Annual Report Sustainable Development Report ... - Groupe SEB

Shareholder relations
Confidence
Loyalty
&
Groupe SEB fosters confident and open relations with its shareholders,
aware that they are its long-term partners, and that a stable,
well-balanced shareholder base is vital to its future.
A balanced shareholder base
For Groupe SEB management, pursuing a long-term
strategy depends on the support of a well-balanced
shareholder base: this support comes from the family
founder Group, employees, French and foreign institutional
investors, and individual shareholders. While Groupe SEB is
in regular contact with financial analysts and investment
fund managers, it would also like to increase the proportion
of capital held by individual shareholders and mid-scale
investors. This is clearly signalled by the Group's decision to
join the French Federation of Investment Clubs (FFCI) in 2005.
Transparency and dialogue
Groupe SEB keeps its shareholders regularly
informed on the progress of the company via a large number
of communications including Letters to Shareholders, Annual
and half-year reports, the Annual General Meeting (AGM)
notification, the Shareholder Guide and regular financial
press notices. These documents are available on request from
the Groupe SEB Financial Communications Department, and
can be downloaded from our corporate website. Groupe SEB
also gives pride of place to dialogue and direct contact with
its shareholders. Apart from the key annual event which is the
AGM, it arranges shareholder meetings in several French
cities (Tours, Nice, Bordeaux, Nancy, Lyon and Dijon in 2005),
and factory visits to enable shareholders to learn more about
the Group's working environment and business (two visits
to the Rumilly plant in 2005). The Group also meets its
shareholders at the Actionaria stockmarket fair held in Paris
in November.
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Dedicated services
All individual shareholders are welcome to contact
the Shareholder Relations Department. The SEB Share
Service manages nominal shares, handles share purchase and
sale orders free of charge. It also handles dividend payments,
supply of tax forms, or share inheritance and donation
operations. Since 2005, nominal shareholders can have direct
real-time access to their account and follow up current
operations via the Internet.
Long-term dividend policy
Groupe SEB adopts a long-term approach to
remunerating its shareholders, aiming to give them a fair and
regular dividend increase when trading results permit, and
holding it stable when economic and financial circumstances
oblige. This year, after four successive years of rising
dividends, the Board of Directors will propose, at the next
Annual General Meeting, to maintain the dividend at its 2005
level (paid in respect of 2004), being €2.40 per share.
The Group also pays a supplementary dividend, equal to 10%
of the basic dividend, for all shares held in the nominal
register for two years running. It also offers its individual
shareholders special conditions for buying the Group's
products.
Actionaria Stockmarket Fair - The Groupe SEB stand.