The L’Oréal board of directors will cancel an increase of its dividend, year-over-year. In addition, Jean-Paul Agon, the company's chairman and CEO, will have his remuneration decreased by 30% for the whole of 2020. The resolutions will be submitted during the company's June 30 annual general meeting, which will be conducted behind closed doors. The meeting was previously delayed due to COVID-19.
Under the plan, the planned increase in the dividend of 10.4% will be cut to €3.85, identical to the amount paid in 2019.
The board has also rescinded share buyback operations for the whole of 2020, which amounted to €750 million.
Finally, L’Oréal has decided to create a new social and environmental solidarity program under the name of “L’Oréal for the future." The program will create a philanthropic endowment fund of €50 million to support non-profit organizations that help women "in highly vulnerable situations."
The company will also create an impact investing fund of €100 million for the regeneration of damaged natural ecosystems and for combating climate change.
Jean-Paul Agon, chairman and CEO of L’Oréal, said, “Over the coming months, our societies will face social crises giving rise to situations of great human suffering, particularly for the most vulnerable. At the same time, we are fully aware that environmental challenges are increasingly pressing. It is essential not to step back from the sustainable transformation that the world needs. We therefore wish to reaffirm our commitment to the environment and to the preservation of biodiversity, and to help mitigate the social crisis for women. These two causes reflect the values and the historic commitment of L’Oréal.”
