CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France—EssilorLuxottica held its annual shareholders meeting yesterday in Paris, the company announced, where shareholders approved all 34 resolutions submitted by the board of directors to the Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meeting. These included the distribution of a €3.95 dividend per share for the financial year 2023, the compensation policy applicable to the company’s executive corporate officers and the reappointment of all previous directors to the new board of directors. “On behalf of the board of directors, we would like to extend warm thanks to our shareholders for their continued support and trust," said Francesco Milleri, chairman and CEO, and Paul du Saillant, deputy CEO at EssilorLuxottica.

"We would also like to express our deep sense of gratitude to our talented employee community for their outstanding contributions, which have propelled us through a unique journey," Milleri continued. "Looking ahead, our vision is set to unlock a new phase of growth while driving shareholder value. We aim to expand even beyond the boundaries of vision care, leveraging the success of our recently launched AI-powered Ray-Ban Meta and the upcoming Nuance Audio. This disruptive innovation, supported by our iconic brands and close relationship with consumers, will help us lead the vision care industry into a new era of interconnectivity, intelligence and sustainability.”

The resolution granting shareholders the option to receive their final dividend to be paid for the financial year ended on December 31, 2023, in shares was approved at the meeting. As acknowledged by the board of directors, the price for newly issued shares for the payment of the dividend has been set at €180.12 per share, the company stated. Shareholders will be entitled to opt for payment of the dividend in newly issued shares between May 8 and May 28, 2024, inclusive (except for shareholders holding shares in pure registered form who have to exercise such option on May 24, 2024, at the latest), according to the announcement. 
 
An application will be made to admit the new shares for trading on Euronext Paris market, the company stated. The new ordinary shares allocated in payment will confer the same rights as the existing shares and carry current dividend rights (“jouissance courante”), meaning they will confer the right to any distribution paid out as from the date of their issuance. Shareholders can visit the Questions and Answers page of www.essilorluxottica.com for more information on the payment of dividend in shares.

The Shareholders’ Meeting also approved the staggered reappointment of all previous directors to the new EssilorLuxottica  board of directors, including: Milleri, du Saillant, Jean-Luc Biamonti (independent) and Marie-Christine Coisne-Roquette (independent) for a three-year mandate; as well as Romolo Bardin (non-independent), José Gonzalo (independent), Virginie Mercier Pitre (representing the Valoptec Association), Mario Notari (non-independent), Swati Piramal (independent), Cristina Scocchia (independent), Nathalie von Siemens (independent) and Andrea Zappia (independent) for a two-year mandate.

At the end of the shareholders’ meeting, the  board of directors met and appointed company officers, confirming Milleri as chairman and chief executive officer and du Saillant as deputy chief executive officer, and Biamonti as lead director. Additionally, the  board of directors confirmed that three committees will continue supporting and advising the board on four relevant topics and reappointed their members as follows:

• The members of the Audit and Risk Committee are: Biamonti (chairman), Scocchia and Bardin.

• The members of the Nomination and Compensation Committee are: Zappia (chairman), Gonzalo and Bardin.

• The members of the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee are: Piramal (chairwoman), von Siemens and Mercier Pitre.

Directors’ profiles are available online. To access the replay of the webcast of the annual general meeting, click here.