Registration Document 2005 - Total.com

6
TOTAL and its shareholders
Communication with shareholders
Communication with shareholders
Communication policy
In addition to its Registration Document filed each year with the
Autorité des Marchés Financiers, the Group regularly publishes
information on its activities through periodic publications as well as
on its website www.total.com, while news of significant importance
is covered by press releases. This website also contains semiannual
presentations made by the Group on its results and outlook.
In addition, because its shares are traded in the United States,
along with its Registration Document, the Company files an annual
document (Form 20-F) in English with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) (see page 160). This document specifically
contains a table to reconciliate the Group consolidated financial
statements with those presented in accordance with US accounting
standards.
Finally, the Group regularly holds information meetings, both in
France and abroad, aimed at shareholders and financial analysts.
When IR Magazine presented its award for Continental Europe on
November 30, 2005, TOTAL’s financial communications was singled
out several times for its quality for the third year in a row. The Group
won five prizes: the Grand Prize for Best Financial Communications
for Continental Europe, Best Investment Community meetings,
Best Company Literature, Best Use of the Internet for Investors
Relations, Best Investor Relations overall by a French Company.
Strengthening relationships with individual
shareholders
The year 2004 was marked by the implementation of a new
communications system intended for the 520,000 individual TOTAL
shareholders. This new system allows the Group to achieve three
goals:
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•
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communicate with each individual shareholders at least once a
year through the JDA (Shareholders Journal);
create more personalized communications with each shareholder
thanks to the daily use of Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) database; and
make it easier to read the company’s financial statements for a
population of non-specialists through training sessions offered to
member shareholders of the Shareholders Circle.
142 TOTAL - Registration Document 2005
2005 saw the consolidation of the existing system. A new format,
in magazine form, was prepared for the Shareholders Journal with
the assistance of the Consultative Shareholders Committee. The
threshold for bearer shareholders to receive a direct invitation to the
annual General Meeting of Shareholders was reduced to 50 shares.
Finally, for the first time since 1993, the selection of candidates
to the Consultative Shareholders Committee was assigned to
a recruiting firm. For TOTAL, this is indicative of the importance
of the work carried out with the assistance of the Consultative
Shareholders Committee.
2005 was also marked by the following events:
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•
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the website www.total.com was selected as Best Site, All
Categories for the 5 th edition of the Boursoscan Grand Prix
organized by Boursorama and TLB on June 2, 2005;
as 2004 winner, TOTAL chaired the jury of the Fils d’Or 2005,
the prize for best shareholder services, organized by La Vie
Financière, Le Figaro, and Synerfil on October 20, 2005;
within the framework of the transition toward IFRS accounting
standards, TOTAL sought to assist its shareholders to quickly learn
the various key impacts on TOTAL and on its financial statements
of performance monitoring indicators. On April 11, 2005,
TOTAL placed on its website www.total.com a presentation
dedicated to the Group’s transition to IFRS standards, and on
April 13, 2005, it organized a telephone conference on that
subject. Since May 2005, the financial statements for all quarters
of 2004 were available in IFRS accounting standards. Regarding
individual shareholders, TOTAL created a half-day training session
on IFRS accounting standards and their impact on TOTAL. This
training was designed with the assistance of the Consultative
Shareholders Committee.
Finally, as in previous years, TOTAL made efforts to promote
meetings and exchanges with individual shareholders, specifically
through the following events:
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Shareholders’ Meeting attendance record. The Shareholders’
Meeting was held on May 17, 2005 with over 2,800 shareholders
in attendance at the Paris Convention Center. Notices of the meeting
were sent to all shareholders holding 50 shares or more, i.e.,
approximately 200,000 people that is to say twice as many as
the previous year. As each year, the Meeting was broadcast live
and was later available on the Group’s website at www.total.com.