Publicis Groupe S.A.

Combined General Shareholders’ Meeting - Seite 2

« In a year when the whole world has been put to the test and we have entered in a new normal era, the Supervisory Board and I are very proud of the resilience demonstrated by your Groupe. It is the contribution of each person, the individual and combined strengths of the teams as well as the rapid, determined and efficient response of the management under the direction of Arthur Sadoun that have enabled Publicis Groupe, not only to weather this crisis by obtaining results above expectations, but also to emerge stronger, by returning to growth as of the 1^st quarter of 2021. My attachment to the Groupe no longer needs to be demonstrated, after a journey of fifty years which has allowed me to accompany the different stages of the development of Publicis, to become the 3^rd largest communication Groupe in the world and a leader in digital and data. It is therefore with full enthusiasm (although not part of my initial plans) that I will continue my mission for the Groupe and for all its stakeholders.

The Supervisory Board and I would like to thank shareholders for their trust and support. By their votes, they acknowledge the extraordinary work and mobilization of the Management Board and more particularly of its President and CEO in this period. I would also like to thank them for approving the renewal of my mandate as member of the Supervisory Board, and the Board for offering me to continue to support the Groupe as Chairman.

Thanks to its transformation and its long-term investments in technology and data, notably Sapient and Epsilon, your Groupe has all the assets it needs in an environment which has, with this crisis, evolved rapidly and irreversibly towards digital. While the environment remains uncertain, your Groupe is very well equipped and very well managed to meet the needs of its clients and support them on the path to growth in this new world».

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During his presentation at the Combined Shareholder Meeting, Mr. Arthur Sadoun, Chairman of the Management Board, presented the key highlights of 2020.

When the crisis hit and despite a very uncertain environment, the Management Board reacted immediately and defined three clear priorities:

• First, protect the Groupe’s talents, by shifting all employees to home working in a matter of days, in all countries. Moreover, the Groupe undertook many initiatives in the year to ensure their well-being and their health.
• Second, the Groupe fully mobilized to accompany its clients in rethinking and immediately adapting their communication campaigns to this new situation, contributing to their competitiveness and resilience in this critical period.
• Third, the Directoire implemented a series of exceptional measures to maintain the Groupe’s financial strength, notably with a €500m cost savings plan and a reduction of the initially proposed dividend. In parallel, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board and members of the Management Board proposed to reduce their salaries. Also, the voluntary salary sacrifices made by 6,000 talents at the peak of the crisis were reimbursed after the publication of better than expected results, with the exception of Management Board members.

Concluding this incredibly exceptional year, the Groupe emerged stronger and outperformed the market in 2020 organically while posting again the strongest financial ratios in the industry.