Creating shareholder value

Gaële Chagnaud, director of investor relations:
“Our aim is to provide transparent and regular communication, and to listen to our shareholders. With results meetings twice a year, one-to-one meetings and conference calls when sales figures are published, we have numerous opportunities to present Neopost and its strategy, and maintain direct and regular contact with analysts and investors. In 2007, we met more than 300 investors and analysts to share with them the Group’s vision, achievements and prospects.”

Neopost has made reliability of information and transparency a priority for its shareholders.
The group pays great attention to risk prevention and to the quality of its published figures and information. To this end, group policy is based on strict internal control procedures and corporate governance regulations. Neopost is at one and the same time both a growth and a yield stock. The group has introduced a profitable growth strategy while implementing an ambitious policy of returning value to shareholders.

Shareholder value creation
Since listing on the stock market on 23 February 1999, Neopost’s share price has risen fivefold.
The Group’s market capitalisation was approximately €2 billion at the end of July 2008.

Shareholder return policy
In 2005, Neopost established a shareholder return policy with the aim of paying back to shareholders 100% of the increase in the Group’s shareholders’ equity over the period, except in the event of major acquisitions. This return comes in the form of share buybacks (about 2% of the number of shares in circulation each year), with the rest in the form of dividends.
For 2007, €180 million have been returned to Neopost shareholders. Of this, €113 million will be in the form of dividends and €67 million in the form of share buybacks.

Share buyback programme
Under the 2007 share buyback program, and excluding the liquidity contract, Neopost acquired 817,005 shares (2.6% of its capital) between July 2007 and July 2008. These shares are due to be cancelled. A further share buyback program covering up to 10% of the shares in issue and at a maximum purchase price of 1.3 times the closing price on 7 July 2008 has been approved at the Annual General Meeting.

Liquidity contract
Neopost has a liquidity contract with Exane BNP Paribas with an allocated amount of €8 million.
The purpose to this contract is to improve the liquidity and reduce the volatility of Neopost shares when they become excessive.