Capitalized terms not otherwise defined in this exhibit have the meanings given to them in EDAP’s Annual Report.
Ordinary Shares
The description below reflects certain terms of our by-laws, and summarizes the material rights of holders of our ordinary shares under French law.
General
As of March 31, 2022, the total number of shares issued was 33,758,564 with 292,428 shares held as treasury shares, thus bringing the total number of shares outstanding to 33,466,136.
Dividend and Liquidation Rights (French Law)
Net income in each fiscal year, increased or reduced, as the case may be, by any profit or loss of the Company carried forward from prior years, less any contributions to legal reserves, is available for distribution to our shareholders as dividends, subject to the requirements of French law and our by-laws.
Under French law, we are required to allocate at least 5% of our unconsolidated net profits in each fiscal year to a legal reserve fund before dividends may be paid with respect to that year. Such allocation is compulsory until the amount in such reserve fund is equal to 10% of the nominal amount of the registered capital. The legal reserve is distributable only upon the liquidation of the Company.
Our shareholders may, upon recommendation of the Board of Directors, decide to allocate all or a part of distributable profits, if any, among special or general reserves, to carry them forward to the next fiscal year as retained earnings, or to allocate them to the shareholders as dividends.
Our by-laws provide that, if so agreed by the shareholders, reserves that are available for distribution under French law and our by-laws may be distributed as dividends, subject to certain limitations.
If we have made distributable profits since the end of the preceding fiscal year (as shown on an interim income statement certified by our statutory auditors), the Board of Directors has the authority under French law, without the approval of shareholders, to distribute interim dividends to the extent of such distributable profits. We have never paid interim dividends.
Under French law, dividends are distributed to shareholders pro rata according to their respective shareholdings. Dividends are payable to holders of shares outstanding on the date of the annual shareholders' meeting deciding the distribution of dividends, or in the case of interim dividends, on the date of the Board of Directors meeting approving the distribution of interim dividends. However, holders of newly issued shares may have their rights to dividends limited with respect to certain fiscal years. The actual dividend payment date is decided by the shareholders in an ordinary general meeting or by the Board of Directors in the absence of such a decision by the shareholders. The payment of the dividends must occur within nine months from the end of our fiscal year. Under French law, dividends not claimed within five years of the date of payment revert to the French State.
If the Company is liquidated, our assets remaining after payment of our debts, liquidation expenses and all of our remaining obligations will be distributed first to repay in full the nominal value of the shares, then the surplus, if any, will be distributed pro rata among the shareholders based on the nominal value of their shareholdings and subject to any special rights granted to holders of priority shares, if any. Shareholders are liable for corporate liabilities only up to the par value of the shares they hold and are not liable to further capital calls of the Company.
Changes in Share Capital (French Law)