Mr. Denis Solvay

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Mr. Denis Solvay

• Solvay Group

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Leveraging Family Ownership
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Solvay today
(2007 figures) Sales EUR 9.6 Bn Oper. cash
flow EUR 1.4 Bn Net result EUR 828
M Employees some 28,300 people
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A policy of leadership and concentration on core
business
North Europe America World

• Fibrates 1 1 1
• Vertigo (Ménières disease) 1 1 1
• Pancreatic Enzymes 1 1 1Antispasmodics/IBS 1 1 1
• Hormone Therapies
• Female 3 2 2
• Male 3 1 1
• Soda ash 1 1
• Hydrogen peroxide 1 1
• Sodium percarbonate/perborate 1 1
• Caustic soda 2 3
• Precipitated calcium carbonate among the
  world leaders
• Sodium bicarbonate 1 1
• Fluorinated polymers 1 3
• Other Specialty polymers among the
  world leaders
• Inergy Automotive Systems(fuel systems) 1 1
• Vinyls 2 3
• Pipelife (Pipes and fittings)
  leaders in its markets

Pharmaceuticals
Chemicals
Plastics
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A long tradition of family shareholding (1)
1863 Creation of Solvay Cie, a partnership
(société en commandite) Patented Solvay
Process for producing soda ash. Founders
Ernest Alfred Solvay, 2 brothers, age 25 and
23, supported by their parents and parents
wealthier relatives
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A long tradition of family shareholding (2)
1900 Solvay Cie factories are present
worldwide, from Urals to America, but mainly in
Europe 1922 Ernest Solvay dies but active family
descendants are in charge 1935-1945 Solvay was
deprived of about half of its assets by
totalitarian regimes established after the First
and Second World Wars 1967 Solvay Cie,
partnership, 100 family owned, transformed into
a Société Anonyme (85 family owned) Listing
of Solvay Cie on the Brussels stock
exchange 1983 Foundation of a holding company
Solvac S.A. regrouping some interests of the
members of the Solvay S.A. founders families
(17 of Solvay S.A.) Listing of Solvac S.A. on
the Brussels stock exchange 2006 Solvac just
above 30 of Solvay S.A.s capital, i.e. above
the shareholding threshold whose crossing
triggers off a mandatory takeover bid
Founders families continue to hold relative
majority shareholding position First time new
CEO, Christian Jourquin, and new Chairman of the
Board, Aloïs Michielsen, not family
members. Creation of the function of
Vice-Chairman.
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Development ofan international group (1)
Solvay Global presence
1991 Canada
1991Former DDR
1881 1997 Russia
1997 Bulgaria
1863/1880Belgium, France, Spain, Germany,
England, Austria-Hungary
1987 Korea
1884 United States
1987 Turkey
1995 China
1970 Japan
1913 Italy
1980 India
1989 Thailand
1941 Brazil
1961 Australia
1996 Argentina
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Development ofan international group (2)
Social tradition and progress driver

• 1878 Institution of a social security and
  retirement scheme
• 1897 Institution of the 8-hour working day
  (legal in Belgium in 1921)
• 1904 Creation of Solvay Business School given
  and integrated to the Free University of
  Brussels
• 1911 Instituts de Physique et de Chimie.
• 1913 Putting-in-place of a system of paid leave
• 1915 Founder member (and still active in the
  Board) of the Health Care fondation of the
  ASBLBelgian National Association against
  Tuberculosis
• 1996 creation of the first European Works
  Council.
• 1998 creation of the twin Technological
  Innovation chair at INSEAD (France) and
  Solvay BusinessSchool (Belgium).
• 2004 Founder member beside Bertrand Piccard of
  the project SOLAR IMPULSE. Development of a
  piloted aircraft using only solar energy

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1911 ? 2007From the Conseil de Physique Solvay
to Solar impulse
Conseil de Physique Solvay Brussels 1911
Solar ImpulseBrussels - Zurich 2007
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Family shareholders stock exchange
Alexandre SOLVAY
1863 Ernest SOLVAY Alfred SOLVAY 3 sisters
SOLVAY PIRMEZ CASIMIR-LAMBERT NELIS Scientist Ind
ustrialist Industrialist
 Business angels  Sociologist
in the
19th century 2007 LINEAGE
est. /- 25 SOLVAC SOLVAY GROUP
/- 2500 families shareholders 
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• SOLVAC - Listed on Euronext Brussels since 1983
• all shareholders are registered, physical
  persons
• above 80 of capital held by family shareholders
• SOLVAY - Listed on Euronext Brussels since 1967
• included in Euronext100 index
• market capitalisation of EUR 7 Bn (Aug. 2008)
• free float of 67 (including individual family
  shareholders)

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• No individual family shareholder owns more than
  1 of Solvay
• Various family Branches which know each other
  well
• Received the shares from their Parents and yield
  them to their children
• not included 3 of Solvay Stock Options
  management to cover the stock options program

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Family representatives
29 representatives of the family branches present
in the different Boards and Committee of the
Groups

• Solvay Board
• 8 directors of the Board out of 16 are family
  representatives
• 2 directors are from the Executive Committee
• 6 directors are external with high skill and
  competence
• The Chairman is not a family representative but
  the Vice President is
• Reflects the shareholder structure
• Possesses a wide range of experience required by
  the Groups activity
• Reflects the geographical extent of the groups
  activity with 6 differents nationalities

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Family representatives

• Solvay Executive Committee
• 1 Director (the CFO) out of 6 is family
  representative
• Solvac Board
• All 13 Directors (including the Chairman) are
  family representatives. No executive Committee
• Mutuelle Solvay
• (100 subsidiary of Solvay with Financial
  Participation)
• All 8 Supervisory Board Members and the 2
  Directors are family representatives
• ? The appointment of family representatives is in
  line with the HR policy of the Group  Choose
  the most competent managers

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Family shareholder motivation

• - FINANCIAL MOTIVATION -
• Increasing our dividend whenever possible, and
  if possible, never reducing it.
• Share prices increase
• Reasonable and regular profit distribution to
  foster
• Long term development and reinvestment
• Constitution of reserves
• Smooth evolution of dividend
• Clear policy for payments spread throughout
  fiscal year
• Solvay interim 40 of previous years
  dividend, paid in January final in May
• Solvac no dividend retention

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Dividend distribution1991-2007
net earnings per share and gross dividend
in EUR/share
net earnings per share
gross dividend
Dividend policy increasing our dividend
whenever possible, and if possible, never
reducing it 1991-2007 78 (2007 dividend
increase 5)
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Dividend timetable

• Family shareholders with Solvay Solvac shares
  can plan allocate annual revenue continuously

Solvac2nd interim (final)Dividend
Solvac 1st interimDividend
ShareholdersRevenue
Jan
March
Feb
April
May
July
June
Sept
Nov
Oct
Aug
Dec
Solvay FinalDividend
Solvay Interim.Dividend
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Family shareholder motivation

• - QUALITATIVE MOTIVATION -
• A company with strong ethical values ?
  shareholders confidence
• Increased communication efforts ? shareholders
  knowledge
• A dynamic innovation and industrial strategy for
  sustainable and profitable growth
• Rotation of more than 2/3 of assets value since
  2000, with shift from commodities to high-value
  added products
• Pioneering co-generation for electricity and
  vapor production
• Innovation, with very active RD in recycling
  green chemistry (Vinyloop, Novosol, Epicerol,
  Solar Impulse, etc.)
• ? shareholders enthusiasm

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Family shareholder motivation

• AND THE FUTURE, THE NEXT GENERATION WITH 2.500
  FAMILY MEMBERS TODAY ?
• Animate the conscience of being part of a social
  group, the family group
• Increase the mutual knowledge of members through
  all generations
• share moment of life
• in short, remain close at the sixth generation
  and forward
• ? Long term shareholders strength

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Family shareholder motivation

• HOW DO WE PROCEED ?
• Launch of a family interactive Web 2.0 platform
  in 2008
• Organise family events in the different branches
  through the initiative of family branch leaders
• Organise cross-branch family events
• ? Show that the whole family group is well
  bonded and alive !

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Family shareholder motivation

• THE FAMILY WEB 2.0 PLATFORM CREATED BY TRUSTED
  FAMILY
• GOALS
• Let people learn about their family and their
  business
• Ease/reduce cost and increase scope of family
  management
• Enhance communication interaction between
  family members
• Organise the family memory and archive in a
  sustainable way

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Family shareholder motivation

• THE FAMILY WEB 2.0 PLATFORM
• MAIN CHARACTERISTICS
• Brighten up the family story (interactive family
  tree, creation of family members, )
• Encourage exchanges (family members generate
  content)
• Turn the discovery of the Group activities
  attractive for each generation
• Easy to use (click and play)
• Multi-functional (personnal messages, photos,
  videos, documents, polls)
• Secure and confidential

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Solvay in India
REPUBLIC OF INDIA 3.3 Million km2 1,100 Million
inhabitants 25 States Capital  New Delhi SOLVAY
PRESENCE Since 1988 (Animal health) 4 companies
in 3 States, 1 external Agent 9 of Solvay Sales
in Asia Pacific (2007) 977 employees (2007)
PROJECTS SBU Inergy (new plant for Toyota) SBU
Vinyls (new JV in discussion)
Sales
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Solvay in India
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To the extent that any statements made in this
presentation contain information that is not
historical, these statements are essentially
forward-looking. The achievement of
forward-looking statements contained in this
presentation is subject to risks and
uncertainties because of a number of factors,
including general economic factors, interest rate
and foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations
changing market conditions, product competition,
the nature of product development, impact of
acquisitions and divestitures, restructurings,
products withdrawals regulatory approval
processes and other unusual items. Consequently,
actual results may differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements can be
identified by the use of words such as "expects,"
"plans," "will," "believes," "may," "could"
"estimates," "intends", "targets", "objectives",
"potential", and other words of similar meaning.
Should known or unknown risks or uncertainties
materialize, or should our assumptions prove
inaccurate, actual results could vary materially
from those anticipated. The Company undertakes no
obligation to publicly update any forward-looking
statements"