Regulatory News:
The Vicat Group (Paris:VCT) (Euronext Paris: FR0000031775 VCT) announces today that the Group's Combined Annual General Meeting was held today.
All the resolutions presented to the Annual General Meeting were adopted, including the resolution to maintain the dividend at €1.50 per share, in accordance with the recommendations of the Board of Directors.
During this Combined Shareholders' Meeting, an update was made in light of the exceptional context and the main topics are outlined below.
It is important to note that these items should not be considered as forecasts, even in the very short term, given the very high volatility of the environment.
Business is conducted within the strict framework of procedures adapted to the health situation prevailing in the countries where the Group operates. Visibility is therefore particularly limited due to the rapid evolution of the epidemic. In this context, it is important to note that
- The twelve countries in which the Group operates are affected by the COVID19 epidemic with delayed levels of impact in time;
- There is very high volatility in activity;
- Sharing of experience between countries enable implementation of the right processes and operating methods in order to meet the requirements of the situation in each country and to continue the activity when authorized.
The Group's business therefore continues to operate at a level that varies according to local constraints imposed by public authorities. At this stage, all the Group's Cement plants are operating, excluding the two plants in India. Therefore:
- In France, after a very significant slowdown in business at the beginning of the confinement period, business is slowly recovering, with the reopening of trading and the slower reopening of construction sites;
- In Switzerland, activity is close to normal, thanks to strict compliance with protective measures on all construction sites;
- In West Africa and the United States, activity is also close to normal, but the situation is likely to change rapidly;
- In Brazil, activity remains strong;
- In Turkey and Egypt, in an already degraded macro-economic environment, the epidemic has not had any visible impact at this stage;
- In Kazakhstan, activity was particularly dynamic at the beginning of the year. The recent containment decisions should be felt in the coming days;
- Finally, the activity in Italy and India has been totally interrupted following the strict containment decisions taken by the authorities. Thus, the two Indian plants and the grinder in Italy have been shut down.
The detailed report of the 2020 Annual General Meeting, with the voting results, will soon be posted on www.vicat.fr
Next report:
First-quarter 2020 sales on 5 May 2020 after market closing.
About Vicat
The Vicat Group has over 9,000 employees working in three core divisions, Cement, Concrete Aggregates and Other Products Services, which generated consolidated sales of €2.740 billion in 2019. The Group operates in twelve countries: France, Switzerland, Italy, the United States, Turkey, Egypt, Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Kazakhstan, India and Brazil. Some 64% of its sales are generated outside France.
The Vicat Group is the heir to an industrial tradition dating back to 1817, when Louis Vicat invented artificial cement. Founded in 1853, the Vicat Group now operates three core lines of business: Cement, Ready-Mixed Concrete and Aggregates, as well as related activities.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200403005100/en/
Contacts:
Investor relations contact:
Stéphane Bisseuil
Tel. 33 1 58 86 86 05
stephane.bisseuil@vicat.fr
Press relations contact:
Marie-Raphaelle Robinne
Tel. +33 (0)4 74 27 58 04
marie-raphaelle.robinne@vicat.fr
