52Working Conditions Committee, with solutions proposed andset in place with the involvement of the line managementconcerned and monitoring of the action plan for correctivemeasures.AbsenteeismAbsenteeism in the company amounted to 4.70%, and may beanalysed as follows:Causes %Work accident 0.44%Maternity 0.84%Illness 3.27%Commuting accident 0.03%Part-time medical leave 0.12%Industrial relationsEmployee representatives were re-elected in <strong>2007</strong> for theEconomic and Social Unit (UES).A company agreement was signed to fix the offices of theWorks Council and personnel representatives at 3 years.The Works Council for the UES comprising <strong>Virbac</strong>,<strong>Virbac</strong>France, Francodex Santé Animale and Alfamed comprises 7permanent and 5 replacement members. Ordinary meetings areorganised monthly.The Carros site has 7 permanent employee representativesand 6 substitutes; there are 2 employee representatives(one permanent and one substitute) at Magny en Vexin and astatement of insolvency has been drawn up in Verzeille.There are two union representatives: a labour representativefrom the CGT (Confédération Générale du Travail) labourunion and a CFE-CGC (Confédération Française del'Encadrement - Confédération Générale des Cadres) [FrenchConfederation of Executives – General Confederationof Executives] representative, appointed in <strong>2007</strong>.Disabled workersIn France,<strong>Virbac</strong> employs the equivalent of 46 people with alegally-recognised disability, representing 5% of the workforce.<strong>Virbac</strong> and Francodex Santé Animale both fulfilled theiremployment obligations, notably by making significant effortsto retain disabled people in the workforce (using transfers andmodifications of job functions) and by financing the neededequipment.<strong>Virbac</strong> France and <strong>Virbac</strong> Distribution, which do not employ anyworkers meeting this description, made respective contributionsof €23,632 and €3,376 to Agefiph.Agefiph is the French agency responsible for financing measuresto retain and integrate handicapped people into the workplace.service on 31 December of the year in question are entitledto participate in profit-sharing. The agreement signed in June2005 associated two profitability ratios with the discretionaryprofit-sharing calculation:• a profitability ratio that looks at the consolidated net profit –Group share to consolidated sales;• a profitability ratio that looks at the Group’s consolidatedoperating profit to its consolidated sales.An amendment to adapt this agreement to IFRS was signed inJune 2006, with the ratio based on ‘operating profit’ beingreplaced by one based on ‘operating profit from ordinaryactivities’.The combination of these two ratios in order to calculate theshare in the profits has the twin goal of:• giving employees a share in the profits that is in line with thecompany’s <strong>financial</strong> performance (ratio based on net profit);and• rewarding the collective contribution of employees (ratiobased on operating profit).Since 2005,<strong>Virbac</strong> has also established a matching programmewhereby employees electing to invest their discretionary profitsharingbonus in the company savings plan (PEE) or thecollective retirement savings plan (Perco) receive, respectively, anadditional 25% or 50% matching payment from the company.1 Employee profit-sharing in company net profitEmployee profit-sharing in a company’s net profit is mandatoryin companies with over fifty employees and has been in place in<strong>Virbac</strong> since 1987.A Group profit-sharing agreement covering <strong>Virbac</strong>,<strong>Virbac</strong>Distribution,<strong>Virbac</strong> France, Francodex Santé Animale andAlfamed is in force. Each Group company contributes to buildingup a general reserve for the total amount of its own reserve,calculated using the legally prescribed formula.The profit-share may be paid in three ways: to a blocked currentaccount, the PEE and the Perco.1 Company savings planMonies paid in under the various profit-sharing agreements orvoluntary payments may be invested in mutual funds.The PEEcovers employees in <strong>Virbac</strong>,<strong>Virbac</strong> Distribution,<strong>Virbac</strong> France,Francodex Santé Animale and Alfamed.The PEE, managed by Creelia, comprises equities, bonds andtreasuries: around 3/4 equities and 1/4 bonds and treasuries.Theportion of <strong>Virbac</strong> shares represents around 1/3 of the portfolio.The Perco, collective retirement savings plan, managed byNovacy, allows employees to build up a diversified savingsportfolio for their retirement.Profit-sharing and company savings plan1 Employee profit-sharingEmployees of <strong>Virbac</strong>,<strong>Virbac</strong> Distribution,<strong>Virbac</strong> France,Francodex Santé Animale and Alfamed with at least 3 months’
53Fees paid by the Groupto the statutory auditorsand members of their networksDeloitte & AssociésDavid & AssociésGroupe NovancesAmount % Amount %(€ thousands) <strong>2007</strong> 2006 <strong>2007</strong> 2006 <strong>2007</strong> 2006 <strong>2007</strong> 2006AuditAudit, review of statutoryand consolidated<strong>financial</strong> statements 769.3 659.4 96% 96% 98.1 98.5 100% 95%- Issuer 145.3 197.1 18% 29% 72.4 72.0 73% 69%- Globally integrated subsidiaries 624.0 462.2 78% 68% 25.7 26.5 26% 26%Other fees and services directlylinked to assignment ofthe statutory auditors - 9.0 -% 1% 0.5 4.3 -% 4%- Issuer - 2.0 -% -% 0.5 4.3 -% 4%- Globally integrated subsidiaries - 7.0 -% 1% - - -% -%Subtotal 769.3 668.4 96% 98% 98.5 102.8 100% 99%Other services providedto globally integratedsubsidiariesLegal, tax and social affairs 35.5 16.2 4% 2% - 1.0 -% 1%Others - - -% -% - - -% -%Subtotal 35.5 16.2 4% 2% - 1.0 -% 1%TOTAL 804.8 684.6 100% 100% 98.5 103.8 100% 100%For the first time in <strong>2007</strong>, the subsidiary <strong>Virbac</strong> Corporation was audited by Deloitte & Associés, which largely explains the increase inaudit fees between 2006 and <strong>2007</strong>.
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