toutes et à tous. Hello, everyone.
[Foreign language] Merci, Suzanne. Bonjour à toutes et à tous. Hello, everyone. Hello, everyone As we speak, we are wrapping up our winter season and getting ready for our summer season. Despite all the uncertainty, the demand for travel remains very good. As communicated since last autumn, we continue to work relentlessly to improve the organization's performance. Transat is clearly more productive than a year ago, and our efforts continue. I'd like to highlight just how much work has been accomplished in the last few months since the launch of the Elevation Program. Since 2024, we've deployed and marketed the joint venture commercial agreement with Porter. In this first year of operation, we have transported 170,000 connected passengers, 100,000 more than in 2023. We have strengthened our network with the addition of new destinations: Lima, Marrakech, Toulouse, Berlin, and Valencia.
In the summer of 2024, we received the final deliveries of Airbus A321LRs, continuing the renewal of our fleet with new generation, higher performance aircraft. We also completed the internalization of ground services at Montreal-Trudeau Airport, with a direct impact on improving punctuality and customer satisfaction.[Foreign language] Grâce à la mise en place. Thanks to the implementation of advanced generative artificial intelligence tools, we have begun to achieve huge productivity gains. We also renegotiated our contracts with key suppliers to reduce operating costs, and we still have a long way to go.
All these actions integrated into the Elevation Program contribute to improving Transat's performance today and positioning it for the future. This program of optimization and transformation is designed to increase revenues across our network, reduce costs in all areas of the organization, increase team productivity, and improve liquidities.
By May 2026, the initiatives of Elevation should add CAD 100 million to our operating income. We're already more than a third of the way to the target. On the operational front, Transat continues to demonstrate, quarter- after- quarter, improvements in punctuality, operational reliability, and customer satisfaction. We still have a big headwind. We continue to suffer the negative impact caused by problems with Pratt & Whitney GTF engines, grounding almost 30% of our Airbus A321LR fleet. This situation has resulted in a significant increase in our costs, with repercussions for our program, our revenue strategy, and our operational flexibility. This reality leads us more than ever to exercise caution. In 2025, we are aiming for low growth and stability, discipline, and improved results. We are accelerating the digitalization of our operations and continuing to introduce artificial intelligence responsibly in several areas of our business.
In the coming months, initiatives to optimize our revenue management and pricing practices should help to boost our revenue. [Foreign language] Notre partenariat avec Porter will continue to boost our traffic, particularly at our Montreal and Toronto hubs. We are ready for 2025 with a solid program and dedicated teams. [Foreign language] Avant de conclure, j'aimerais dire un mot. In concluding, I'd like to say a word about the commercial and pricing crisis. First, Transat has very limited exposure in the U.S., operating just two routes to Florida. However, what has the potential to hurt us more is the drop in the Canadian dollar compared with last year. There is uncertainty. The current environment is affecting consumer confidence, and this is likely to have an impact on demand for travel. We continue to monitor developments closely and will remain particularly cautious and vigilant in our approach.
We operate in a complex industry, and the company is united in a daily battle. [Foreign language] 2025 annonce des écarts. The year 2025 is brighter than 2024. Transat continues to improve. However, optimizing our balance sheet is absolutely essential to the agility that we need to remain a key player in Canadian air transport. We need to sort this out. Through it all, I am grateful and inspired every day by the dedication of our employees. Everyone knows that the Blue Star is synonymous with passion, quality, and dedication. I'd like to thank you for listening and now hand over the mic to Jean-François, our Chief Financial Officer.
Merci, Annick. Mesdames et messieurs. Thank you, Annick. Ladies and gentlemen, I'll start with an overview of the results for fiscal year 2024, followed by a look at trends since the start of 2025. 2024 was marked by industry challenges such as overcapacity, an uncertain economic environment, and Pratt & Whitney engine issues, which disproportionately impacted Transat. Despite this, the company ended fiscal 2024 with revenues of CAD 3.3 billion, up 7.7% versus 2023, and an adjusted operating income of CAD 200.3 million for an adjusted operating margin of 6.2%.
The Elevation Program, to which Annick and Suzanne referred to, is making good progress. Last year, when we presented our first quarter 2025 results, we announced that the Elevation Program initiatives implemented to date should generally generate annualized adjusted operating income of CAD 37 million. The program is therefore progressing according to plan, and we are confident that the initiatives implemented by May 2026 will add CAD 100 million in operating benefits.
We expect that the program initiatives implemented to date to have a more significant impact on Transat's profitability from the second half of fiscal 2025 onwards. Looking at our performance to date, our results for the first quarter 2025 have, all in all, met our expectations with revenues up 5.6%. We generated an adjusted operating income of CAD 20 million, a net improvement on the adjusted operating loss of CAD 3 million recorded in the same quarter 2024. This performance was due in particular to lower fuel costs and tight control of operating expenses.
[Foreign language] Les résultats du premier trimestre. First quarter results also partly reflect our discipline capacity addition of 0.5% compared with the first quarter 2024, positively affecting our unit air revenues, which are up 1.7% compared with the first quarter 2024. Modest capacity growth will continue throughout the year 2025.
We're in the middle of the summer 2025 booking period, and the upward trend in air unit revenues continues. However, given the current economic climate, we need to be cautious about what happens after 2024. We are closely monitoring the tariff situation, but one of the impacts already being felt since the start of 2025 is the increased volatility of the Canadian dollar. A depreciation of the Canadian dollar directly increases our costs, particularly for fuel and aircraft rental, which are denominated in $US. Hotel costs are also mostly billed in this currency, that is, $U.S., but we regularly adjust the prices of our packages offered, which helps mitigate the impact of exchange rate fluctuations. On the balance sheet, our debt continues to weigh heavily.
At the end of the first quarter, that is, January 31, 2025, our long-term debt, including the deferred government grant, totaled CAD 813 million. Including our aircraft lease obligations, the total debt net of available cash at January 31, 2025, was just under CAD 2 billion. Since my arrival at Transat, my priority has been and remains the execution of the plan to strengthen our balance sheet. This is the cornerstone of our next strategic plan. With the help of a special advisory committee made up of independent directors, we continue to explore our possibilities to put in place an optimal long-term capital structure.
Given the complexity of the situation and to give ourselves more room to maneuver, we recently negotiated together with the federal government, and we obtained an extension of the maturity dates of our subordinated and secured financial agreements for the [Foreign language] crédits d'urgence pour les grands employeurs, commonly called CUGE. Having also negotiated the extension of the maturity date of our revolving credit agreement, we no longer have any debt maturing before the beginning of fiscal year 2027. Discussions with our main lender, the federal government, and other stakeholders are continuing actively. Although there is uncertainty in the political and economic spheres, Transat should see the fruit of its intensive efforts over the last year and a half to resolve its capital structure come to fruition in 2025. Wishing you all a happy ending to the meeting.
Thank you, Annick and Jean-François. We now invite Ms. François Beauséjour of TSX Trust to share their preliminary report with us.
I declare that all nominees have been elected directors of the company and that each has received at least 97.7% of the votes in favor of his or her election. I also declare that the proposals for the appointment of the external auditor, the adoption of the resolution approving amendments to the 2025 Employee Share Purchase Plan, and the approval of the advisory resolution approving the board's approach to executive compensation have been duly adopted.
François Beauséjour et Hélène Gachon, scrutineers. Thank you for your time. Details of voting results will be posted on CEDAR Plus. I would like to thank all the shareholders who partook in the vote. We're now, we've reached the question period. I would like to remind you that Annick, Jean-François, Bernard, and myself are all available to answer your questions. Andrea-Anne will be the moderator.
Merci, Suzanne. [Foreign language] Donc, j'aimerais d'abord. Thank you, Suzanne. First of all, I would like to remind you that only shareholders or proxy holders have the right to ask questions. [Foreign language] Vos questions peuvent être soumises par écrit ou par téléphone, en français ou en anglais. Pour toute question, vous devez sélectionner l'icône du question. You have to select the messaging icon to the left of your screen. Enter your question or telephone number in the text box, then click on the send button. If you wish to ask your question over the phone, an operator will contact you. For shareholders present with us, we invite you to step up to the microphone in the center of the room, and we will ask you to express yourself. I'll alternate between questions from the floor and those received virtually, and we'll start with Mr. Gagnon in the room
[Foreign language] Madame Chère, me again, Willy Gagnon. I had the opportunity informally to tackle many issues I will now address, and I'll ask these questions on the floor for the benefit of other shareholders. How come we didn't have the quorum? Do you have a hypothesis? Do you have an idea as to the internal causes, the external causes? You'll understand. I've been doing 20 or so shareholders' meetings for all types of corporations in the country. I've never seen this. I'm not saying it never occurred, but I've never seen it. I think it is an important event. I think this is a signal that points to many potential causes, and I think a discussion would be timely through open societies, through the secretaries of the corporations, with regulatory authorities, AMF, and others as to what is happening. Something's happening, in my opinion.
I'm a bit shook up because I don't understand what's going on. I assume that you have information I do not have. You understand the question. I would like to know as much as possible. I believe I'm not the only person who would like to know what is going on. It was mentioned in the Canadian press. It was not an attribute. It was not due to constitute on Tuesday. It was today. Where does this 25% of quorum come from? In what type of regulation does it sit? How has this regulation been adapted today? It's very different because I believe that we do not have any more shareholders than we had on Tuesday. I could go on and on, but if it's possible to know as much as possible, I'll go sit down. I won't stand at the mic and I'll listen to what you have to say.
As you mentioned, we'll share the answer. Bernard and myself, and as you have mentioned at the outset, we've had a few informal discussions on this. It's very rare. It is a first for Transat and a Macron as a director. I've never seen this such as you, whose career is even longer. There are external and internal reasons to it, and we can speculate, but I can share with you a few items. There's a trend being observed, and maybe that is what is shaking people up. There's a lack of commitment in to a vote for their shares. It is not something that is unique to Transat. Maybe on an exceptional basis, our timing, you know, the geopolitical situation, it's very busy, and the reductions on Monday.
Maybe that had an impact that might have explained the participation rate. This year, we had taken various measures allowed by the law that are adequate to solicit votes. Everything was done according to the regulations, and we are as sorry as you regarding this outcome, especially for people who had come here in person or in person virtually and who had voted. We were sorry to adjourn the meeting. The quorum, the 25% quorum, was not reached, but the 21.35% that we have today are not that far. [Foreign language]Je laisserai peut-être Bernard répondre. Maybe I'll let Bernard answer the question regarding our regulations. If I understand, 25% is not a low threshold compared to other companies, but I'll let Bernard reply.
Thank you, Mr. Gagnon. That is the threshold that is suggested by advisors with Glass-Lewis that you know and ISS, and the 25% rate comes from there.
Out of memory, it was incorporated into our regulations in 2012 or 2013 after having this advice from that institution and other institutional players. After the pandemic, of course, some major shareholders left our industry, and because of that, today, our basis, and we thank them, and the individual shareholders,[Foreign language] il nous appartient à nous de trouver une façon de stimuler on us to stimulate this vote to get at the vote. That's what we've done. We've hired the services of consultants that solicit votes, and of course, when people today, and when there's a lot of fraud, when they get a call, it doesn't mean that people will answer.
One more thing, Mr. Gagnon, this is but speculation, and as I mentioned, we will ourselves investigate this issue further, but I believe that people, when they receive emails and calls, they do not open the email or answer the call. The notice and access, is it an issue? We are trying to answer the best we can to your question and ourselves, with François and he , who are present from TSX. We want to try and understand what happened.
Merci. Thank you. Are you done with the reply? Yes, there are no virtual questions. Are there other questions in the room? Non. [Foreign language]Alors ce serait ce qui met fin à notre courte période. That will conclude the Q&A since there are no questions and no other business to come before the meeting. We now invite a shareholder to move that the meeting be adjourned.
Madame Chair, my name is Jean-François Pruneau, and I move that the meeting be adjourned.
Would a shareholder like to support this motion?
Madame Chair, my name is Bernard Bussière, and I second the motion to adjourn the meeting.
[Foreign language] À l'accord, the motion carried, and the meeting adjourned. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for coming Tuesday and Thursday for some of you, and I wish you a very pleasant day. Thank you.