L'Oréal Finance : Shareholders' corner, faq

Welcome to the Q&A page of our website

This section is intended specifically to answer your questions. We have classified the most frequently asked questions by topic. Please do not hesitate to ask any other questions you may have on topics that may be of interest to you.
At the end of each list of questions, you will find a form headed "If you have any questions, please complete the following". This form can be used to send us immediately your comments, remarks, questions or suggestions.

If you are a student and are looking for information on L'Oréal's human resources and careers policy, click here.

Shareholder relations

I have owned L'Oréal shares for several years, but I do not receive any documents from the company and I am not invited to attend Shareholders' Meetings. Why is this?
- You are almost certainly a "bearer" shareholder. Only "registered" shareholders receive all the documents sent out to shareholders as their names appear in the company's books.
  If you wish to remain a bearer shareholder but would still like to receive regular information about the group, we advise you to:
  - sign up for our service of e-mail alerts in order to be immediately informed of major corporate events
  - subscribe to our Letter to Shareholders and order the documents you are interested in (Annual Report, etc.) by contacting us by telephone, by e-mail or by post.
  - consult the loreal-finance.com website via your mobile phone.
  In order to be able to participate in an Annual General Meeting, if you are a bearer shareholder, we recommend that you ask your financial intermediary for a certificate proving that you are a shareholder at the date of the request. Your financial intermediary will then send this certificate to BNP Paribas Securities Services which will send you your entrance card.
How can I obtain information on L'Oréal's results?
- In order to be immediately informed of major corporate events, you can sign up for our system of e-mail alerts.
  Financial analyst meetings and Shareholders' meetings are also accessible on the website under the Presentations and webcasts section
  Financial press releases can be found in the section on Regulated Information
I do not live in the Paris area. Are any meetings with L'Oréal arranged other than at the group's headquarters?
- Of course. You can meet the L'Oréal shareholder relations team at meetings arranged all over France. The programme for 2008 includes meetings in Bruxelles, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Dijon, Nice and Nantes.
  All the dates of meetings for shareholders can be found in the section Shareholders' Corner/Key dates.
I would like to ask someone in the shareholder services department a question. How can I contact you?
- You can use either of the following two phone numbers:
  - our toll-free line which is specially intended for communications with shareholders:
  Toll-free number: 0800 66 66 66 for calls from fixed phones in France.
  From abroad : 33 1 40 14 80 50.
  - the telephone number of Jean-Régis Carof, Director of Shareholder and Market Authority Relations: 33 1 47 56 43 02
  Finally, you can also send us an e-mail using the "Your contacts" section .

How can I obtain an annual report?

The Annual Report is available in the Regulated Information/Annual report section .
If you want to consult or download some specific chapters, you can access the annual report in interactive format.
If you would prefer to receive a hard copy, please fill in the following form:

Why don't you have a shareholders club?

L'Oréal has no shareholders club in the same sense as other listed companies.

However, we do have a rolling panel of shareholders chosen from among the few hundreds of volunteers who have offered to serve on this panel. The composition of the panel partly changes for each meeting, in order to get the biggest number of participants and a high diversity of points of views. At least two meetings take place each year.

The purpose of this panel's meetings is, in particular, to select the topics to be discussed at the annual shareholders' meeting and to reflect on the content of the annual report or on that of the loreal-finance website.

Over the last three years, over twenty shareholders have contributed to improving the quality of financial communication within the group.

If you would like to sign up to serve on the changing panel of L'Oréal shareholders, click here.

Do you take part in any exhibition shows?
- For several years now, we have been taking part in the Actionaria exhibition show. The next Actionaria trade show will be held in the Palais des Congrès in Paris on November 21 & 22 2008. If you would like to receive an invitation to attend this event, please sign up to receive one by e-mail or by post . Click here for the dates of forthcoming shareholder events.

If you have any questions, please complete the following:

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Registered shareholder

What are the differences between a bearer securities account, a pure registered securities account and a managed registered securities account?
- Since 1984, French shares have been "dematerialised", i.e. they are recorded electronically in a securities account and are no longer evidenced by a hard copy certificate. Securities may be held in two forms:
  - Bearer shares: when the name of the owner is not disclosed to the issuing company. However, they are not anonymous since they appear in the account managed by the financial intermediary.
  - Registered shares: when the name of the shareholder appears in the books kept by the issuing company, which makes it easier for the company to communicate with its shareholders. These shares may be in either of two forms:
  - "Managed registered" shares: Management of the securities account is entrusted to a financial intermediary. The financial intermediary charges for this service.
  - "Pure registered" shares: The securities are entered directly and solely in the books of the issuing company, which is in charge of the administrative management of the shares (usually via its authorised agent).
What are the differences between "pure registered shares" and "managed registered shares"?
- The differences between "pure registered shares" and "managed registered shares" are as follows:
  - Custody fees: no fees are charged to the shareholder for "directly registered shares" (paid by the Issuer) while increased custody fees are charged for "managed registered shares" (you should ask your financial intermediary for prior information on the applicable charges).
  - The custodian : in the case of "managed registered Shares", the custodian may be chosen by the shareholder, while for "directly registered shares", the custodian is the issuer itself or an authorised agent appointed by the issuer (L'Oréal chose BNP Paribas to manage directly registered shares).

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each of the methods for holding shares?

Bearer shares
Advantages	Disadvantages
- Trading on the stock market is "easy" and immediate - Freedom of choice of financial intermediary - Simplified portfolio management (possibility of grouping together all securities)	- Payment of custody fees - No systematic communication by the issuing company - Need to obtain a certificate for attendance at shareholders' meetings

Managed registered shares
Advantages	Disadvantages
- Freedom of choice of financial intermediary - Simplified portfolio management (possibility of grouping together all securities) - The issuing company regularly sends various corporate communications, and notice of shareholders' meeting	- Payment of custody fees (these may be increased) - Possibility of longer operational times being required due to the complexity of circulation of information media (statement of registered references - bordereau de références nominatives - BRN) between the issuing company, Euroclear and the custodian

Pure registered shares
Advantages	Disadvantages
- No custody fees are payable - No transfer fee from bearer shares to pure registered shares (L'Oréal will meet the cost up to a maximum of 50 euros, on presentation of the corresponding receipt). - L'Oréal regularly sends various corporate communications, as well as notice of shareholders' meetings - Preferential brokerage rate	- Impossibility of having only one securities account in the event of simultaneous management of several securities

How can I purchase or sell shares if I have a pure registered share account?
- In order to carry out a stock market trade via your Registered Current Account (Compte Courant Nominatif - CCN), you must have completed and signed a contract for stock market services (click here to download a model of such contract in PDF format). As soon as this contract has been accepted, any shareholder may purchase or sell L'Oréal shares by providing BNP Paribas Securities Services with instructions using any of the following methods:
  - online: on the secure website GISnomi, dedicated to directly registered shareholders: http://www.gisnomi.bnpparibas.com
  - By mail : fill in that form and send it at the following address:
  Service Actionnaires L'Oréal - BNP Paribas Securities Services - G.C.T.
  Emetteurs - Immeuble Tolbiac - 75450 Paris Cedex 09
  - By telephone to the toll-free number: 0.800.66.66.66 or +33 1 40 14 80 50 from abroad
  - By fax to: 33 (0)1 55 77 34 17
  N.B.: any trade order placed by telephone must be confirmed in writing within 48 hours (click here to download a model of such document in PDF format - in French).
  You will be required to provide the following mandatory information in order to place a trade order (without this information, your trade order may be rejected):
  - your surname, first name and address
  - the name of the share and the ISIN code
  - the nature of the trade order (purchase or sale)
  - the quantity of shares concerned
  - the trade execution price: market price, limited price (in such a case, the price should be specified), best limit price
  - date of validity of the trade order: exact day or end of the month
  - date and your signature
  Finally, the fees and taxes applicable to trade orders for L'Oréal shares are as follows:
  - Brokerage fee: 0.15% exclusive of taxes of the gross amount of the trade with a minimum of €6.10 + VAT at a rate of 19.6% for residents of France and 8.5% for residents of French Overseas Departments (Départements d'Outre Mer - DOM).
  - Bank fees: €7.62 + VAT at a rate of 19.6% for residents of France and 8.5% for residents of French Overseas Departments (Départements d'Outre Mer - DOM).
How can I register my shares?
- Shares are never registered automatically. You have to expressly ask your financial intermediary to register them in writing.
  You can register them as:
  - either "directly registered shares": in which case you should send a letter to this effect to your custodian (click here to download a standard form of letter - in French). The shares will be delivered to the issuing company in order to be registered as "directly registered shares". N.B.: L'Oréal will meet the cost of transfer fees up to a maximum of 50 euros, on presentation of the corresponding receipt..
  - or as "managed registered shares": in which case your shares will be kept in the custody of your financial intermediary; your financial intermediary will inform L'Oréal that the shares have been registered as "managed registered shares".

If you have any questions, please complete the following:

Loyalty bonus
- Why is a preferential dividend of 10% offered to holders of registered shares?
  - This loyalty bonus falls within the scope of our policy to reward all our shareholders who agree to accompany the group over the long term. In a period of economic turbulence, promoting stability is an up-to-date gesture in the interest of all the shareholders. It is not only aimed at individual shareholders but also concerns institutional investors who wish to make a long-term investment.
- How can shareholders benefit from the loyalty bonus?
  - In order to benefit from the preferential dividend of +10%, you must have held direct or managed registered shares for at least two years. This preferential dividend applies up to a limit of 0.5% of nominal capital per shareholder. The first preferential dividend will be paid in 2012, corresponding to the dividend for 2011, for holders who have continually held direct or managed registered shares from December 31, 2009 until the date of payment of the dividend following the Annual General Meeting for 2012.
    To convert your shares to:
    - Direct registered shares: click here to download the request form
    - Managed registered shares: click here to download the request form
- In order to receive the loyalty bonus, do the shares have to be converted to direct registered shares?
  - No, it is sufficient for them to be managed registered shares. The financial intermediary managing your share account must inform BNP Paribas Securities Services of any change in your position.
- When will the preferential dividend be paid?
  - The first preferential dividend will be paid in 2012 with regard to the dividend for 2011, for holders who have continually held direct or managed registered shares from December 31, 2009 until the date of payment of the dividend following the Annual General Meeting for 2012.
- How do you check whether shareholders have held their shares for two years?
  - The bank managing the registered share accounts, BNP Paribas Securities Services, keeps a record of the continuity of the positions of holders of direct registered shares which it manages directly. For holders of managed registered shares, it contacts all the financial intermediaries concerned asking them to provide an attestation with regard to the continued position of the accounts of their clients over the two years prior to payment of the dividend.
- What amount will this represent for a shareholder who is able to fully benefit from this provision?
  - On the basis of the dividend paid for 2008 - €1.44 – this would represent:
    €1.44 +10% = €1.58 per share. (According to French law, the dividend is rounded down to the nearest cent).
- What is the amount of the dividend payment made to shareholders owning over 0.5% of share capital?
  - If they have held their shares as registered shares for over two years, these shareholders will receive a preferential dividend for the fraction of the shares they hold amounting to 0.5% of the share capital. For the fraction exceeding 0.5%, the dividend received will be the normal dividend paid to all shareholders.

On what stock market(s) is the L'Oréal share traded?
- The L'Oréal share is listed on the Paris Stock Market, on Eurolist Compartment A. The share is eligible for the deferred settlement service (Service de Règlement Différé).
  Since the commencement of the European directive called "MIF" ("Marchés d'intruments financiers" - financial instruments markets).
  Unsponsored ADRs (American Depositary Receipt) circulate freely in the United States at the initiative of several banks working in the USA.
When was the L'Oréal share first listed on the stock market?
- The L'Oréal share was first quoted on the spot market on 8 October 1963.
What is the breakdown of L'Oréal's share capital?
- At December 31, 2007, L'Oréal's share capital is held as follows:
  - Mrs Bettencourt and her family: 30.0%,
  - Nestlé: 28.9%,
  - Public: 37.4%,
  - Treasury stock: 3.7%.
  Click here to see the graphic chart.
What are the L'Oréal share codes?
- - ISIN: FR0000120321
  - Reuters: OREP.PA
  - Bloomberg: OR FP
  - Datastream: F:OR@F
  - Mnémo: OR
On what indexes is the L'Oréal share listed?
- The main stock indexes on which the L'Oréal share is listed are as follows: CAC 40, Euronext 100, DJ Euro Stoxx 50.
What percentage of these indexes does the L'Oréal share represent?
- At 31 December 2007, the percentage represented by the L'Oréal share was:
  - 2.67% for the Cac 40
  - 2.73% for Euronext 100
  - 1.07% for DJ Euro Stoxx 50.
What proportion of L'Oréal's share capital is made up of floating shares?
- At 31 December 2007, floating shares represented 37.4% of L'Oréal's capital. This figure can be broken down as follows:
  - international institutional investors (21.7%),
  - French institutional investors (10%),
  - individual shareholders (5.1%)
  - employees (0.6%).
  Click here to see the graphic chart.

If you have any questions, please complete the following:

Dividends and taxation

What was the amount of the dividend approved by the AGM on April 16, 2009?
- The Annual General Meeting of April 16, 2009 approved the distribution of a dividend of €1.44 per share, an increase of +4.3% as compared to the previous financial year.
  Over recent years, the dividend paid has more than doubled, increasing from €0.54 for the 2001 financial year to €1.44 for the 2008 financial year (an overall increase of +167%).
  The rate of distribution of the company's profits has also grown significantly and regularly: it has risen from 29.1% of the results in 1997 to 41.3% of the results in 2008.
What is the history of dividends paid?
- For many years, the Board has proposed to the Annual General Meeting a dividend that has increased strongly and regularly as a reflection of the continual improvement in your group's results. To obtain details of the evolution of dividends, click here.
What tax treatment will be applied to the dividends?
- 1) For French tax residents:
  A) Ordinary tax treatment:
  - A system of a 40% tax deduction in respect of the gross amount of the dividend payment: dividend payments are subject to personal income tax (impôt sur le revenu des personnes physiques - IRPP) in respect of 60% of the gross amount of such dividend income,
  - Fixed annual standard tax deduction: €1,525 for single, divorced or widowed taxpayers or for married couples who are taxed separately, and of €3,050 for married couples or those having entered into a French form of civil partnership agreement (PACS) filing joint tax returns,
  - Annual tax credit: an annual tax credit is granted equal to 50% of the amount of the gross dividends and amounting to a maximum of €115 or €230 depending on family status,
  - For dividends paid from January 1, 2008 onwards, the social contributions (CSG, CRDS, special 2% social levy and social surcharges) are paid directly by the French institutions paying the dividends (with a total rate of social contributions amounting to 11% in 2008 and 12.1% in 2009).
  B) Optional tax treatment (deduction of tax at source) for dividends paid from January 1, 2008 onwards:
  Upon election by the taxpayer, dividends may be subject to a Prélèvement Forfaitaire Libératoire Optionnel (PLFO) - an optional deduction of personal income tax at source - at a rate of 18% on the gross amount of the dividends paid, plus the social contributions (CSG, CRDS, special 2% social levy and social surcharges), namely a total deduction at source of 29% in 2008 and 30.1% in 2009.
  2) For non-French tax residents:
  The taxes that will apply depend on the shareholder's place of residence and whether or not his/her State of residence has signed an international tax treaty with France aimed at limiting double taxation.
  Where France has signed a tax treaty with the shareholder's country of residence, the amount of the dividend will be calculated on the basis of the documents sent to the shareholder's custodian (TCC):
  - it will be subject to withholding tax at the rate of 25% where no document is submitted before the date of the dividend payment,
  - or it will be subject to withholding tax at the tax treaty rate if the shareholder sends to its custodian (TCC), prior to the date of payment of the dividend, a certificate of tax residence, duly completed and signed by the shareholder and also signed by the tax authorities of the shareholder's country of residence (simplified procedure).
  If the shareholder submits a tax treaty form after payment of the dividend, at the latest by December 31 of the second year following the year of collection of the revenues, an amount will be paid to such shareholder corresponding to the difference between the rate of 25% initially withheld and the applicable tax treaty rate (refund procedure).
  It should be noted that the standard form of certificate of tax residence (No. 5000 + Annex No. 5001) and the explanatory notes (No. 5000 NOT) can be downloaded from the http://www.impots.gouv.fr/ website in French, English, German, Spanish, Italian and Dutch.
  Where France has not signed a tax treaty with the shareholder's country of residence, the rate of withholding source applied will be 25% without any possibility of recovery.
What is the tax treatment that will apply to capital gains on the sale of shares?
- - Taxation takes place where the gross amount of sales made during the year by the taxpayer or joint taxpayers is equal to €25,730 or more for 2009 (€25,000 in 2008).
  - Where this threshold is crossed, the total amount of the capital gains generated becomes taxable (as from the first euro).
  - The capital gains will be taxed on the basis of a fixed percentage of 18%, plus 12.1% in social contributions (compared to 11% in 2008), i.e. total deductions of 30.1% in 2009 (29% in 2008).
  Further information about the tax deductions applied due to the length of the holding period for the shares:
  A tax deduction of one third per year of holding of the shares as from the sixth year is applied to the net gain on the sale.
  This treatment applies to sales of shares made as from January 1, 2006; the holding period is however only calculated as from January 1, 2006 for shares purchased prior to that date.
  Since 2006, the holding period is calculated on the basis of a full calendar year; shares purchased during a year are deemed to have been held since the beginning of the year in question.
  Accordingly, for shares purchased in 2006 or prior to 2006:
  - A tax deduction may be made for the first time (equal to one-third of the tax payable) if the shares are sold in 2012,
  - A tax deduction equal to two-thirds of the tax payable will be applied if they are sold in 2013,
  - A complete tax exemption will only apply if the shares are sold as from January 1, 2014 and inasmuch as the shares have been retained for a period of at least eight years at such date.
  N.B. The social security contributions and social levies totalling 12.1% remain payable in all cases (11% in 2008).
What is the share value that should be reported for the purposes of French wealth tax?
- You can choose to use:
  - the closing trading price for the last stock market trading session in the previous year, i.e. €62.30 on December 31st, 2008, or
  - the average of the last 30 days’ closing prices for 2008: €62.27.

If you have any questions, please complete the following:

Annual General Meetings

How can I receive information on the dates of the AGM?
- At least 35 days prior to the date of the AGM, L'Oréal publishes a notice of the meeting in the French official bulletin of legal notices (Bulletin des Annonces Légales Obligatoires - BALO) to inform its shareholders of the holding of an AGM. This notice contains, inter alia, the agenda for the AGM and the text of the resolutions to be put to the vote. The agenda and the text of the resolutions are not however final at this stage.
  At least 15 days before the meeting is to be held, a notice inviting shareholders to attend the meeting is published in the BALO and in a journal of legal notices (journal d'annonces légales - JAL). It is sent to registered shareholders by post. This notice specifies the date, place and time, the methods of participation in the meeting and the agenda.
  Other means are also at your disposal to keep you informed about the holding of an AGM:
  - Financial notices published by L'Oréal in the economic and financial press, which provide advance information on the date and time of the AGM and all the necessary information which will enable you to obtain an entrance card,
  - The Shareholders Service Office (Toll-free number: 0800 66 66 66 for calls from fixed phones), +33 1 40 14 80 50 from abroad
  - The website specifically intended for shareholders: http://www.loreal-finance.com/eng
How can I attend the AGM?
- In order to provide you with easy access to the AGM, we recommend that you obtain an entrance card prior to the meeting and that you bring it with you to the meeting:
  - if you are a registered shareholder: this entrance card can be obtained from BNP Paribas Securities Services at the following address:
  Service Actionnaires de L'Oréal - BNP Paribas Securities Services -
  G.C.T. Émetteurs - Assemblées - Immeuble Tolbiac, 75450 Paris cedex 09.
  - if you are a bearer shareholder: you should contact your financial intermediary. You must first of all ask for a certificate proving that you are a shareholder at the date of the request. The intermediary will then send this certificate to BNP Paribas Securities Services which will send you your entrance card.
How can I vote at the AGM?
- If you are unable to attend the AGM in person, you will have the choice between 3 different possibilities for voting as provided for in the form sent with the file for the AGM:
  Voting online on the secured website : http://gisproxy.bnpparibas.com. If you are a registered shareholder, use the identifier number and the password you usually use to consult your account on the GISNOMI website. If you are a bearer shareholder, contact the institution that is the custodian of your shares, to ask for a certificate of participation in order to vote online.
  
  Voting by mail. In order to vote by mail, please fill in the box next to the words "Je vote par correspondance" (I wish to vote by mail) and then fill in the boxes next to any resolutions with which you are not in agreement.
  Giving a proxy to the Chairman. As the owner of the shares, you only have to date and sign at the bottom of the form, without filling in anything else. This means that you wish to vote in favour of all the draft resolutions presented or approved by the Board of Directors and vote against all the draft resolutions that may potentially be presented to counter its proposals.
  Giving a proxy to your spouse, or to another L'Oréal shareholder. You should then check the appropriate box, and give the surname and first names or corporate name of the proxy appointed.
  Whatever method of voting you choose, and regardless of whether you are the holder of bearer or registered shares, you should send at least three days before the AGM your duly completed, dated and signed form to:
  Service Actionnaires de L'Oréal - BNP Paribas Securities Services -
  G.C.T. Émetteurs - Assemblées - Immeuble Tolbiac, 75450 Paris cedex 09.
How should I proceed if I have not had time to obtain my entrance card?
- If you have not received your entrance card in time for the AGM, you may nevertheless attend such meeting:
  - If you are a registered shareholder, you will simply be required to provide proof of your identity at the shareholder admission desk.
  - If you are a bearer shareholder, you may obtain admission by providing a certificate of holding issued by your financial intermediary, together with your identity papers.

If you have any questions, please complete the following: