The Annual Shareholders’ Meeting of Total was held on May 26, 2017, under the chairmanship of Patrick Pouyanné. The Shareholders adopted all resolutions recommended by the Board of Directors, including:
- Approval of the 2016 financial statements and payment of a 2016 dividend of €2.45 per share, an increase compared to 2015;
- The option for shareholders to receive the final 2016 dividend and any 2017 interim dividends in cash or in new shares of the Company;
- Renewal of the terms as Directors of Mrs. Patricia Barbizet and Mrs. Marie-Christine Coisne-Roquette for a three-year period;
- Election of Mr. Mark Cutifani and Mr. Carlos Tavares to three-year terms as Directors;
- Opinion on the elements of compensantion due or granted to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for year 2016;
- The principles and criteria for the determination of the compensation granted to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for year 2017.
The full results of the votes will be available on Total’s corporate website total.com in the coming days.
The Shareholders’ Meeting was also an opportunity for Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné, Lead Independent Director Patricia Barbizet, and Chief Financial Officer Patrick de La Chevardière, to show how the Group has emerged stronger from the difficult economic environment of the past two years and is today well positioned to take advantage of the low cost environment.
Patrick de La Chevardière presented the results of year 2016 and first quarter 2017, underpinned by strong discipline in investments and operating costs, Upstream production growth and a strong Downstream contribution.
Patricia Barbizet described the functioning of Total’s Board of Directors, which shows exemplary diversity in terms gender, nationality and independence. Due to their key roles in international companies active in various economic sectors, the Directors bring to Total complementary expertise enabling an effective contribution to the Group’s major decisions. On behalf of the board, she thanked Barbara Kux, Paul Desmarais Jr, and Marc Blanc, whose terms expired at the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, for their contributions. The Annual Meeting was also the occasion to present the Directors newly appointed to the Board, Mark Cutifani and Carlos Tavares, as well as Christine Renaud, the new Director representing employees.
Finally, Patrick Pouyanné restated Total’s ambition to become the responsible energy major by leveraging the Group’s values which are Safety, Respect for Each Other, Pioneer Spirit, Stand Together and Performance-minded. In line with this ambition, and after having reduced its breakeven and strengthened its balance sheet, Total is taking advantage of the current oil cycle to prepare post-2020 growth. The Group therefore aims to launch about ten Upstream projects in a favorable cost environment and acquire resources under attractive terms, such as recent deals in Brazil and Uganda. The Downstream is also pursuing its growth strategy, with two major petrochemical investments announced in the United States and South Korea. Meanwhile the new Gas, Renewables and Power segment is developing the Group’s low-carbon businesses. In 2017, Total launched several projects to become a leader in new energies for the transport sector, whether in road transport (European network for natural gas vehicle fuel and electric vehicle charging points), aviation (European leader in biojet fuel) or martime transport (development of a multi-energy offer for shipping). Total will pursue its strong growth through 2020 due to the ramp up of projects recently put on stream, the start up of a dozen major projects as well as the stakes acquired in giant low-cost producing fields in Qatar and the United States. The Moho Nord project, which was started up in Congo earlier this year, was showcased at the meeting.
Finally, productive discussions were held with the 2,800 participants at the meeting, with Patrick Pouyanné, Patricia Barbizet and Patrick de La Chevardière replying to the many questions asked by shareholders.
